Aug 20

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23526 (Dev Channel)

Hi all, last Thusday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23526 to the Dev Channel.

There are also ISOs for this build – they can be downloaded here.

All my DevChannel devices upgraded smoothly, including the Windows 365 one.

Happy Upgrades!

Changes and Improvements

[General]

  • Insider Preview Build Expiration: The expiration date for Insider Preview builds flighted to the Dev Channel has been updated to 9/15/2024 starting with Build 23526. Please make sure you are updated to the latest build in the Dev Channel.

[Start menu]

  • For files that do not have rich thumbnail previews that can be provided, it will no longer show a blank preview area. This is part of the work for rich thumbnail previews (tooltips) for cloud files on Start that began rolling out with Build 23511.
Updated tooltip on the Start menu for files that do not have rich thumbnail previews that can be provided.
Updated tooltip on the Start menu for files that do not have rich thumbnail previews that can be provided.

[Cast]

  • Building off the Cast improvements introduced with Build 23516, we have updated the Cast flyout in Quick Settings with additional support for you in case you face any trouble discovering nearby displays, fixing connections, and more.
Cast flyout in Quick Settings now shows link for troubleshooting device discovery and other casting issues.
Cast flyout in Quick Settings now shows link for troubleshooting device discovery and other casting issues.

[Narrator]

We have made the following improvements for Narrator:

  • Changed default verbosity level from 2 to 3 which will now announce “Immediate Context Name and Type”. The Control context type like “list” or “toolbar” will allow users to better understand the focused control – same default as JAWS and NVDA.
  • Narrator users are unblocked for typing Traditional Chinese characters in Windows by addition of Traditional Chinese dictionary for detailed reading.

We have made the following improvements for Narrator with Braille:

  • When navigating to any attachment in Outlook with scan mode, narrator announces the & of the attachment, the same is now reflected on braille display.
  • Navigate to different headings in Scan Mode using down arrow, or ‘Space + 4’ key in Braille device, now navigating to heading is reflected in Braille.
  • When navigating a list with items , whenever Narrator announces index with the menu item name, Braille display also reflects the same index values as “1 of 4”.

Fixes

[Start menu]

  • Fixed an issue that was making the System label in Start’s all apps list the wrong color in high contrast themes.
  • Fixed an issue where if you attempt to uninstall certain apps, it would just open Settings and not navigate to the Installed Apps page.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

  • Fixed an issue where the taskbar wasn’t loading for some Insiders when logging into their PC after installing the previous build.
  • Disabled the setting for uncombining taskbar buttons on other screens by default when no secondary monitors are connected.
  • Fixed an issue where if the taskbar was set to uncombined it would still show animations even if they’d been turned off.
  • Fixed an issue where app icons on the taskbar would become empty (with no icon) in recent Insider builds after switching between desktops.
  • Fixed an issue where the hidden icons flyout might close unexpectedly when using keyboard navigation to move focus between icons.
  • Fixed an issue where using drag to rearrange icons in the overflow area wasn’t working well when the taskbar was set to uncombined.
  • Fixed an issue where the new bell icon might be very difficult to see in some cases because it was using a dark outline when your taskbar was dark.
  • Fixed an issue where if you had enabled the End Task option in the taskbar, the setting wouldn’t persist across upgrades.
  • Fixed an issue where after upgrading the Bluetooth icon in the system tray might not display in the system tray after upgrade even though your PC supported Bluetooth and the Bluetooth options were shown in Settings.

[File Explorer]

  • Fixed a high hitting explorer.exe crash when launching or interacting with File Explorer in the last couple flights.
  • Fixed an issue where using the Reset Folders button in Folder Options could cause explorer.exe to crash.
  • Fixed an issue where the chevrons in the File Explorer address bar were pointing in the wrong direction if your display language was set to Arabic or Hebrew.
  • Fixed an issue where saving files to OneDrive locations in File Explorer could take a very long time, making it seem like the app you were saving from had become unresponsive, in the latest Insider builds.
  • Fixed an issue where the context menu and dropdown menus in File Explorer weren’t working with touch.
  • Made another fix for the issue causing the context menu and dropdown menu backgrounds to be transparent.
  • Fixed an issue where the menu shown when doing a right click drag on one of the newly supported archive formats didn’t have an extract option like it does for zip files.

[Dev Drive]

  • Fixed an issue where Dev Drives might not auto-mount after upgrading to a new build, causing apps that tried to access them to not work.
  • Improved error messages if Dev Drives fail to format.
  • Fixed an issue related to the use of Dev Drives which could cause a bugcheck with an INVALID DATA TRAP on upgrade (and then the upgrade would roll back).

[HDR Backgrounds]

  • Fixed an issue which could cause sporadic explorer.exe crashes when using an HDR wallpaper.

[Narrator]

  • Fixed an issue where Narrator was not reading various list items in a combo box on various web pages when navigating with up and down arrow.
  • Fixed an issue where Narrator was incorrectly announcing combo boxes as read-only even when users could actually select different values from the combo box list items.
  • Addressed the issue where Narrator was not announcing the checked and unchecked status of radio buttons but was announcing selected for every item.
  • Fixed an issue where Narrator was announcing older information  while navigating in date/time picker  using arrow keys .
  • Fixed an issue where Narrator was incorrectly reading contents of previous cell and the current cell when navigating in a table using right and left arrow keys.
  • Fixed an issue where Narrator is incorrectly reading older Window title even after navigating to inner control.
  • Fixed an issue where Narrator is reading entire paragraph when up arrow is invoked in online word document.
  • Fixed an issue where Narrator was incorrectly reading out last word of previous paragraph when a new paragraph started with a punctuation mark.
  • Fixed a bug where Narrator was not announcing the character being deleted when using backspace key in some text fields on the web.
  • Fixed an issue in narrator where while entering any number in CVV edit field, Narrator should only announce as “hidden”, instead of “CVV edit, hidden new line selected”.
  • Fixed an issue where Narrator is not able to detect different headings on some web pages in scan mode while using “h” key to navigate.
  • Fixed an issue where Narrator scan mode arrow navigation skipped first item in container.
  • Fixed an issue, where Narrator is skipping the first item after navigating via landmark using “d” key in scan mode.
  • Fixed an issue where Narrator focus did not move past the first check box if there was a list of check boxes  when using up and down arrow key in scan mode.
  • Fixed an issue where Narrator was not activating combo box when navigating using up and down  arrow and using enter/spacebar to activate it in scan mode.
  • Fixed an issue where Narrator would collapse the combo boxes in scan mode when navigating with up and down arrows.
  • Fixed an issue where navigation commands are not executed as expected in a dialog  box when you enter the dialog the second time.
  • Fixed an issue where Narrator find was not working consistently on web pages when using Narrator key + Ctrl + F key combination.

[Input]

  • Fixed an issue where typing with the Japanese and Chinese IMEs may not have performed as expected in certain apps in the last few flights when you had selected the option to use the previous version of the IME. If you are continuing to experience issues with this build installed, please file feedback.
  • Fixed an issue where when inking into a text field, if you were writing in Chinese, certain characters were being perceived as taps and not working.
  • Fixed an issue where inking into a text field while magnifier was running was not working well as the ink was offset.

[Other]

  • Fixed an issue where removing a monitor while connected to a Cloud PC could result in a black screen with only a mouse visible in recent builds.
  • Made some fixes to improve how the Share dialog worked with screen readers, as well as addressing some other accessibility issues.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[General]

  • We’re working on the fix for an issue causing explorer.exe to crash on the login screen when attempting to enter safe mode.

[Start menu]

  • Some apps under All apps on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as a system component.

[Search on the Taskbar]

  • Sometimes the tooltip when mousing over the search box does not match the current search highlight.

