TechNine

Jan 06

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26020 (Canary Channel)

By Erik Moreau in Canary Channel, Insiders, Windows, Windows 11

Hi all, 1st 2024 flights are here, last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26020 to the Canary Channel.

What’s new in Build 26020

Extended languages, multi-display support, and custom commands for voice access

Extended language support: We have extended voice access to support other languages such as French (France), French (Canada), German, Spanish (Spain) and Spanish (Mexico).

When voice access is turned on for the first time, you will be prompted to download a speech model to enable on-device recognition of voice data. In case voice access does not find a speech model matching your display language, you can still choose to proceed ahead to use voice access in English (United States).

New languages under settings on the voice access bar.

You can always switch to a different language by navigating to Settings > Language on the voice access bar.

Multi-display support: You can now use all voice access features on multiple displays, including number and grid overlays which were previously unavailable on any display other than the primary one.

The grid overlay feature has been further developed to allow you to not only interact with the screen you are currently using, but also quickly switch to another display. You can also use the drag and drop feature to move files, apps, and documents from one display to another.

You can use either the alphabet or NATO phonetic in your command to shift focus to another display.

After invoking the grid overlay, use to quickly shift to focus to another display. You can use either the alphabet or NATO phonetic in your command; for example, “B” or “Bravo” would both be valid as shown in the above screenshot.

Use mouse grid command to move your mouse to a specific point on a specific display.

You can also use the accelerated command “mouse grid ..” to quickly move your mouse to a specific point on a specific display. In this case we used “mousegrid A 114” as shown in the above screenshot.

Voice shortcuts: We are introducing voice shortcuts or custom commands to enable you to create your very own command. This is currently available if you use voice access in English.

Creating commands that map to single action, such as opening a URL, or a series of actions performed in sequence, is easy. To get started, say “what can I say” and click on the “Voice shortcuts” tab on the left panel, or use the command “show voice shortcuts” to directly launch the voice shortcuts page. Then, click on the Create Command button to begin the process.

New voice shortcuts tab for creating custom commands in voice access.

Create a command by using either voice or any other input modality. Give it a name, select one or multiple actions, fill in the necessary information and then click “Create”. Your command is now ready to be used.

Creating a new custom command to use in voice access.

Select one or multiple actions for a custom command in voice access.

You can view all the voice shortcuts you have created either from the command help page or by using the command “show voice shortcuts”.

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

Natural Voices Previews in Narrator

We are introducing previews for natural voices of 10 new locales launched in September 2023. As a reminder, those natural voices include Chinese, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Mexico), Japanese, English (UK), French, Portuguese, English (India),German and Korean.

These previews will allow the users to listen to the natural voices before downloading the voice model. Natural Narrator voices use modern, on-device text to speech and once downloaded are supported without an internet connection. Please note to listen to the previews, an internet connection is required.

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

Open Narrator Settings by pressing the WIN + CTRL + N hotkey.
Under Narrator’s voice, select the Add button next to Add natural voices.
Select the voice you want to install. You can install all voices, but you must install them separately.
The preview will play automatically once you navigate through the list.
If you like the preview , click on “Download and Install”. The new voice will be downloaded and ready for use in a few minutes, depending on your internet download speed.
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.

When you click on a natural voice for Narrator in Settings, a preview will play automatically.

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

Changes and Improvements

[General]

Starting with this build, the WordPad and People apps will no longer be installed after doing a clean install of the OS. In a future flight, WordPad will be removed on upgrade. WordPad will not be reinstallable. WordPad is a deprecated Windows feature. For more information on the future of the People app, click here.
Steps Recorder will not receive further updates and is planned for removal in a future Windows release. Starting in this build, Steps Recorder (PSR.exe) will display a new banner notification to guide users towards alternative options. We encourage our users to explore other options in Windows 11 such as Snipping tool, Xbox Game bar or Microsoft Clipchamp. For more, see this article.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

For PCs that are plugged in and do not have batteries (such as desktop PCs), when you turn on energy saver, we are trying out a new energy saver icon that is shown in the system tray to indicate energy saver is on. For PCs with batteries, there is no change to the experience, and you will continue to see the leaf icon overlayed on top of the battery icon in the system tray. As a reminder, battery saver is now energy saver with extended capability as of Build 26002.

Energy saver icon shown on the system tray for PCs that do not have batteries.

[Task Manager]

[ADDED] We improved process grouping in the processes page for Task Manager.

[Printing]

We have added the ability to pause and resume print jobs in print queue for printers under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners. This allows you to pause printing when maintenance is required for your printer such as replacing a printer cartridge. Jobs submitted are held by the spooler until the print queue is ‘un-paused’ by clicking resume in Settings. The ability to rename your printer directly here in these settings is coming in a later flight.

Pause and resuming print jobs in print queue for printers in Settings.

[Windows Share]

The Windows share window will now only show apps under “Share using” that are tied to the account you are signed into Windows with – either Microsoft account (MSA) or Microsoft Entra ID (previously Azure Active Directory). If you are signed in with an MSA, you will see Microsoft Teams (free) instead of Microsoft Teams (work or school) and not both for example.
The Windows share window now supports sharing with WhatsApp under the “Share using” section. If you don’t have WhatsApp installed, you can choose to install it from Windows share window directly. Over time, we plan to try this experience out with other apps as well.

