Windows 11 Insider DEV Channel

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25290

• This build is available for Arm64 devices as the known issue that resulted in not releasing Build 25284 to Arm64 last week has been fixed.
• We have more new widgets for Insiders in the Dev Channel to try!
• This build includes a set of general improvements and fixes.

What's new

New Widgets: Spotify and Phone Link
Last week, we promoted a preview of the widget for the Messenger app. Spotify and Phone Link are now rolling out preview versions of their widgets as well. To give them a try, go to the widgets collection in the Microsoft Store and update to the latest version of the apps. Then open the widgets board and navigate to the widgets picker by clicking the "+" button at the top-right of the board to pin your widgets.

As you give these and other new widgets a try, please let us know what you think through the Widgets feedback link in the widgets picker. You should expect to see additional new widgets as more developers create and release widgets for their apps.

With the release of Windows App SDK 1.2 developers are now able to create widgets for their apps. Users can access these experiences on their Windows 11 widgets board in current Dev Channel Insider Preview builds. If you're interested in developing a widget, watch our latest tutorial video:  https://youtu.be/PUhYfRepxvc

Changes and Improvements

[Start menu]

• Back in October with Build 25227, we started trying out a small change to the Start menu where some Insiders saw badging on their user profile notifying them that certain actions need to be taken. We concluded that initial exploration in November. Starting today, we are starting a new exploration of badging on the Start menu with two new treatments that some Insiders in the Dev Channel will see. If you see one of these treatments, give us feedback on what you think. As a reminder, it is normal for us to try out different concepts in the Dev Channel to get feedback.
  

Fixes

[General]

• We fixed the issue causing Arm64 devices to fail to resume from sleep/hibernate when running Build 25281 and getting stuck at the OS boot logo.
• Fixed an issue where some Insiders may have issues accessing websites and other resources via VPN connections. If you used the workaround documented in this forum post, please reverse those changes once you have this new build installed.
  
• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to experience freezes when using the browser and certain other apps in recent Dev Channel builds.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an explorer.exe crash which could cause the taskbar not to load for some Insiders.

[Search on the Taskbar]
The fixes only apply for Windows Insiders who received one of the different treatments for how search looks on the taskbar that began rolling out to Insiders with Build 25252:

• Fixed an issue where the search box would randomly disappear sometimes when you clicked it (leaving a blank space on the taskbar).
• Fixed an issue where the search box was shifting to the side slightly when you clicked it.

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue where the data content area of the Processes page might flash once when theme changes were applied in the Task Manager Settings page.
• Fixed an issue where some dialogs did not render in the correct theme when applied from Task Manager Settings page.
• Fixed an issue where properties in the Memory section of the Performance page were getting truncated even though there was space to display them.
• Reduced the transparency of graph colors in the Performance page, and adjusted the borders, to help make them stand out more.
• Fixed a few issues causing Task Manager crashes.
• Typing F in the search box should work again now.
• You now shouldn't have to make Task Manager be as wide before the navigation pane appears.
• If text scaling has been increased, the search box shouldn't overlap with the title bar text anymore.
• Made some tweaks to address cases where text in dialogs was getting cut off when text scaling was increased.
• Fixes an issue where certain parts of the title bar couldn't be used to drag the window.

[Windows Spotlight]
The following fixes only apply for Windows Insiders who received one of the different treatments of Windows Spotlight that began rolling out to Insiders with Build 25281:

• We fixed the issue causing some people to not get a consistent refresh of images on a daily basis.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue where the preview for Sans Serif Collection in Personalization > Fonts was displaying broken glyphs.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue that was preventing Narrator from announcing dropdown lists in Excel.
• Fixed an underlying issue which could cause Snipping Tool screenshots to become stretched out and distorted in the last few builds if you had multiple monitors.
• Fixed an issue which could cause a bugcheck with SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION.
• Fixed an issue which could make the Open With dialog crash on launch.
• Fixed an issue where the Open File dialog would hang if you clicked it while using an IME after having selected "Choose an app on your PC" from the Open With dialog.
• Fixed an issue which could cause Group Policy Editor to unexpectedly show "An error has occurred in the script on this page" with an invalid character error when editing a group policy.
• If you have OpenSSH Server set to start at boot (instead of manual), that preference should be remembered across OS upgrades now. Please note, you need to be on a build with this fix before it will take effect with your next upgrade.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25295

What's new

New commercial policy: Enable features introduced via servicing that are off by default
This new policy enables commercial customers to enable features introduced via servicing (outside of the annual feature update) that are off by default for devices that have their Windows updates managed. Windows update managed devices are those that have their Windows updates managed via policy; whether via the cloud using Windows Update for Business or on-premises with Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). While this policy is available for Insider Preview builds in the Dev Channel, there aren't any features currently in Dev Channel behind the policy. However, we expect to make this policy available in the Beta Channel shortly where there are features behind the policy. Learn more about this new policy here.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• Users will now see a copy button for quickly copying two-factor authentication (2FA) codes in notification toasts from apps installed on the PC or from phones linked to the PC. We make a best effort to determine if a notification toast has an authentication code but please send us feedback if we got it wrong or if we failed to detect the code in a notification toast.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• The new search on the taskbar experience that began rolling out with Build 25252 is now available for all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Insiders can change the treatment of search on taskbar in settings under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar Items.
  