[Windows Copilot]

  • You can use Alt + Tab to switch out of Windows Copilot, but not back into it. Windows + C will move focus back to Windows Copilot
  • When first launching or after refreshing Copilot while using voice access you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.

source: Windows Blogs

Aug 20

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25931 (Canary Channel)

Hi all, last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25931 to the Canary Channel.

There are also ISOs for this build – they can be downloaded here.

All upgrade went very smooth here, explorer still crashes from time to time but seems to happen less than with the previous build.

Hpapy upgrades!

What’s new in Build 25931

New features from the Dev Channel

This build includes new features from the Dev Channel such as Unicode Emoji 15 support, voice access is available to use on more areas in Windows such as the Lock screen, and more.

DC location will no longer use NetBIOS\WINS\mailslot-based discovery by default

We have previously announced the deprecation of both Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) and Remote Mailslots (see this blog post here for information on Remote Mailslots). These deprecations are legacy technologies that are no longer secure in today’s environments. As part of these deprecations, DC location in your environment may be affected mainly because many legacy applications still specify short NetBIOS-style domain names when trying to locate a domain controller (DC). To help ease this transition with these deprecations, we are making two improvements to the DC locator algorithm in Windows.

First, we are blocking by default the use of NetBIOS\WINS\mailslot-based methods for DC-discovery. This behavior can be reverted with the use of a new Group Policy setting (BlockNetBIOSDiscovery). In addition to disabling the new BlockNetBIOSDiscovery policy, reversion to default behavior also requires enabling the EnableMailslots SMB configuration option. (You can query and set the EnableMailslots setting using the Get-SmbClientConfiguration and Set-SmbClientConfiguration PowerShell cmdlets.)

PLEASE NOTE: Reversion should be considered only as a temporary measure while more viable, longer-term solutions are explored.

Screenshot of the BlockNetBIOSDiscovery Group Policy setting.
Screenshot of the BlockNetBIOSDiscovery Group Policy setting.

Second, we have added additional client-side logic to aid in the mapping of short NetBIOS-style domain names to DNS domain names. This improvement consists of two parts:

  1. DC locator will now automatically download additional information about the child domains in trusting forests and use that information as part of the discovery algorithm.
  2. As a last-resort fallback, and to accommodate unforeseen situations, forest administrators can manually configure a set of DNS-to-NetBIOS-domain-name mappings (using the Active Directory Domains and Trusts management snap-in) which are also downloaded and used by DC Locator during discovery.
Screenshot of the DC Locator domain name mappings property page in the Active Directory Domains and Trusts snap-in.
Screenshot of the DC Locator domain name mappings property page in the Active Directory Domains and Trusts snap-in.

Additional information is available here for DC locator changes.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

  • Insider Preview Build Expiration: The expiration date for Insider Preview builds flighted to the Canary Channel has been updated to 9/15/2024 starting with Build 25931. Please make sure you are updated to the latest build in the Canary Channel.
  • In addition to the Camera app and Cortana, the Photos app, People app, and Remote Desktop (MSTSC) client can be uninstalled.

[File Explorer]

  • Added more fields to show in the Details pane, including image dimensions for pictures, number of pages for .docx, space used and free information for drives, and many others.

[Dynamic Lighting]

  • You can now instantly sync your Windows accent color with the devices around you with the “Match my Windows accent color” toggle under “Effects” for Dynamic Lighting via Settings > Personalization > Dynamic Lighting.

[Windows Spotlight]

  • After doing an OS update, in certain cases such as using the default Windows 11 background or a solid color – Windows Spotlight may be enabled for you. If you decide you don’t want Windows Spotlight enabled, you can turn it off and in future OS updates it should not be enabled for you again unless you choose to re-enable the experience.

Fixes for known issues

  • We fixed a major issue where you could no longer connect over SMB to a third-party storage device using guest (no username or password) credentials.

source: Windows Blogs

Aug 14

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23521

Hi all, last Thursday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23521 to the Dev Channel.

Public preview of Windows 365 switch is here, have a lok it’s cool! I use it every day

Happy Upgrades!

What’s new in Build 23521

Changes and Improvements

[Windows 365]

  • Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels can participate in the public preview of Windows 365 Switch. Windows 365 Switch provides the ability to easily move between a Windows 365 Cloud PC and the local desktop using the same familiar keyboard commands, as well as a mouse-click or a swipe gesture through Task View on the Windows 11 taskbar. Please read this blog post for all the details on how to participate.
Easily switch between a Windows 365 Cloud PC and the local desktop via Task View.
Easily switch between a Windows 365 Cloud PC and the local desktop via Task View.

[Windows Copilot]

  • Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel who login and are managed by AAD (soon to be Microsoft Entra ID) will see Windows Copilot enabled for them again without the need to enable it via Group Policy Editor.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

  • To make it easier to enable never combined mode on the taskbar, we have updated the settings. You can turn never combined mode on by simply adjusting “Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels” to never. And we provide a separate setting for turning this on for other taskbars (multiple monitor scenarios for example).
Updated settings for never combined mode.
Updated settings for never combined mode.

[Dynamic Lighting]

  • You can now instantly sync your Windows accent color with the devices around you with the “Match my Windows accent color” toggle under “Effects” for Dynamic Lighting via Settings > Personalization > Dynamic Lighting. This improvement started rolling out in last week’s Dev Channel flight.
  • We have added the ability to choose a custom color to light up your devices with.

[Task Manager]

  • We’ve updated the Task Manager settings page to match the design principles of Windows 11. The design has a similar look and feel to the Settings in Windows 11 and provides a cleaner UI separating categories into different sections. Oh, and we updated some dialogs in Task Manager too.
Redesigned Task Manager settings.
Redesigned Task Manager settings.

[Windows Spotlight]

  • After doing an OS update, in certain cases such as using the default Windows 11 background or a solid color – Windows Spotlight may be enabled for you. If you decide you don’t want Windows Spotlight enabled, you can turn it off and in future OS updates it should not be enabled for you again unless you choose to re-enable the experience.

[Search on the Taskbar]

  • Windows Search now uses the Microsoft Bing Search app to return web content and search results. In the European Economic Area (EEA), you can enable installed Microsoft Store apps that implement a web search provider to return web content and search results in Windows Search through Settings.

[Settings]

  • The end task feature under System > For Developers no longer requires Developer Mode to be enabled first before it can be used.
  • [ADDED] Under Settings > Personalization > Device usage, we have added “Development” to the list and toggling it on will launch Dev Home. This matches what is shown in OOBE (“out of box experience”).

[Other]

  • In the European Economic Area (EEA), Windows will now require consent to share data between Windows and other signed-in Microsoft services. You will see some Windows features start to check for consent now, with more being added in future builds. Without consent to share data between Windows and other signed-in Microsoft services, some functionality in Windows features may be unavailable, for example certain types of file recommendations under “Recommended” on the Start menu.

Fixes

[File Explorer]

  • Fixed an issue where you couldn’t drag a file out of an archived folder to extract it with one of the newly supported archive formats.
  • Fix an issue where when extracting one of the newly supported archive formats using the Extract All option in the context menu, it wasn’t working unless Windows Explorer was set as the default for that file type.
  • When trying to extract one of the new archive formats and the file is password encrypted, it will now show a message saying this isn’t currently supported.
  • Fixed a bug where Insiders may have experienced a File Explorer crash when dragging the scroll bar or attempting to close the window during an extended file-loading process.

We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer address bar that began rolling out with Build 23475:

  • Fixed an issue which was causing the search box in File Explorer to not work well with IMEs.
  • Fixed an issue where pasting using the context menu in the address bar wasn’t working (or other context menu actions in the address bar).