[Nearby Sharing]

We are introducing the ability to quickly give your device a more friendly name to identify sharing to and from with nearby share under Settings > System > Nearby sharing.

Give your device a more friendly name to identify sharing to and from with nearby share.

[ADDED 1/4] If you turn on nearby sharing via quick settings or directly in Settings and you have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off, it will turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on so nearby sharing will work as expected. If you turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, it will also turn off nearby sharing.

Fixes for known issues

Fixed an issue causing Settings to crash when navigating to Power & Battery in the previous build.
Fixed an underlying issue causing the details pane in File Explorer to unexpectedly take keyboard focus sometimes.
Copilot will no longer rearrange or push your desktop icons when launched.
Fixed an issue where uncombined taskbar icons were cutting off the title instead of adjusting with the title length.
Fixed an issue causing Steps Recorder to not launch in the last couple builds.
We fixed the issue causing a loading delay when the Microsoft Start feed is reenabled in Widgets.
We fixed the issue causing the Widgets Board to not automatically close and reopen when enabling or disabling feeds.

Known issues

[General]

[REMINDER] Some popular games may not work correctly on the most recent Insider Preview builds in the Canary Channel. Starting with Build 26016, more games have been impacted by several bugs – if you’re having any issues please submit feedback in Feedback Hub.
We’re investigating an issue where the print queue is showing a messaging saying it can’t find the app when opened. As a workaround, you can launch the print queue from the Run dialog (WIN + R) and entering: explorer.exe shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.Windows.PrintQueueActionCenter_cw5n1h2txyewy!App.
We’re investigating an issue causing a small number of Insiders to not be able to open Settings after Build 26010 and higher. If you are impacted, please see this forum post for a workaround.

[Widgets]

Announcements from the Microsoft Start feed are still shown on the taskbar after the feed is hidden.
Keyboard navigation from settings subpages back to the top-level Settings page is broken.
Incorrect spacing and fonts used in some settings pages.

[ADDED 1/4] Microsoft Store Update

Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels running version 22312.xxxx.x of the Microsoft Store and higher will see the following improvement rolling out:

Launch Instant Arcade games while browsing: In recent months, we announced Instant Arcade where you can play some games without the need to download them. Now, you’ll be able to launch these games directly while browsing or in search results. Simply hover over the instant arcade game and click the Play Now button.

Notifications for app installations: When you initiate a download from the Microsoft Store, we’ll send you a notification when your app is installed and ready to use. This can be toggled off in the store’s settings page.

Notification from Store when your app is installed and ready to use.

Performance improvements when installing from search or browsing: We made things a little faster when you install products from the search results page or while browsing. Animations are smoother and more seamless.

source: Windows Blogs

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Dec 16

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26016 (Canary Channel)

By Erik Moreau in Canary Channel, Insiders, Windows, Windows 11

Hi all, last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26016 to the Canary Channel.

This will be the last Canary Channel flight until January 2024.

ISOs for this build are available: they can be downloaded here.

Happy Holidays & see you next year!

What’s new in Build 26016

Windows Protected Print Mode

Windows protected print mode lets your PC exclusively print using the Windows modern print stack which is designed to work with Mopria certified printers only. With Mopria certified printers, users no longer must depend on third-party software installers as well as get additional security benefits. Print devices will “just work” resulting in a safe and streamlined installation and printing process. Read more about the security benefits of switching to IPP printing here.

Here is how you can enable Windows protected print mode. These instructions are also published in a Quest for Insiders in Feedback Hub:

Press Start.
Open the Local Group Policy Editor.
Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Printers.
Right click on ‘Configure Windows protected print’ and click ‘Edit’.
Select the ‘Enabled’ radio button.
Click ‘Apply’ and click ‘OK’.
Windows protected print is now enabled.

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

Changes and Improvements

[Taskbar & System Tray]

Added an icon to the “Diagnose network problems” entry when right clicking the Wi-Fi icon in the taskbar.

[Settings]

[ADDED] We’re beginning to rollout a change that renames the Phone Link settings page under Settings > Bluetooth & devices to Mobile devices. As part of this change, a new section will appear for allowing a PC to access mobile devices – this section currently does not introduce anything new yet and we’ll have more to share in a future flight.

Fixes for known issues

Fixed an issue causing WinRE (Windows Recovery Environment) to not render correctly in the previous flight.
Fixed an issue causing keyboard shortcuts to not work on the desktop – including using the delete key to delete files off of your desktop, CTRL key combos to take action on desktop icons, or using ALT + F4 on the desktop to open the shutdown dialog.
Fixed an underlying issue causing the details pane in File Explorer to unexpectedly take keyboard focus sometimes.
Fixed an issue causing it to not be possible to save changes to shortcuts (.lnk) in the previous flight, as they would cite something was using the process.
We did some work to help improve the performance of loading Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
Fixed an issue where Settings was crashing when attempting to navigate to the “System and Reserved” section under System > Storage.

Known issues

[General]

[REMINDER] Some popular games may not work correctly on the most recent Insider Preview builds in the Canary Channel. Please be sure to submit feedback in Feedback Hub on any issues you see with playing games on these builds.
We’re investigating an issue where the print queue is showing a messaging saying it can’t find the app when opened.
[NEW] We’re investigating an issue causing a small number of Insiders to not be able to open Settings after the previous flight. If you are impacted, please see this forum post for a workaround.
[NEW] Navigating to Settings > Power will crash Settings on this build. As a workaround, you can use commands to configure power modes on your device. powercfg /overlaysetactive will set the active user configured power mode, powercfg /q OVERLAY_SCHEME_CURRENT will get the active user configured power mode. For more information on using powercfg to adjust these settings, click here.