We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer Home that began rolling out with Build 23475:

  • Fixed an issue where when trying to scroll with touch on Home might result in everything getting selected.
  • Fixed a white flash in dark theme when switching between Home and Gallery.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

  • Fixed an issue that removed the USB icon and its options from the system tray.
  • Fixed an issue where the titles were missing from taskbar previews when turning on tablet-optimized taskbar while using uncombined taskbar.
  • Fixed an issue where uncombined taskbar’s app indicators weren’t shown correctly after it showed something was being downloaded.
  • Fixed an explorer.exe crash impacting system tray reliability.
  • Fixed an issue where the End Task feature wasn’t working if you tried it when there were multiple windows open of that app.
  • Fixed an issue where using End Task on certain apps would cause other unrelated apps to close.

[HDR Backgrounds]

  • Fixed an issue where your HDR wallpaper might appear washed out although HDR was enabled.
  • Fixed an issue where it wasn’t possible to select .JXL files for your wallpaper slideshow.

[Other]

  • If Get Help isn’t installed, when opening one of the troubleshooters in Settings, it will now prompt you to install it, rather than showing an error about not having an app associated for the action.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[General]

  • We’re investigating reports that the taskbar isn’t loading for some Insiders when logging into their PC after installing this build. See this forum post for more details and workaround options.
  • We’re working on the fix for an issue causing explorer.exe to crash on the login screen when attempting to enter safe mode.

[Start menu]

  • Some apps under All apps on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as a system component.

[Search on the Taskbar]

  • [ADDED] Sometimes the tooltip when mousing over the search box does not match the current search highlight.

[Windows Copilot]

  • You can use Alt + Tab to switch out of Windows Copilot, but not back into it. Windows + C will move focus back to Windows Copilot
  • When first launching or after refreshing Copilot while using voice access you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.

[Input]

  • We’re investigating reports that typing with the Japanese and Chinese IMEs is not working correctly after the last flight.

Widgets Update: Pin widgets board open

We are beginning to roll out an update to Widgets for Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels that lets you pin the widgets board open, so your widgets board is always just a glance away. To pin the board open, simply click the pin icon in the top right corner of the board. Once your board is pinned open, the widgets board will no longer light dismiss.

New pin icon at the top of the widgets board to pin the widgets board open.
New pin icon at the top of the widgets board to pin the widgets board open.

While the board is pinned, you can still close it by:

  • Open the widgets board via the Widgets button on the taskbar.
  • Pressing the ESC key while Widgets is in the foreground.
  • Swiping on the left edge of the screen if you have a touch device.

To unpin the board, select the unpin icon in the top right corner of the board.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets. 

Snipping Tool Update

We are beginning to roll out an update to Snipping Tool (version 11.2306.43.0 and higher) to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels. This update introduces new buttons to edit in Paint for screenshots and edit in Clipchamp for screen recordings.

New buttons in Snipping Tool for editing screen clips in Paint and screen recordings in Clipchamp.
New buttons in Snipping Tool for editing screen clips in Paint and screen recordings in Clipchamp.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub by clicking here.

source: Windows Blogs

Aug 12

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25926

Hi all, last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25926 to the Canary Channel.

Upgrades went smooth this time around on all canary channel devices, some tempory slowdowns are still happeing, explorer crashes from time to time

New Feedbacks posted:

Windows Mobility Center – Presenting Mode causes enter key to open power settings (Feedback Hubhttps://aka.ms/AAm18y8)

Windows Intelligence update fails on 25926 (Feedback Hub: https://aka.ms/AAm1ibf)

The issue where .NET update KB5028949 keeps showing as restart required on my Canary Channel PC, even after I restart has been resolved ins this build (Feedback Hub: https://aka.ms/AAm11vy)

Happy Upgrading!

What’s new in Build 25926

New features from the Dev Channel

This build includes new features from the Dev Channel, such improvements for Windows Ink, improved screen casting experience, local file sharing improvements (was available in last week’s Canary Channel flight), and more.

Changes and Improvements

[Taskbar & System Tray]

  • Notifications will now show as a bell in the system tray and when new notifications come through, the bell will colorize based on your system accent color. When there are no notifications and the clock is visible, the bell will be empty. Notification counts are no longer shown.
Notification bell in the system tray for new notifications and no notifications.
Notification bell in the system tray for new notifications and no notifications.

[Graphics]

  • Starting with Build 25921, we have added options for tuning intensity and color boost to the color filters via Settings > Accessibility > Color Filters. Please note there is an issue in which the labels for the sliders are missing. The first slider is for “Intensity” and the second slider is for “Color Boost”. The labels will appear as expected in a future flight.

Fixes for known issues

  • We fixed the issue causing devices with mobile broadband connectivity to not be able connect to a wireless network due to an issue in which the APN configuration may get lost on upgrade with Build 25921.

Snipping Tool Update

We are beginning to roll out an update to Snipping Tool (version 11.2306.43.0 and higher) to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels. This update introduces new buttons to edit in Paint for screenshots and edit in Clipchamp for screen recordings.

New buttons in Snipping Tool for editing screen clips in Paint and screen recordings in Clipchamp.
New buttons in Snipping Tool for editing screen clips in Paint and screen recordings in Clipchamp.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub by clicking here.

source: Windows Blogs

Aug 05

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23516

Hi all, last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23516 to the Dev Channel.

My Surface Laptop 3 got stuck upgrading at 65% after the reboot for more that 12 hours, after powering it down it succesfully booted & the 2nd try the upgrade went through fine. (Feedback Hub: https://aka.ms/AAlysgu)

All other devices in cluding my Windows 365 cloud PC upgraded smoothly to this build

Happy Upgrades!

August 2023 Bug Bash: Starting today August 2nd, the bug bash begins and will run through Monday August 7th at 11:59pm PDT. The bug bash will span the latest features available in the currently available preview builds across the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels. Check Feedback Hub for quests!

What’s new in Build 23516

Improving the screen casting experience

Casting from your Windows PC allows you to wirelessly extend your display to another nearby PC, TV or other external displays. We are making some improvements that focus on educating people about the Cast feature, improving its discoverability, and simplifying the overall experience in Windows 11. Those improvements include:

  • When doing multitasking activities on your PC such as often switching between windows to complete a task or using Snap Assist to organize your screen space, we will provide the suggestion to Cast via a notification toast.
  • We will now provide inline setup of a PC from within the Cast flyout in Quick Settings, with step-by-step guidance for users to enable:
    • Installation of the optional Wireless Display feature.
    • Discoverability of the PC to other devices, via the “Projecting to this PC” Settings page.
Inline setup of a PC from within the Cast flyout in Quick Settings.
Inline setup of a PC from within the Cast flyout in Quick Settings.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Display and Graphics > Wireless Display and Casting.

HDR Background Support 

You can now set JXR files to be your desktop background and if you have an HDR display, they will render in full HDR.

First – make sure your device has an HDR display or is connected to a HDR display that supports HDR. You can check this by going to Settings > System > Display and checking the HDR toggle.

Next, download an HDR .JXR file to your device. Then right-click on your desktop, choose “Personalize” and then “Background”, and under “Personalize your background” – go and select the .JXR file you downloaded to your device.

[ADDED] You can download example .JXR files here to try this experience out on your HDR-capable device/display.

The background should load on your display. If you have multiple displays attached to your device, the background will show as HDR or SDR depending on each display’s capabilities. When using external displays attached to your device, we recommend running the HDR Calibration app for best picture quality. Please note that for this build, there may be some issues with the HDR version of the desktop background not correctly display on some laptops with HDR.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Background and Wallpaper.

Voice access is now available to use on more areas in Windows

We have added support for voice access to work right when you start your PC. You can use voice access to login to your PC and access other areas on the Lock screen. You can turn on voice access from the accessibility flyout on Lock screen or have it on automatically every time by checking the setting to “Start voice access before you sign in to your PC”  via Settings > Accessibility > Speech.

You can use voice access to login to your PC and access other areas on the Lock screen.
You can use voice access to login to your PC and access other areas on the Lock screen.
New setting to start voice access before you sign in to your PC.
New setting to start voice access before you sign in to your PC.

Note: If you have never tried voice access, we recommend you search for voice access in search on the taskbar and complete the initial setup before trying it first time on the lock screen.

You can follow the instructions on the voice access bar to get your focus on the password field and use your voice to dictate your password or PIN. Alternatively, you can say “show keyboard” to bring up the touch keyboard with number labels on it. You can say the numbers on the keys to enter the  letters associated with it. This will mask the actual password you are entering from being heard by anyone in your vicinity.

The touch keyboard with number labels on it to use voice access to enter a password.
The touch keyboard with number labels on it to use voice access to enter a password.

You can also use other commands such as “show numbers” or “click [element name]” to access other elements on lock screen or UAC prompt.

And voice access now works for apps running with Microsoft Defender Application Guard.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Voice Access.

Narrator Natural Voices in French, Portuguese, English (India) ,German and Korea

We are introducing new natural voices in French, Portuguese, English (India) ,German and Korean that allow Narrator users to comfortably browse the web, read, and write mail, and do more. Natural Narrator voices use modern, on-device text to speech and once downloaded are supported without an internet connection.

To use one of the natural voices, add it to your PC by following these steps:

  1. Open Narrator Settings by pressing the WIN + Ctrl + N hotkey.
  2. Under Narrator’s voice, select the Add button next to Add natural voices.
  3. Select the voice you want to install. You can install all voices, but you must install them separately.
    • The new French voices are Microsoft Denise (Female) and Microsoft Henri (Male)
    • The new Portuguese voices are Microsoft Francisca (Female) and Microsoft Antonio (Male)
    • The new English (India) voices are Microsoft Neerja (Female) and Microsoft Prabhat (Male)
    • The new German voices are Microsoft Katja (Female) and Microsoft Conrad (Male)
    • The new Korean voices are Microsoft SunHi (Female) and Microsoft InJoon (Male)
  4. To start the download of the selected voice, select Install. The new voice will download and be ready for use in a few minutes, depending on your internet download speed.
  5. When the new voice has downloaded, in Narrator settings select your preferred voice from the drop-down menu in Narrator’s voice > Choose a voice.

Note: If your display language is not set to any of the above languages, then in step 3 you will first need to select “Choose a different language” and then select the appropriate language followed by the specific voice.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (Win + F) under Accessibility > Narrator.

Presence Sensing Improvements

For PCs with presence sensors that support attention detection, we are introducing Adaptive Dimming. Now your device can intelligently dim your screen when you look away and undim when you look back. You will find these settings under Settings > Privacy & security > Presence sensing here if your device supports it.

New Adaptive Dimming setting.
New Adaptive Dimming setting.

Wake on Approach, Lock on Leave, Adaptive Dimming are all powered by Presence Sensing in Windows and now can be enabled via the OOBE (“out of box experience”) setup process when choosing your privacy settings for your device. This will give more control of the presence sensing features and app access to presence information when setting up a new device with a compatible sensor.

Enabling Presence Sensing in Windows via OOBE.
Enabling Presence Sensing in Windows via OOBE.

As a reminder, app developers with devices with compatible presence sensors can target apps to request and read user presence information after requesting a human presence capability. Learn more about the API here.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Devices and Drivers > Sensors.

Changes and Improvements

[Windows Copilot]

  • [REMINDER] As of Build 23511, Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel who login and are managed by AAD (soon to be Microsoft Entra ID) will notice that the Windows Copilot Preview is no longer available in this build. This is just a temporary issue. You may enable it temporarily via this policy located here in Group Policy Editor: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Copilot. Please note that this policy name will change in an upcoming flight. The Windows Copilot Preview will be defaulted on in a future flight including support for Bing Chat for Enterprise.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

  • As mentioned here with Build 23481, Microsoft Teams (free) is now pre-pinned to the taskbar in Windows 11. This change continues to roll out so not all Insiders will see it right away. Windows Insiders who click to launch Teams will discover a mini communications experience making it possible to chat, call, and meet with their people within just a click or two. Not only does its compact size make it easy to place the window anywhere on desktop, but you can passively keep tabs on your conversations with the ability to have it visible as they browse the web or connect with your communities. Phone Link integration is also coming soon to Microsoft Teams (free) as well.
New mini communications experience in Microsoft Teams (free).
New mini communications experience in Microsoft Teams (free).

[File Explorer]

  • Added more fields to show in the Details pane, including image dimensions for pictures, number of pages for .docx, space used and free information for drives, and many others.

Fixes

[General]

  • After updating to Build 23511, some Insiders may have seen the Photos app pinned to the taskbar. This issue only occurred with that build and should no longer occur. We apologize for the issue.

[File Explorer]

  • Fixed an issue where the icons displayed in the tabs in File Explorer could become out of sync with the current folder after navigating.
  • Fixed a memory leak in File Explorer with the latest updates which could cause explorer.exe crashes and other issues over prolonged usage.
  • Fixed an underlying issue causing desktop icons to all go blank in the last few flights.
  • Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer to show “Working on it” in an empty folder.
  • Fixed an issue where the text box for naming newly created files or folders on the desktop was showing in the wrong position (far away or way too close) relative to the thumbnail.
  • Fixed an issue where opening the context menu in the previous flight was crashing explorer.exe for some Insiders.
  • Fixed an issue where right clicking items in the navigation pane wouldn’t open a context menu after you changed folders.
  • Fixed an issue where ALT + P and Shift + Alt + P keyboard shortcuts weren’t working when focus was set to one of the images in Gallery.
  • Fixed an issue where Home and Gallery could get stuck in the wrong colors if they were open when changing between light and dark mode.
  • Fixed an issue where thumbnails in Gallery might not load after changing the view to a smaller icon size (for example, medium to small).
  • Fixed an issue where after refreshing Home, actions to pin and unpin favorite files might not work.

We fixed the following issues for Insiders with the modernized details pane in File Explorer:

  • Fixed an issue where the design of the details pane was displaying from left to right instead of right to left when using Hebrew or Arabic display languages.

We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer address bar that began rolling out with Build 23475:

  • The ALT + D, CTRL + L, and F4 keyboard shortcuts should work now to set focus to the address bar.
  • Fixed an issue where typing drive letters, %localappdata%, and certain other things in the address bar wasn’t causing suggested paths to appear in a dropdown.

We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer Home that began rolling out with Build 23475:

  • Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe to crash when opening Home.
  • Fixed an issue where the tooltip would get stuck on the screen when you scrolled Home with touch.
  • Fixed an issue where collapsing and expanding the sections of Home didn’t always work.
  • Made some small adjustments to the size of elements, including reducing the size of the text.
  • Fixed an issue where mouse wheel scrolling wasn’t working if your mouse was hovered over the recommended section of Home.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

  • Fixed multiple explorer.exe crashes impacting taskbar reliability.

[Input]

  • Fixed an issue which was causing certain mouse actions (including resizing windows with mouse) to not work over remote desktop.

[Dynamic Lighting]

  • Fixed an issue where switching user accounts could turn off device LEDs.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[General]

  • [ADDED 8/4] We’re investigating reports that the taskbar isn’t loading for some Insiders when logging into their PC after installing this build. See this forum post for more details and workaround options.
  • We’re working on the fix for an issue causing explorer.exe to crash on the login screen when attempting to enter safe mode.

[Start menu]

  • Some apps under All apps on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as a system component.

[Windows Copilot]

  • You can use Alt + Tab to switch out of Windows Copilot, but not back into it. Windows + C will move focus back to Windows Copilot
  • When first launching or after refreshing Copilot while using voice access you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.

[File Explorer]

  • Insiders may experience a File Explorer crash when dragging the scroll bar or attempting to close the window during an extended file-loading process.