[Widgets]

You may experience a loading delay when the Microsoft Start feed is reenabled.
Announcements from the Microsoft Start feed are still shown on the taskbar after the feed is hidden.
The Widgets Board should automatically close and reopen when enabling or disabling feeds.
Keyboard navigation from settings subpages back to the top-level Settings page is broken.
Incorrect spacing and fonts used in some settings pages.

source: Windows Blogs

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Dec 16

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23606 (Dev Channel)

By Erik Moreau in Dev Channel, Insiders, Windows, Windows 11

Hi all, last Wednesday Microsof released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23606 to the Dev Channel.

This will be the last Dev Channel flight until January 2024.

ISOs for this build are available: they can be downloaded here.

Happy Holidays & see you next year!

Changes and Improvements

[General]

Windows 11 is transitioning from Windows Speech Recognition (WSR) to voice access. WSR is being deprecated. A dialog will pop up when WSR is opened directing you to try voice access and we have also added a banner under Settings > Accessibility > Speech as well. Voice access, our new assistive technology in Windows 11, uses on-device speech recognition, enabling control of your PC and authoring text without an internet connection. It will support multiple languages and custom commands in a future update. We recommend WSR users try and start using voice access today.

Dialog directing you to try voice access when opening Windows Speech Recognition.

[Settings]

[ADDED] We’re beginning to rollout a change that renames the Phone Link settings page under Settings > Bluetooth & devices to Mobile devices. As part of this change, a new section will appear for allowing a PC to access mobile devices – this section currently does not introduce anything new yet and we’ll have more to share in a future flight.

Fixes

[File Explorer]

Fixed an underlying issue causing the details pane in File Explorer to unexpectedly take keyboard focus sometimes.
Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer to crash when accessing or scrolling Gallery.

[Input]

Fixed a high hitting tabtip.exe crash when trying to use pen input in the previous flight.

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

**[Copilot in Windows*]**

When first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.

[Widgets]

You may experience a loading delay when the Microsoft Start feed is reenabled.
Announcements from the Microsoft Start feed are still shown on the taskbar after the feed is hidden.
The Widgets Board should automatically close and reopen when enabling or disabling feeds.
Keyboard navigation from settings subpages back to the top-level Settings page is broken.
Incorrect spacing and fonts used in some settings pages.

source: Windows Blogs

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Dec 09

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23601 (Dev Channel)

By Erik Moreau in Dev Channel, Insiders, Windows, Windows 11

Hi all, last Thursday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23601 to the Dev Channel.

Some nice updates to Windows 365 boot & switch

Happy Upgrading!

What’s new in Build 23601

New features and improvements for Windows 365 Boot

The following improvements are beginning to roll out for Windows 365 Boot. (Local PC and Cloud PC should be on the same build.)

Dedicated mode for Windows 365 Boot: We are now launching a new mode for Windows 365 Boot – dedicated mode. You can now boot to your Windows 365 Cloud PC from your designated company-owned device. You will be able to seamlessly login to your Windows 365 Cloud PC from Windows 11 login screen using password-less authentication methods like Windows Hello for Business. The new dedicated mode also comes with fast account switcher experience to effortlessly switch profiles to login in, personalized experience with your username and password, display picture on lock and login screen, remember your username, etc.

Login screen showing fast account switching with Windows 365 Boot.

[UPDATED] When this blog post was originally published, it referred to the above change as “personal mode” however it should be dedicated mode.

Customized company logo and name for Windows 365 Boot: In shared mode, organizations can now customize the login page to include their company branding from Intune.

Example of customized logo and name on the login screen.

Fail fast mechanism for Windows 365 Boot: You no longer need to wait for the sign in process to the Cloud PC to complete only to find out Windows 365 Boot failed due to network issues or incomplete setup. The smart logic proactively informs users to resolve network issues or complete app setup so users can experience a smooth login to their Cloud PC.

Notification when there are network issues trying to connect.

Manage local PC settings through Windows 365 Boot: With this feature, it is now easier for you to access and manage sound, display, and other device specific settings of their local PC directly from your Cloud PC in under Windows 365 Boot.

Button to open local PC settings while in Windows 365 Boot.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (Win + F) under Windows 365.

New features and improvements for Windows 365 Switch

The following improvements are beginning to roll out for Windows 365 Switch. (Local PC and Cloud PC should be on the same build.)

Improved disconnect experience for Windows 365 Switch: You can now disconnect from their Cloud PC directly from their local PC. This can be done by going to Local PC > Task view > Right click on the Cloud PC button > Disconnect. We have also added tooltips on disconnect and sign-out options in the Cloud PC Start menu so that you can differentiate between these functionalities.

Disconnect experience for a Cloud PC as shown in Task view.

Desktop indicators to differentiate between Cloud PC and local PC for Windows 365 Switch: You will now see the term “Cloud PC” and “Local PC” on the desktop indicator when you switch between your respective PCs.

Gracefully handling increased connection time for Windows 365 Switch to Frontline Cloud PC: You will now see updates regarding the Cloud PC connection status and the connection timeout indicator while waiting on the connection screen. In case there is an error, you will now be able to copy the correlation ID using the new copy button in the error screen for quicker resolution.