[Windows Ink]

  • Windows Ink does not convert handwriting to text into the main content (e.g., Word documents and Excel spreadsheets) in Microsoft 365 applications.
  • Search boxes in Microsoft 365 applications (e.g., Microsoft Word) might not work correctly.
  • Comment fields in Microsoft 365 applications (e.g., Microsoft Word) might not work correctly.

[Input]

  • We’re investigating reports that typing with the Japanese and Chinese IMEs is not working correctly after the last flight.

source: Windows Blogs

Aug 05

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25921

Hi all, yesterday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25921 to the Canary Channel.

All my Canary channel devices upgraded smoothly to this build, looks like togeter with this build Edge Canary having authentication & out of memory issues got solved too.

ClipSVC crashes randomly (Feedabck Hub: https://aka.ms/AAlysgw)

Installing Edge Canary with winget has a small glitch today: (Feedback Hub: https://aka.ms/AAlydhm)

Winget hash check fails on Edge Canary

Happy Upgrades!

August 2023 Bug Bash: The August 2023 bug bash continues and runs through Monday August 7th at 11:59pm PDT. The bug bash will span the latest features available in the currently available preview builds across the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels. Check Feedback Hub for quests!

What’s new in Build 25921

HDR Background Support 

You can now set JXR files to be your desktop background and if you have an HDR display, they will render in full HDR.

First – make sure your device has an HDR display or is connected to a HDR display that supports HDR. You can check this by going to Settings > System > Display and checking the HDR toggle.

Next, download an HDR .JXR file to your device. Then right-click on your desktop, choose “Personalize” and then “Background”, and under “Personalize your background” – go and select the .JXR file you downloaded to your device.

You can download example .JXR files here to try this experience out on your HDR-capable device/display.

The background should load on your display. If you have multiple displays attached to your device, the background will show as HDR or SDR depending on each display’s capabilities. When using external displays attached to your device, we recommend running the HDR Calibration app for best picture quality. Please note that for this build, there may be some issues with the HDR version of the desktop background not correctly display on some laptops with HDR.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Background and Wallpaper.

Rich thumbnail previews (tooltips) for cloud files on Start

For people logged into a Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise editions with an AAD account (soon to be Microsoft Entra ID), we are providing a richer thumbnail preview (tooltips) when hovering over cloud files such as Word documents under Recommended on the Start menu. For this initial release, richer thumbnail previews will not be available for all files and a later update will enable the experience for more files and for MSA users. Additionally, when right-clicking on cloud file recommendations, there is now an option to quickly share these files.

What will appear only for people logged with an AAD account currently are the richer thumbnail previews for cloud files if available such as Word documents. People who are logged in with an AAD account will see richer thumbnail previews for cloud files that look like this:

Example of richer thumbnail preview when hovering over files such as Word documents under Recommended on the Start menu.
Example of richer thumbnail preview when hovering over files such as Word documents under Recommended on the Start menu.

People who are logged in with a local account or MSA will see this experience when hovering over files (cloud files and local files) under Recommended on the Start menu:

Example updated tooltip when hovering over files without a rich thumbnail preview.
Example updated tooltip when hovering over files without a rich thumbnail preview.

However, what is currently a bug is that for files that do not have rich thumbnail previews that can be provided, it should not be showing the preview area (where the thumbnail preview would be) with the file format icon like this:

Example of a bug when hovering over files under Recommended on Start without rich thumbnail previews to provide.
Example of a bug when hovering over files under Recommended on Start without rich thumbnail previews to provide.

NOTE: This feature previously rolled out to the Dev Channel with this flight and to the Beta Channel with this flight. We adjusted the text in both those blog posts based on feedback from Insiders.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Start menu.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

  • Cortana can be uninstalled in this build. For more on the end of support for Cortana, click here.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

  • Beginning to roll out with this build, Chat is now Microsoft Teams – Free. Microsoft Teams – Free is pinned by default to the taskbar and can be unpinned like other apps on the taskbar. Windows Insiders who click to launch Teams will discover a mini communications experience making it possible to chat, call, and meet with their people within just a click or two. Not only does its compact size make it easy to place the window anywhere on desktop, but you can passively keep tabs on your conversations with the ability to have it visible as they browse the web or connect with your communities.  Phone Link integration is coming soon to Microsoft Teams (free) as well.
New mini communications experience in Microsoft Teams (free).
New mini communications experience in Microsoft Teams (free).

[Task View & Desktops]

  • When navigating between desktops in Task View (WIN + CTRL + left or right arrows), labels will be shown. New sliding animations will also show when you change your desktops using trackpad gestures, touch gestures, hotkeys and by clicking on the Task View flyout.
Labels will appear when switching between desktops.
Labels will appear when switching between desktops.

[Networking]

  • A new asynchronous error-handling feature in the DHCP client service will allow for faster response time for some runs of ipconfig /renew on the Windows command line. Improvements will vary depending on system and network conditions, but ideal cases will improve from ~4.1 seconds to ~0.1 seconds per run.

Known issues

  • After updating to this build, devices with mobile broadband connectivity may not be able connect to a wireless network due to an issue in which the APN configuration may get lost on upgrade. You can either add in the APN configuration manually as a workaround or hold off taking this build as we expect to have the issue fixed in the next flight.

source: Windows Blogs

Jul 29

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23511

Hi all, last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23511 to the Dev Channel.

Fast & Soomt upgrades on all devices here, including Windows 365

August 2023 Bug Bash Coming Soon: Starting on August 2nd, we’ll be having our next bug bash! The bug bash will span the latest features available in preview builds across the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels. Stay tuned for more details in next week’s flight blog posts.

What’s new in Build 23511

More improvements for Windows Spotlight

After trying out different treatments for how Windows Spotlight looks, we’re now rolling out a single Windows Spotlight experience for Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel that includes previewing images at full screen, multiple opportunities to learn more about each image and a minimized experience. To open the Windows Spotlight experience, right-click on the Spotlight icon on the desktop. You can also double click on the icon to directly launch a Bing landing page for more info on each image.

One of the multiple treatments for Windows Spotlight with richer UI showing in the full-screen experience. Clicking anyway on the desktop dismisses the full-screen experience.
One of the multiple treatments for Windows Spotlight with richer UI showing in the full-screen experience. Clicking anyway on the desktop dismisses the full-screen experience.

To enable Windows Spotlight on your PC today, right-click on your desktop and choose “Personalize” and then choose the new Spotlight theme. Alternatively, you can directly enable Windows Spotlight by going to Settings > Personalization > Background and choosing the option under the “Personalize your background” dropdown.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Windows Spotlight.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

  • If a camera streaming issue is detected such as a camera failing to start or a closed camera shutter, a pop-up dialog will appear with the recommendation to launch the automated Get Help troubleshooter to resolve the issue.
Pop-up dialog with the recommendation to launch the automated Get Help troubleshooter to resolve camera issues.
Pop-up dialog with the recommendation to launch the automated Get Help troubleshooter to resolve camera issues.

[Windows Copilot]

  • Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel who login and are managed by AAD (soon to be Microsoft Entra ID) will notice that the Windows Copilot Preview is no longer available in this build. This is just a temporary issue. You may enable it temporarily via this policy located here in Group Policy Editor: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Copilot. Please note that this policy name will change in an upcoming flight. The Windows Copilot Preview will be defaulted on in a future flight including support for Bing Chat for Enterprise.