Text indicating the Connection status on the connection screen.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (Win + F) under Desktop Environment > Switch to Cloud PC (From Task view).

Improving discoverability of screen casting in Windows 11

Casting from your Windows PC allows you to wirelessly extend your display to another nearby PC, TV or other external displays. After trying some improvements to this experience out with Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel with Build 23516, we’re making some additional refinement to those improvements that focus on educating users about the Cast feature and improving its discoverability 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 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.

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

New widgets board settings

We’ve updated the widget settings experience, providing more ways for users to customize their widgets board experience. One of the new settings enables you to just show widgets on your widgets board and another makes it easier for you to discover how to personalize your feed content.

The new settings experience also allows you to select the account you want to use for your Microsoft Start powered widgets and feeds. This means you are no longer limited to using the account you used to sign into Windows to drive those experiences, just like your other app powered widgets. You can easily manage the account used by Microsoft Start by navigating to ‘Microsoft Start’ settings under the ‘Personalize your content’ section in your widgets board settings. This change allows you to further personalize the experience to your preferences. The new settings experience is not limited by region.

[We are beginning to roll this out to Windows Insiders in the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels this week, so the experience isn’t available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback before pushing it out to everyone.]

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

Changes and Improvements

[General]

Starting early next week, Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel on Build 23601 will be prompted to reboot to install Windows Configuration Update (KB1234567). Windows Configuration Updates are what we use to new features via Controlled Feature Rollout (CFR) technology. Windows Configuration Update (KB1234567) does not enable any new features as we’re testing the delivery of these updates via our servicing pipeline, and the reboot prompt to install them. After rebooting to install this update, it will be listed under “Other Updates” under Settings > Windows Update > Update History.

**[Copilot in Windows*]**

We are trying out the ability to “undock” Copilot in Windows with Windows Insiders. Just click the new icon to unpin the Copilot panel at the top right in the header. While undocked, Copilot can appear above or below other apps in Windows while maintaining its fixed position on the desktop. This allows users to access Copilot while minimizing disruption to other user activities. Additionally, can resize the Copilot window for a more comfortable experience. Simply click-and-drag the edge of the Copilot window to adjust the width to your needs.

Click the new icon to unpin the Copilot panel at the top right in the header to undock Copilot.

We are trying out a change where when swiping from the right edge of the desktop on a touch display will open Copilot instead of notifications.

[Windows Share]

The Windows share window now supports sharing with WhatsApp under the “Share using” section. If you don’t have WhatsApp installed, you can choose to install it from Windows share window directly. Over time, we plan to try this experience out with other apps as well.

[Nearby Sharing]

We are introducing the ability to quickly give your device a more friendly name to identify sharing to and from with nearby share under Settings > System > Nearby sharing. This change originally began rolling out with Build 23545, but we are re-rolling it out with improvements to the experience. Let us know what you think.

[Narrator]

Narrator users can now use voice access to open applications, dictate text and interact with elements on the screen using their voice. Narrator users can use voice access to give Narrator commands using their voice . For e.g., “speak faster”, “read next line”, etc. To get started, search for “voice access” in Windows search and set it up.

Fixes

**[Copilot in Windows*]**

Fixed an issue that was causing full screen apps to minimize on secondary monitors when launching Copilot.
[ADDED] Copilot will no longer rearrange or push your desktop icons when launched.

[Start menu]

Fixed an issue causing the Recommended section to appear blank for some Insiders.

[File Explorer]

Fixed an issue impacting explorer.exe reliability.

[Taskbar]

Fixed an issue where uncombined taskbar icons were cutting off the title instead of adjusting with the title length.

[Task Manager]

When creating a dump file for a process, the dump file location should be selectable now, so you can copy it out.

[Settings]

Fixed an issue where if you go to System > Nearby Sharing it was crashing 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

**[Copilot in Windows*]**

When first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.

[Widgets]

[NEW] The Microsoft 365, Outlook Calendar, and To Do widgets get stuck in an error state when the Microsoft Start feed is disabled. FIXED as of 12/8.
[NEW] You may experience a loading delay when the Microsoft Start feed is reenabled.
[NEW] Announcements from the Microsoft Start feed are still shown on the taskbar after the feed is hidden.
[NEW] The Widgets Board should automatically close and reopen when enabling or disabling feeds.
[NEW] Keyboard navigation from settings subpages back to the top-level Settings page is broken.
[NEW] Incorrect spacing and fonts used in some settings pages.

Notepad Update

We are rolling out an update for Notepad (version 11.2311.29.0) to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels that introduces the following improvements:

Edit with Notepad: Easily access Notepad for file modifications directly from File Explorer. Just right-click on any file or multiple files in File Explorer to find the [Edit with Notepad] option in the context menu, a quick and streamlined way to open and edit files in Notepad.

New Edit with Notepad option in the context menu in File Explorer.

Character Count: Keep track of your document’s length with the new character count display in the status bar. When text is selected, the status bar shows the character count for both the selected text and the entire document. If no text is selected, the character count for the entire document is displayed, ensuring you always have a clear view of your document’s length.

Character count for selected text in Notepad.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Notepad.