[Start menu]

  • For people logged into an Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise editions with an AAD account (soon to be Microsoft Entra ID), we are providing a richer preview when hovering over files such as Word documents under Recommended on the Start menu. For this initial release, thumbnails will not be available for all files and a later update will enable the experience for more files and for MSA users. Additionally, when right-clicking on cloud file recommendations, there is now an option to quickly share these files.
Example of richer preview when hovering over files such as Word documents under Recommended on the Start menu.
Example of richer preview when hovering over files such as Word documents under Recommended on the Start menu.
  • Under All apps in the Start menu, Windows 11 system components will now show a “system” label. This change is beginning to roll out and so not all Insiders in the Dev Channel will see it right away.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

  • Notifications will now show as a bell in the system tray and when new notifications come through, the bell will colorize based on your system accent color. When there are no notifications and the clock is visible, the bell will be empty. Notification counts are no longer shown.
Notification bell in the system tray for new notifications and no notifications.
Notification bell in the system tray for new notifications and no notifications.

[File Explorer]

  • Made some changes which should noticeably help improve the performance of the “calculating” phase when sending a large number of files at once in File Explorer to the recycle bin.

[Snap Layouts]

  • We have fixed the bugs that were causing some crashes that resulted in us turning off suggestions in Snap Layouts and are beginning to roll this out again to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Suggestions in Snap Layoutsthat help you instantly snap multiple app windows together. When hovering over the Minimize or Maximize button on an app (or WIN + Z) to launch the layout box, you will see app icons displayed in various layout options to help recommend the best layout option that works best. This experience is beginning to roll out (again) so not all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel will see it right away.
Suggestions in Snap Layouts.
Suggestions in Snap Layouts.

[Settings]

  • We have fixed the bug that could cause some instability which resulted in us disabling the new Settings homepage with Build 23506 last week. We have begun rolling the new Settings homepage out again to Insiders in the Dev Channel.
  • We are beginning to roll out a new option under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Phone Link to disable Phone Link all together in Windows 11. This setting will prevent Phone Link from communicating with your mobile devices.

Fixes

[File Explorer]

  • Fixed an issue where copying files out of large archives or using “Extract All” might have been slower than expected for “solid” .7Z or .rar archives.
  • Fixed an issue where when decompressing some of the newly supported archive format types, the folder names might become gibberish.
  • Fixed an underlying issue where in some cases the context menu background in File Explorer was appearing transparent.

[Notifications]

  • Fixed an issue that was preventing apps from opening when you selected inside a notification popup for that app.
  • Fixed an issue causing Insiders to unexpectedly see a notification suggesting you turn off notifications for an app named NotifyiconGeneratedAumid_*.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

  • Fixed multiple explorer.exe crashes that were impacting taskbar reliability.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing quick settings not to open when selecting the network, volume, and battery icons in the system tray.

[Task View & Desktops]

  • Adjusted the desktops switching animation to ease into the animation a little more.

[Search on the Taskbar]

  • Fixed an issue where search was not actually hiding when set to hide in taskbar settings.

[Windows Ink]

  • Fixed an issue where writing in the address box in Microsoft Edge might not work correctly. Make sure Microsoft Edge is up to date with the latest version.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[General]

  • [NEW] We’re investigating reports that explorer.exe is crashing on the login screen (with an error pop up) when attempting to enter safe mode.

[Start menu]

  • [NEW] Some apps under All apps on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as a system component.

[Windows Copilot]

  • You can use Alt + Tab to switch out of Windows Copilot, but not back into it. Windows + C will move focus back to Windows Copilot
  • When first launching or after refreshing Copilot while using Voice Access you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.

[File Explorer]

  • Insiders may experience a File Explorer crash when dragging the scroll bar or attempting to close the window during an extended file-loading process.
  • [NEW] In some cases, the icons on your desktop may all go blank. If this happens, using the refresh option in the desktop context menu should resolve it.

[Dynamic Lighting]

  • Switching user accounts can turn off device LEDs.

[Windows Ink]

  • Windows Ink does not convert handwriting to text into the main content (e.g., Word documents and Excel spreadsheets) in Microsoft 365 applications.
  • Search boxes in Microsoft 365 applications (e.g., Microsoft Word) might not work correctly.
  • Comment fields in Microsoft 365 applications (e.g., Microsoft Word) might not work correctly.

source: Windows Blogs

Jul 29

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25915

Hi all, last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25915 to the Canary Channel.

Another upgrade containing stuff the 1st showed up in the Dev Channel

All upgrade went fast & smooth here, Happy Upgrading!

August 2023 Bug Bash Coming Soon: Starting on August 2nd, we’ll be having our next bug bash! The bug bash will span the latest features available in preview builds across the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels. Stay tuned for more details in next week’s flight blog posts.

What’s new in Build 25915

New features from the Dev Channel

This build includes new features from the Dev Channel, such as modernized File Explorer Home, Address Bar, and Details Pane, passwordless improvements (passkey), never combined mode on the taskbar, and more.

The New Outlook for Windows is now an inbox app

Starting with this build, the new Outlook for Windows Preview is now an inbox app. With the new Outlook for Windows, you can connect work and personal emails, calendars, and contacts in one secure place. Learn about the new Outlook for Windows here and the most recent set of updates for Insiders here. You can click here to learn more about the future of Mail and Calendar in Windows.

The new Outlook for Windows.
The new Outlook for Windows.

Changes and Improvements

[Graphics]

  • We have improved refresh rate logic to allow different refresh rates on different monitors, depending on the refresh rate for each monitor and content shown on the screen. This will help most with refresh rate-dependent multitasking, like playing a game and watching a video at the same time.
  • While a Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) is selected and Battery saver is also enabled, Windows will remain at the lower refresh rate and not switch to the higher rate until after Battery saver is disabled.

Fixes for known issues

  • The issue that resulted in some Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel on ASUS devices or PCs with ASUS motherboards has been resolved and these Insiders should receive this flight.
  • Ethernet-connected devices will no longer lose network connectivity after updating to this build.

source: Windows Blogs

Jul 23

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23506

Hi all, Last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23506 to the Dev Channel.
ISOs are available for this build – they can be downloaded > here <.

What’s new in Build 23506

Passwordless experience with Windows Hello for Business

With Windows Hello for Business (WHFB), Windows provides organizations with a strong, phish-resistant credential, helping customers move to a passwordless future. Enterprise customers can now set the EnablePasswordlessExperience policy that promotes a user experience on AAD joined machines for core authentication scenarios without requiring a password. This new experience hides passwords from certain Windows authentication scenarios and leverages passwordless recovery mechanisms, such as WHFB PIN reset, if necessary.

Once the policy is set, it removes passwords from the user experience, both for device logon as well as in-session auth scenarios like password managers in a web browser, “Run as” admin or as a different user scenarios, and User Account Control (UAC). Users will navigate through their core authentication scenarios using WHFB in place of passwords. If the user fails to sign in, recovery mechanisms such as PIN reset or web sign-in can be used to help the user recover their credentials without IT helpdesk engagement.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Security and Privacy > Windows Hello PIN. 

Unsafe password copy and paste warnings

Starting in Windows 11, version 22H2, Enhanced Phishing Protection in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen helps protect Microsoft school or work passwords against phishing and unsafe usage on sites and apps. We are trying out a change starting with this build where users who have enabled warning options for Windows Security under App & browser control > Reputation-based protection > Phishing protection will see a UI warning on unsafe password copy and paste, just as they currently see when they type in their password.

Example warning dialog on unsafe password copy and paste.
Example warning dialog on unsafe password copy and paste.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Security and Privacy > Microsoft Defender SmartScreen.

Local File Sharing Improvements

We have made some improvements to the built-in Windows share window and nearby sharing for sharing local files from your PC.

Updated Windows share window with new search box, more suggestion contacts, and Outlook share.
Updated Windows share window with new search box, more suggestion contacts, and Outlook share.