Microsoft Store Update

Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels running version 22311.xxxx.x of the Microsoft Store and higher will see the following improvement rolling out:

Install as you browse: Introducing another quick way to get your favorite products: you can now install directly while browsing. Simply browse through the Store’s Home, Apps, or Games pages and hover over a product and click the install button. There are now fewer clicks to dive into new apps.

Install an app directly as you browse in the Microsoft Store.

Improving discoverability of instant games: A few months ago, the Microsoft Store introduced games that you can play without downloading. We’re making it easier to discover these games by having a dedicated page you can browse.

Performance while browsing: We’ve made performance improvements in the Microsoft Store that will make it smoother for you to browse and scroll through various pages.

source: Windows Blogs

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Dec 09

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26010 (Canary Channel)

By Erik Moreau in Canary Channel, Insiders, Windows, Windows 11

Hi all, last Thursday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26010 to the Canary Channel.

All my devices upgraded smoothly, heared some have issue with the settings app post upgrade

Happy Upgrading!

New widgets board settings

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

Changes and Improvements

[General]

The Tips app is removed after updating to Build 26002 and higher. The Tips app is deprecated.

**[Copilot in Windows*]**

We are trying out the ability to “undock” Copilot in Windows with Windows Insiders. Just click the new icon to unpin the Copilot panel at the top right in the header. While undocked, Copilot can appear above or below other apps in Windows while maintaining its fixed position on the desktop. This allows users to access Copilot while minimizing disruption to other user activities. Additionally, can resize the Copilot window for a more comfortable experience. Simply click-and-drag the edge of the Copilot window to adjust the width to your needs.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

After trying out a scrollable view of quick settings with some Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel starting with Build 25967, we’re beginning to roll this out again with some slight refinements. This new scrolling view of quick actions allows you to rearrange the set of quick settings and provides better usability and discoverability for the user.

[Task Manager]

The Task Manager settings page now has Mica material.

[Settings]

Optional features previously listed under Settings > Apps has moved to its own page under Settings > System.

Fixes for known issues

Fixed an issue which was causing the restart button to be missing in Settings > Windows Update, or for that settings page to not load at all with the previous flight. If you are on Build 26002 and encounter this trying to upgrade to Build 26010, you can reboot by clicking the Windows Update icon in the system tray or open Start and reboot from the power button there.
Fixed an issue where attempting to rebooting into safe mode would hang on the boot logo.
Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to experience an increase in bugchecks in the last two flights.
Fixed a high hitting taskhostw.exe crash in the last flight which some Insiders were seeing on their PCs.
Made some improvements to help address an issue where the background could be seen jumping when switching between desktops.
Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer to revert to the previous design and opening the context menu to crash explorer.exe for some Insiders.

Known issues

[General]

[REMINDER] Some popular games may not work correctly on the most recent Insider Preview builds in the Canary Channel. Please be sure to submit feedback in Feedback Hub on any issues you see with playing games on these builds.
[NEW] We’re investigating an issue where keyboard shortcuts are not working on the desktop – including using the delete key to delete files off of your desktop, CTRL key combos to take action on desktop icons, or using ALT + F4 on the desktop to open the shutdown dialog. As a workaround for the former, please use the Desktop folder within File Explorer.
[NEW] We’re investigating an issue where opening the print queue is showing a messaging saying it can’t find the app.
[ADDED] We’re aware of issues with WinRE (Windows Recovery Environment) not rendering correctly. A fix is coming in a future flight.

[Widgets]

[NEW] The Microsoft 365, Outlook Calendar, and To Do widgets get stuck in an error state when the Microsoft Start feed is disabled. FIXED as of 12/8.
[NEW] You may experience a loading delay when the Microsoft Start feed is reenabled.
[NEW] Announcements from the Microsoft Start feed are still shown on the taskbar after the feed is hidden.
[NEW] The Widgets Board should automatically close and reopen when enabling or disabling feeds.
[NEW] Keyboard navigation from settings subpages back to the top-level Settings page is broken.
[NEW] Incorrect spacing and fonts used in some settings pages.

Windows Server Preview

With Windows Server Preview Build 26010, we are introducing the ability to receive Server flights just like on client (desktop). To set up flighting on Server, just navigate to Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program to opt in your device. Flighting will only be available for the Canary Channel and flights for Server will begin in early 2024 so you won’t receive any new builds until then. Our intention is to flight the same builds as client (desktop) for Server flights but the schedule in which we release Server flights might differ slightly (for example – Server releases bi-weekly). Flighting for Server only applies to the Desktop Experience only. [UPDATE 12/8] Windows Server Preview Build 26010 is now live, please check out this post for all the details.

Notepad Update

We are rolling out an update for Notepad (version 11.2311.29.0) to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels that introduces the following improvements:

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Notepad.

Microsoft Store Update

Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels running version 22311.xxxx.x of the Microsoft Store and higher will see the following improvement rolling out:

Performance while browsing: We’ve made performance improvements in the Microsoft Store that will make it smoother for you to browse and scroll through various pages.

source: Windows Blogs

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Dec 02

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26002 (Canary Channel)

By Erik Moreau in Canary Channel, Insiders, Windows, Windows 11

Hi all, last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26002 to the Canary Channel.

We finally crossed the magic 26000 build number, with some nice additions

Refresh button in the Wireless networks fly-out is great! No more turning off the adapter & back on a again to refresh the list works quite fast too.

Upgrades went fine, olny after upgrading the 1st full shutdown triggered a ton of re-authentication accros my accounts, looks reloved now.

Make sure you test the enrgy saving mode, seems a bit to performace limiting to me when multitasking. will re-evaluate to be sure.

Happy Upgrades!

What’s new in Build 26002

Energy Saver

Starting with this build (Build 26002), we are introducing energy saver, which extends and enhances battery saver. It is an easy way to extend battery life and reduce energy use by trading off some system performance. It can be toggled on and off via Quick Settings in the system tray or configured to run automatically whenever the device reaches a certain battery percentage. While optimized to extend battery life, energy saver will be available when PCs are plugged in (this includes desktop PCs) for those aiming to conserve energy all the time.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (Win + F) under Power & Battery > Energy saver.

Changes and Improvements

[Taskbar & System Tray]

We’re trying out a change that improves the overall performance and responsiveness of Quick Settings in the system tray.
We’re making it easier to manage VPN in Quick Settings. If you have a single VPN, a new split toggle lets you turn it on and off with a single click. If you have multiple VPNs, we’ve made some changes to the list to reduce the time it takes to start a connection.
We are beginning to roll out a new refresh button on the Wi-Fi Quick Settings flyout so you can now refresh the list of wireless networks available. There is also indication of scan progress to help you find nearby networks if the first scan does not reveal the one you are looking for.

[Settings]

This update starts the roll out of account-related notifications for Microsoft accounts on the Settings homepage. A Microsoft account connects Windows to your Microsoft apps. The account backs up all your data and helps you manage your subscriptions. You can also add extra security steps to keep you from being locked out of your account. This feature displays notifications across the Start menu and Settings. You can manage Settings notifications in Settings > Privacy & security > General.

[Settings]

Removed colored backplates from app icons in Settings > Apps > Installed apps, as well as Settings > System > Notifications. This is an early implementation with more fixes on the way in future flights.

Fixes for known issues

Fixed an issue which was causing installation of some apps, including Phone Link, to fail with error 0x87AF0813 in the previous flight.
Fixed an underlying issue in recent Canary Channel builds where the Microsoft Store was getting stuck when trying to check for and install app updates.
Fixed an issue causing Settings to crash when navigating to Bluetooth & Devices > Touchpad.
Fixed an issue which was causing File Explorer to crash on launch for people using a non-default regional sorting option.

Known issues

[REMINDER] Some popular games may not work correctly on the most recent Insider Preview builds in the Canary Channel. Please be sure to submit feedback in Feedback Hub on any issues you see with playing games on these builds.
[NEW] After Build 26002 is done downloading and is ready to restart to finish the installation, the restart button is missing from the Windows Update Settings page. You can reboot by clicking the Windows Update icon in the system tray or open Start and reboot from the power button there. After installing Build 26002, Windows Update settings page may not load correctly, but if you close Settings and re-open (or reboot) and navigate to the Windows Update settings page it should load again.
We’re working on a fix for an issue where attempting to reboot into safe mode hangs on the boot logo.

source: Windows Blogs

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Dec 02

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23595 (Dev Channel)

By Erik Moreau in Dev Channel, Insiders, Windows, Windows 11

Hi all, Last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23595 to the Dev Channel.

Copilot moves to the lower right corner and muliti monitor support nice!

1st Azure AD to Entra renames showing up in the OS.

All upgrade went fine here, no instant issues detected.

Happy Upgrading!

Changes and Improvements

**[Copilot in Windows*]**

We are making a change where the Copilot icon is shown on the right side of the system tray on the taskbar to make the entry point to Copilot more clear and easily accessible by being closer to where the Copilot pane opens. As part of this change, we have defaulted the “show the desktop” behavior for the far-right corner of the taskbar to off and this can be re-enabled in the taskbar behaviors section under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar (you can simply right-click on the taskbar to get to this). [UPDATE 11/30] This is just beginning to roll out to Insiders in the Dev Channel so not every will see this change right away.

The Copilot on the right side of the system tray on the taskbar.

We are beginning to re-rollout the change previously documented with Build 23570 that introduces support for Copilot in Windows to be used across multiple monitors. Simply press the Copilot button on the taskbar on whichever monitor you want Copilot to show on or use the WIN + C shortcut to show Copilot on the last monitor that it was visible on. If you are using a keyboard, you can use the WIN + T keyboard shortcut to put the keyboard focus on the taskbar and navigate to the Copilot taskbar button to show Copilot on any monitor.

[Windows Share]

If you’re signed in with a Microsoft Entra ID, in addition to being able to share to your Microsoft Teams (work or school) contacts, you can also now share directly to specific Microsoft Teams Channels and groups chats as well directly within the Windows share window.

[Windows Ink]

We are expanding the ability to use digital handwriting (inking) in some edit boxes for Windows Ink to the following languages and locales: Chinese Simplified (People’s Republic of China), English (Australia), English (Canada), English (India), English (United Kingdom), French (Canada), French (France), German (Germany), Italian (Italy), Japanese (Japan), Korean (Korea), Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Mexico), and Spanish (Spain). This also includes more accurate recognition technology, gestures to delete, select, join, and split words and also gesture to insert a new line.

[Nearby Sharing]

We’re beginning to roll out a change where you will be able to discover and share files with their Android devices in discoverable mode through Bluetooth under Nearby Share in the Windows share window.

[Task Manager]

We improved process grouping in the processes page for Task Manager.