Those improvements include:

  • We have redesigned the Windows share window to better match the Windows 11 design principles.
  • Everyone will now be able to email their files through Outlook directly within the Windows share window. Just click on the Outlook icon under the “Share using” section of the Windows share window.
  • The Windows share window now has a search box so you can now search for contacts across Outlook to share a file and the Windows share window will now display 8-10 suggested contacts to quickly share to – including emailing yourself a file.
  • Instead of a dropdown, you will see a button to turn on nearby sharing.
  • For nearby sharing, you will find your own PCs at the top of discovered devices under “Nearby Share”.
  • Files will share faster from one PC to another using Wi-Fi Direct.
  • And we’ve added “Share” to the context menu in File Explorer in addition to having the share icon at the top of the context menu.

As a reminder, these experiences will work for sharing local files from the desktop, File Explorer, Photos, Snipping Tool, Xbox, and other apps that use the built-in Windows share window.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Share for the Windows share window and under Desktop Environment > Nearby Sharing for nearby sharing.

The New Outlook for Windows is now an inbox app

Starting with this build, the new Outlook for Windows Preview is now an inbox app. With the new Outlook for Windows, you can connect work and personal emails, calendars, and contacts in one secure place. Learn about the new Outlook for Windows here and the most recent set of updates for Insiders here. You can click here to learn more about the future of Mail and Calendar in Windows.

The new Outlook for Windows.
The new Outlook for Windows.

Post-OOBE Experiences

We are trying out several new experiences for after completing OOBE (“out of box experience”) starting with this build. You may see one of these three experiences launched automatically on your device after completing OOBE.

  • If you choose ‘Development Intent’ within the ‘Let’s Customize Your Experience’ page during OOBE, Dev Home will be automatically launched on your device after logging in and reaching the desktop for the first time after OOBE setup.
  • If you choose ‘Development Intent’ within the ‘Let’s Customize Your Experience’ page during OOBE, the Get Started app will be automatically launched on your device after logging in and reaching the desktop for the first time after OOBE setup. The Get Started app will show you a personalized flow that will help you learn more about Dev Home and give you the opportunity to open Dev Home.
  • If you choose to ‘Restore’ your device during OOBE, the Get Started app will be automatically launched on your device after you log into your device for the second time after completing OOBE. The Get Started app will show you a personalized flow that will help you learn about key apps and settings, tell you that Windows has restored on your device and show you how to access your restored apps on Start menu or taskbar.

These experiences will help you learn about new features in Windows 11 and help you complete your device setup. These experiences will only be available to a small subset of Insiders in the Dev Channel at first and you may see different variations of these experiences.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Install and Update > Initial out of box setup.

[ADDED] Auto Color Management (ACM) Expansion

Last fall, we launched Auto Color Management (hardware accelerated system level color management) on select qualifying and specially provisioned SDR displays. Now, Insiders in the Dev Channel will be able to turn ACM on for their SDR displays and have all colors across all Windows apps, whether or not they are color-managed, appear accurately and consistently on every supported display.

To turn ACM on, go to Settings > Display > Advanced display, select correct display and turn on Automatically manage color for apps.

Auto Color Management setting in the Advanced display settings page.
Auto Color Management setting in the Advanced display settings page.

Note: ACM enablement has the following requirements:

  • WDDM driver version 3.0 or greater
  • Supported GPU:
    • AMD:
      • AMD RX 400 Series or later
      • AMD Ryzen processors with Radeon Graphics
    • Intel
      • Integrated: Intel 12th Gen (Alder Lake) or later
      • Discrete: Intel DG1 or later
    • NVIDIA:
      • NVIDIA GTX 10xx or later (Pascal+)
    • There are no hard requirements on the display or connection – ACM can provide benefits even on 8-bit sRGB panels. However, we strongly recommend ACM devices to have panels with a wider-than-sRGB gamut, and optionally 10-bits per color channel or greater.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Display and Graphics > Windows HD Color.

Changes and Improvements

[Windows Copilot]

  • The Windows Copilot Preview, which began rolling out with Build 23493, is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Insiders may need to reboot to have it show up.

[Emoji]

  • With the update of our color font format to COLRv1, Windows is now able to display richer emoji with a 3D like appearance with support coming soon to some apps and browsers. These emoji use gradients to bring the design style that our customers have been asking for. The new emoji will bring more expression to your communications.
Before and after of the updated color format for emoji.
Before and after of the updated color format for emoji.

[Task View & Desktops]

  • [ADDED 7/21] When navigating between desktops in Task View (WIN + CTRL + left or right arrows), labels will be shown. New sliding animations will also show when you change your desktops using trackpad gestures, touch gestures, hotkeys and by clicking on the Task View flyout. These changes are beginning to roll out, so not all Insiders in the Dev Channel will see them right away.
Labels will appear when switching between desktops.
Labels will appear when switching between desktops.

[Voice Access]

  • Voice access is now available via the accessibility flyout on the Lock screen.

[Backup and Restore]

  • In addition to the new Windows Backup app, now you can configure your backup preferences in second-chance out of box experience (SCOOBE), so your apps, settings, creds, and files are backed up in the cloud just the way you want them. You’ll have peace of mind knowing the data you care about is protected and ready for you to restore from any PC.
Configure your backup preferences in second-chance out of box experience (SCOOBE).
Configure your backup preferences in second-chance out of box experience (SCOOBE).

[Settings]

  • We have temporarily disabled the new Settings homepage that began rolling out with Build 23493 due to a bug that could cause some instability on Insider’s PCs. We plan to re-enable and roll this back out once that bug is fixed in a future flight.
  • We’ve added 2 additional energy recommendations under Settings > System > Power & battery > Energy recommendations for turning on dark mode and adjusting refresh rate to conserve energy.
2 additional energy recommendations for turning on dark mode and adjusting refresh rate to conserve energy.
2 additional energy recommendations for turning on dark mode and adjusting refresh rate to conserve energy.

Fixes

[File Explorer]

  • Fixed an issue where explorer.exe might crash when dragging tabs.
  • Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe to crash when opening Gallery.

We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer address bar that began rolling out with Build 23475:

  • Fixed an issue which was causing explorer.exe to crash when trying to access an FTP address.
  • Fixed an issue where selecting the dropdown arrows in the address bar was opening a blank menu in the last flight.

We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer Home that began rolling out with Build 23475:

  • Fixed an issue where File Type icons are displayed in place of file thumbnails for ‘Recommended’ section (applicable to Enterprise users).
  • Fixed an issue where Insiders signed in with an AAD account who tried to navigate the Recommended section on File Explorer Home with the tab key on the keyboard may have experienced an explorer.exe crash.
  • Fixed an issue where if you navigated from another group to the Recommended section using a keyboard, focus will not appear on the group header or files appropriately.
  • Fixed an issue where opening Home was crashing for some Insiders.

We fixed the following issue with commands on recommended files in File Explorer that began rolling out with Build 23403:

  • Fixed an issue where if you clicked on the Share command, it would bring up the Windows share sheet instead of the OneDrive share experience.
  • Fixed an underlying issue believed to be the cause of certain apps hanging when trying to use the open file dialog.

[Notifications]

  • Fixed an issue where the copy button for quickly copying two-factor authentication (2FA) codes in notification toasts was not working as expected.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

  • Fixed an issue where the notification badge on the widgets icon in the taskbar could get out of place.

[Search on the Taskbar]

  • We fixed the issue causing text scaling to not work in the search flyout.

[Dynamic Lighting]

  • Fixed an underlying ctfmon.exe crash (which could impact the ability to type) related to the Dynamic Lighting work.
  • Fixed an issue where all-device settings changes were not propagating to per-device settings.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[Windows Copilot]

  • You can use Alt + Tab to switch out of Windows Copilot, but not back into it. Windows + C will move focus back to Windows Copilot
  • When first launching or after refreshing Copilot while using Voice Access you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.

[Dev Drive]

  • There might be variable performance on different hardware. If you notice slower performance on your machine, please file feedback!