[Settings]

This update starts the roll out of account-related notifications for Microsoft accounts on the Settings homepage. A Microsoft account connects Windows to your Microsoft apps. The account backs up all your data and helps you manage your subscriptions. You can also add extra security steps to keep you from being locked out of your account. This feature displays notifications across the Start menu and Settings. You can manage Settings notifications in Settings > Privacy & security > General.
Xbox Game Bar is now Game Bar under Settings > Gaming.
We’re beginning to update references to Azure Active Directory (AAD) to Microsoft Entra ID in Settings.
[ADDED] System Components currently listed in Settings > Apps > Installed Apps page, have moved to its own page under Settings > System > System Components.

Fixes

[Desktops]

Fixed an issue that was causing custom wallpapers to shift when switching desktops.

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

[Start menu]

[NEW] We’re working on the fix for an issue causing the recommended section to be blank for some Insiders.

**[Copilot in Windows*]**

When first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows 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

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Nov 18

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25997 (Canary Channel)

By Erik Moreau in Canary Channel, Insiders, Windows, Windows 11

Hi all, last Wednesday Microsoft today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25997 to the Canary Channel.

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

Upgrades felt a bit more work post restart phase, took about 3 minutes per device, they did all complete successfully

Devices with Application Guard active did show an error at 1st logon & after hybernate or reboot
Feedback Hub: https://aka.ms/AAnoklt

I am excited for the upcoming 26xxx build, which might be ready next week. It seems like a significant achievement that we have accomplished.

Changes and Improvements

[Windows Share]

If you’re signed in with a Microsoft Entra ID, your Microsoft Teams (work or school) contacts will appear in the Windows share window to quickly share to.

[Settings]

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 for known issues

Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see the latest builds unexpectedly fail to install with 0x80004005.
Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see an increase in bugchecks after upgrading to the previous build.
Fixed an issue where the context menu in File Explorer, as well as the command bar dropdowns, might go transparent sometimes.

Known issues

[REMINDER] Some popular games may not work correctly on the most recent Insider Preview builds in the Canary Channel. Please be sure to submit feedback in Feedback Hub on any issues you see with playing games on these builds.
We’re working on a fix for an issue where attempting to reboot into safe mode hangs on the boot logo.
Attempting to navigate to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Touchpad on this build will crash Settings.

source: Windows Blogs

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Nov 18

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23590 (Dev Channel)

By Erik Moreau in Dev Channel, Insiders, Windows, Windows 11

Hi all, last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23590 to the Dev Channel.

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

The updates were successful on all the devices, and it is pleasant to have more voice options for narrator.

What’s new in Build 23590

Natural Voices Previews in Narrator

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

Open Narrator Settings by pressing the WIN + CTRL + N hotkey.
Under Narrator’s voice, select the Add button next to Add natural voices.
Select the voice you want to install. You can install all voices, but you must install them separately.
The preview will play automatically once you navigate through the list.
If you like the preview , click on “Download and Install”. The new voice will be downloaded and ready for use in a few minutes, depending on your internet download speed.
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.

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

Enhanced image consumption experience in Narrator

We are improving the image consumption experience with Narrator. There are two major changes:

We have introduced a new keyboard command for navigating between the images/graphics on a screen/page. Now, you can use the keys “G” or “Shift + G” to navigate forward or backwards between images in Scan mode (Narrator key + spacebar).
Recognition of text in images, including handwriting, is improved along with improvements to overall image descriptions. You can try the enhanced experience by navigating to the image and pressing Narrator key + CTRL + D key combination when the focus is on an image. This feature requires an active internet connection, and the setting to get Image Descriptions must be enabled in Narrator Settings.

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

Changes and Improvements

[General]

Steps Recorder will not receive further updates and is planned for removal in a future Windows release. Starting in this build, Steps Recorder (PSR.exe) will display a new banner notification to guide users towards alternative options. We encourage our users to explore other options in Windows 11 such as Snipping tool, Xbox Game bar or Microsoft Clipchamp. For more, see this article.

[Windows Share]

The Windows share window will now only show apps under “Share using” that are tied to the account you are signed into Windows with – either Microsoft account (MSA) or Microsoft Entra ID (previously Azure Active Directory). If you are signed in with an MSA, you will see Microsoft Teams (free) instead of Microsoft Teams (work or school) and not both for example.
If you’re signed in with a Microsoft Entra ID, your Microsoft Teams (work or school) contacts will appear in the Windows share window to quickly share to.

[Nearby Sharing]

If you turn on nearby sharing via quick settings or directly in Settings and you have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off, it will turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on so nearby sharing will work as expected. If you turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, it will also turn off nearby sharing

[Narrator]

In Microsoft Word, Narrator will now announce the presence of a draft comment, a resolved comment, a bookmark, or the availability of accessibility suggestions when reading text in the document.

Fixes

[File Explorer]

Fixed an issue causing File Explorer to crash on launch for some Insiders in the last few builds if you were using a non-default regional sorting option.
Fixed an issue which was causing opening the context menu on the desktop to crash explorer.exe in the last couple flights for some Insiders.
Fixed an issue which was causing explorer.exe to crash sometimes when entering paths into the address bar.

[Narrator]

Fixed an issue where Narrator was not correctly announcing the selected item in combo boxes when users try to change the combo box value using key combination Control + up or down arrow.
Fixed an issue where Narrator was announcing old dialog names even after users navigate to new dialog on few web pages.
Fixed an issue where Narrator was not reading Role of a control in tables on the web while using table navigation commands CTRL + ALT + Arrow keys.
Addressed an issue where Narrator was not announcing the selected state of menu items in few applications such as device manager.
Fixed an issue where Narrator was announcing both the unselected value and the newly selected value in elements such as date fields or any elements that are formatted as tables.

[Magnifier]

Fixed an issue in Magnifier settings page where the text below “voice speed” slider was not following the color contrast guidelines.

[Settings]

Fixed an issue where the Experimental Features section of Narrator Settings didn’t have text.

[Windows Share]

Fixed an issue which was causing the share window to crash in the last couple builds.

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

**[Copilot in Windows*]**

When first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows 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

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Nov 11

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25992 (Canary Channel)

By Erik Moreau in Canary Channel, Insiders, Windows 11

Hi all, last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25992 to the Canary Channel.

Close to smooth upgrades here, One device did not continue past 37% installing in the 1st phase, a simple pause updates & resume fixed it.

SMB is getting more secure, might break some stuff but fixing a more secure communication is best.

Happy Upgrades!

What’s new in Build 25992

SMB Changes

Starting with this build (Build 25992), we are introducing the following Server Message Block (SMB) protocol changes.

SMB firewall rule changes: Creating SMB shares changes a longtime Windows Defender Firewall default behavior. Previously, creating a share automatically configured the firewall to enable the rules in the “File and Printer Sharing” group for the given firewall profiles. Now, Windows automatically configures the new “File and Printer Sharing (Restrictive)” group, which no longer contains inbound NetBIOS ports 137-139. We plan future updates for this rule to also remove inbound ICMP, LLMNR, and Spooler Service ports and restrict down to the SMB sharing-necessary ports only.

This change enforces a higher degree of default of network security as well as bringing SMB firewall rules closer to the Windows Server “File Server” role behavior. Administrators can still configure the “File and Printer Sharing” group if necessary as well as modify this new firewall group.

For more information on this change, review https://aka.ms/SMBfirewall. For more information on SMB network security, review Secure SMB Traffic in Windows Server.

SMB NTLM blocking exception list: The new SMB NTLM blocking feature first announced in Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25951 now supports specifying exception lists for NTLM usage. This allows an administrator to configure a general block on NTLM usage while still allowing clients to use NTLM for specific servers that do not support Kerberos, either because they are not Active Directory domain joined or are a third party without Kerberos support.

For more information on this change, review https://aka.ms/SmbNtlmBlock.

SMB alternative client and server ports: The SMB client now supports connecting to an SMB server over TCP, QUIC, or RDMA using alternative network ports to the hardcoded defaults. Previously, SMB only supported TCP/445, QUIC/443, and RDMA iWARP/5445. In addition, the SMB over QUIC server in Windows Server also supports endpoints configured with different ports than 443 (this option will be part of a separate Windows Server Insider Preview release). Windows Server does not support configuring alternative SMB server TCP ports, but third parties such as Samba do.

You can specify an alternative SMB client port using the NET USE command and New-SmbMapping PowerShell cmdlet. You can also completely disable this feature with a group policy.

For more information on using this option, review https://aka.ms/SMBAlternativePorts. For more information on configuring non-standard SMB server ports in third parties, consult their product documentation.

SMB over QUIC client access control certificate changes: The SMB over QUIC client access control feature first announced in Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25977 now supports using certificates with subject alternative names and not just a single subject. This means the client access control feature now supports using a Microsoft AD Certificate Authority and multiple endpoint names, just like the currently released version of SMB over QUIC. You can now evaluate the feature using the recommended options and not require self-signed test certificates.

For more information on this change, review https://aka.ms/SmbOverQUICCAC. For more information on SMB over QUIC, review https://aka.ms/SMBoverQUIC.

Changes and Improvements

[File Explorer]

Did some work which should help noticeably improve the performance of opening large .zip files in File Explorer.
[ADDED] We’ve added support for creating 7-zip and TAR archives in addition to ZIP.

Compress files into 7-zip and TAR archives in addition to ZIP.

[Snap Layouts]

[ADDED] We will show suggestions in Snap Layouts that 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.

Fixes for known issues

We fixed the issue causing blank options to show on the Personalization and Privacy & Security settings pages, where if clicked on it would crash Settings.
Fixed an issue causing the context menu to draw off screen when invoked using touch or pen on the side of your desktop.
Fixed an issue where Settings Home might show a prompt to sign into your Microsoft account, and fail to sign in if you tried to use it, even though Settings itself showed you were already signed in.
If you were experiencing Quick Settings crashes and WIN + A not working in the previous flight, that should be resolved now.
Fixed an issue that was causing taskbar icons to disappear after switching desktops.

Known issues

[REMINDER] Some popular games may not work correctly on the most recent Insider Preview builds in the Canary Channel. Please be sure to submit feedback in Feedback Hub on any issues you see with playing games on these builds.
We’re working on a fix for an issue where attempting to reboot into safe mode hangs on the boot logo.
[NEW] Attempting to navigate to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Touchpad on this build will crash Settings.

Snipping Tool Update

We are rolling out Snipping Tool (version 11.2310.49.0) to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels improving HDR display support. Screenshots and screen recording on displays with HDR enabled should be able to better display colors.

source: Windows Blogs

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