[File Explorer]

  • In some cases, the context menu background in File Explorer may appear transparent.
  • Insiders may experience a File Explorer crash when dragging the scroll bar or attempting to close the window during an extended file-loading process.
  • Copying files out of large archives or using “Extract All” might be slower than expected for “solid” .7Z or .rar archives.
  • Thumbnail loading performance in Gallery for dehydrated cloud files and memory usage in large collections are known issues we are focused on improving. Please capture Performance traces in Feedback Hub for any performance-related issues. Rebuilding your Indexer can help if thumbnails are missing for cloud files; Search for “Indexing Options” and look in Advanced settings to find the rebuild tool.
  • [UPDATE] ALT + D, CTRL + L, and F4 do not consistently set focus to the address bar. We’re investigating.

Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer address bar that began rolling out with Build 23475:

  • Windows Insiders may notice missing craftmanship polish with the modernized address bar and search box. The team greatly appreciates the use of Feedback Hub to help call out important details to address.

[Dynamic Lighting]

  • Switching user accounts can turn off device LEDs.

[Windows Ink]

  • The address box in Microsoft Edge might not work correctly.
  • Windows Ink does not convert handwriting to text into the main content (e.g., Word documents and Excel spreadsheets) in Microsoft 365 applications.
  • Search boxes in Microsoft 365 applications (e.g., Microsoft Word) might not work correctly.
  • Comment fields in Microsoft 365 applications (e.g., Microsoft Word) might not work correctly.

source: Windows Blogs

Jul 15

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25905

Hi all, last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25905 to the Canary Channel.
ISOs are also released for this build – they can be downloaded >here<.

Starting with this build, Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel will notice that the name of the branch shown in the desktop watermark has changed back to RS_PRERELEASE. As a result of this change, Insiders will notice that some features that were previously removed temporarily with the switch over to ZN_RELEASE have now returned – in addition to some new features mentioned below.

A lot of the good stuff that was released to the Dev channel has made it to the Canary cahnnel with this build

What’s new in Build 25905

New features from the Dev Channel

This build includes new features from the Dev Channel, such as Dev Drive, Backup and Restore improvements (Windows Backup), Dynamic Lighting, the Windows App SDK version of File Explorer and Gallery, and more.

Rust in the Windows Kernel

Rust offers advantages in reliability and security over traditional programs written in C/C++.  This preview shipped with an early implementation of critical kernel features in safe Rust. Specifically, win32kbase_rs.sys contains a new implementation of GDI region. While this is a small trial, we will continue to increase the usage of Rust in the kernel. Stay tuned!

[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn’t available to all Insiders in the Canary Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]  

Arm32 UWP App deprecation

Starting in this Insider Preview build in the Canary Channel, we have removed support for Arm32 UWP applications from Windows on Arm, as documented here: Windows 11 Specs and System Requirements. After the OS upgrade, any installed Arm32 applications will no longer launch on your device. Note that this does not affect Arm64 applications.

  • During setup, you will see a message with a list of applications that are currently Arm32 installed on the system.
  • In many cases, the list of impacted applications will be reduced by manually forcing the Microsoft Store to install any pending application updates prior to the OS upgrade. To do this, launch the Microsoft Store application, choose “library”, then click on the “Get Updates” button.
  • After the OS upgrade is complete, to fix any Arm32 applications, you will need to manually uninstall then reinstall those applications from the Microsoft Store. By doing so, you will install a compatible version that will run on your device.

New PostAuthenticationAction support for terminating individual processes in Windows LAPS

Thank you everyone who gave us feedback on the new Windows Local Administrator Password Solution feature which we shipped a few months ago. Several customers pointed out that the new Post Authentication Actions feature (PAA) only handled termination of interactive logon sessions. This meant that PAA was not able to terminate specific individual processes that were launched in an OTS (over-the-shoulder) elevation scenario, for example using runas.exe. We are announcing an improvement with this build that addresses this feedback on that limitation. A new option has been added to the PostAuthenticationActions Group Policy in this Insider Preview build:

Enable the new PostAuthenticationAction setting.
Enable the new PostAuthenticationAction setting.

The new option is described as “Reset the password, logoff the managed account, and terminate any remaining processes”. This new option is basically a superset of the previous “Reset the password and logoff the managed account” option. When the new setting is configured, PAA will first notify and then terminate any interactive logon sessions, followed by enumerating and terminating any remaining processes that are still running under the Windows LAPS-managed local account identity. No notification precedes this termination.

In addition, we’ve greatly expanded the event logging messages that are emitted during post-authentication-action execution, to give you deeper insights into exactly what was done during the operation.

Note: “Reset the password and logoff the managed account” remains the default PAA action.

Please try out this new feature and let us know what you think here on the Windows LAPS feedback page.

SMB Updates [Added 7/13]

Beginning with Build 25905 for the Pro and Education editions of Windows 11, SMB signing is now required by default for all connections. This the same behavior change first added in Build 25381 for the Enterprise editions. This changes legacy behavior, where Windows 10 and 11 required SMB signing by default only when connecting to shares named SYSVOL and NETLOGON and where Active Directory domain controllers required SMB signing when any client connected to them. This is part of a campaign to improve the security of Windows and Windows Server for the modern landscape.

For more information on this change, visit https://aka.ms/SMBSigningOBD

Recover your PC from Windows Update [Added 7/13]

A new Windows Update recovery feature in this build under Settings > System > Recovery and “Fix Problems using Windows Update”. On eligible Insider Channels such as the Canary Channel today, this feature will download and install a repair version of the OS. This operation reinstalls the OS that you have and will not remove any files, settings, or apps. The repair content is displayed on the Windows Update Settings page with the title appended with “(repair version)”. This capability can be useful in many instances but is intended to be used for keeping the device secure and up to date. Devices may need to complete in progress updates prior to this process taking effect.  

Fix Problems using Windows Update option in Settings.
Fix Problems using Windows Update option in Settings.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

  • [ADDED 7/13] Starting with this build, we have adjusted the prerequisites (removal of Modern Standby/HSTI validation and untrusted DMA ports check) for enabling device encryption so that it is automatically enabled when doing clean installs of Windows 11.

[Emoji]

  • With the update of our color font format to COLRv1, Windows is now able to display richer emoji with a 3D like appearance with support coming soon to some apps and browsers. These emoji use gradients to bring the design style that our customers have been asking for. The new emoji will bring more expression to your communications.
Before and after of the updated color format for emoji.
Before and after of the updated color format for emoji.

[Zune]

  • In celebration of Marvel Studio’s Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, we temporarily re-launched Zune.net last month. We also took the opportunity to fix an issue that was causing some challenges in getting the original Zune drivers to install in Windows 11 with this build in the Canary Channel. So now it should be easier to use your (totally unsupported and still discontinued) Zune on Windows 11. Over time, the fix will make its way through the Insider Channels and eventually to all Windows 11 customers. For fun, check out how Scott Hanselman brought a few Zunes back to life.

Microsoft Store Update

Windows Insiders in all channels running version 22306.1401.x.x of the Microsoft Store and higher will see the following improvements rolling out:

More pricing information: To help you with your purchase decisions, you’ll now see information about the lowest price products have dropped to in the past 30 days.

Introducing AI Hub: Explore a new curated section in the Microsoft Store where we will promote the best AI experiences built by the developer community and Microsoft. This is a space where we will educate customers on how to start and expand their AI journey, inspiring them to use AI in everyday ways to boost productivity, spark creativity and so much more.

AI Hub in the Microsoft Store.
AI Hub in the Microsoft Store.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Microsoft Store.

Known issues

  • [NEW] This build will not be offered to some ASUS devices or PCs with ASUS motherboards due to an issue causing a bugcheck when attempting to update to this build.
  • [NEW] Ethernet-connected devices may lose network connectivity after updating to this build. Unplugging the ethernet cable and re-plugging the cable in should resolve the issue.

source: Windows Blogs