Fixes

[General]

• The issue causing repeated bugchecks for some Insiders after upgrading to Build 25284+ should be fixed now.
• Made another fix for an issue causing Insiders to experience freezes in recent flights (specifically in this case where apps might freeze if you tried to use them while also trying to play games).
• Fixed an issue where the Update history page under Settings > Windows Update > Update history was blank for some users after installing Build 25290.
• Fixed an issue where some users experienced longer than expected update times installing recent builds. If you experience this issue again, please submit a new feedback item with logs in Feedback Hub.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where the add and close tab buttons weren't working in File Explorer if File Explorer was maximized, and you were using an Arabic or Hebrew display language.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue which could lead to app windows becoming unresponsive after using multi-finger on screen touch gestures.
• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing your mouse to appear like pointer trails was enabled when sharing your screen.

[Settings]

• The Add a Device dialog should no longer have an unexpectedly big border.

[Windowing]

• Fixed an issue which could cause certain apps to move very slowly when you dragged it across the screen.
• Fixed a DWM crash in recent flights which could cause your screen to flash black.
• Fixed an issue where snapped windows might not remember their positions if you disconnected and reconnected your monitor.

[Other]

• Fixed an underlying crash impacting the ability the ability for apps using Graphics.Capture to take screen captures in recent flights.
  
• Fixed an underlying issue causing crashes in certain apps when trying to print to PDFs in recent flights.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25300

• We are releasing ISOs for this build – they can be downloaded here.
  
• We're introducing live captions in more languages with this build.
• This build includes a set of general changes and improvements as well as some good fixes for some known issues.

What's new

Introducing live captions in more languages
Live captions helps everyone and people who are deaf or hard of hearing read live captions in their native language. The first release of live captions in the Windows 11 2022 Update provided captions in English, with a focus on English (United States). In this build, live captions gains the ability to also provide captions in Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish and other English dialects. We will add more languages as they become available.

To get started, live captions can be turned on with the WIN + Ctrl + L keyboard shortcut, or from the quick settings accessibility flyout via Quick Settings. When turned on for the first time, live captions will prompt for download of the required speech recognition support to enable on-device captioning. If speech recognition support is not available in your preferred Windows language or you want support in other languages, you will be able to download speech recognition support for live captions under Settings > Time & Language > Language & region.

We look forward to you trying out live captions in more languages and would love to hear your feedback.

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

Changes and Improvements

[Snap layouts]

• We are trying out different treatments for snap layouts with Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. We are investigating ways to improve the discoverability and usage of the snap layouts such as decreasing the hover time required to invoke the flyout when you mouse over the maximum/restore button in an app's title bar. In addition to a few other tweaks, you'll notice some treatments will also pull in the icon of the app window you are working in and adding a descriptive title. If you see one of these treatments, give us feedback on what you think. As a reminder, it is normal for us to try out different concepts in the Dev Channel to get feedback.
  

[Voice typing]

• The change to sync voice typing settings, Automatic punctuation and Voice typing launcher, across all devices signed in using the same Microsoft account that began rolling out with Build 25227 is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. You can toggle this feature via Settings > Accounts > Windows backup > Remember my preferences > Accessibility This currently only works with Microsoft accounts today with AAD support coming later.
  

[Settings]

• Updated Settings > Apps > Startup to make it easier to access more information about the apps listed.
• Right-clicking on a Win32 app in Start, or searching for the app, and choosing "Uninstall" will now take you to the Settings to uninstall the app.

[WSL]

• Improved the upgrade experience to the new Windows Subsystem for Linux Store app (mentioned in Build 25272), so it now prompts for installation if wsl.exe is invoked.
  

Fixes

[General]

• We fixed the underlying issue related to combase.dll, causing crashes with multiple apps using GetKnownFolder APIs after upgrading to Build 25290, including Notepad and Windows Terminal for IME users. This issue is also believed to be the root cause of some Insiders finding that certain actions in File Explorer were taking minutes to complete in these builds.
• We fixed the issue causing rendering issues and difficulty using Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).
• Fixed an issue where some users experienced issues authenticating into enterprise websites that require windows integrated authentication.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• The ability to show seconds in the clock on the system tray, first introduced with Build 25247, should return after updating to Build 25300 if it had disappeared for you after updating to Build 25295 last week.
  
• Fixed an issue that was causing taskbar to be cut off after resolution changes.
• We fixed an issue where when hovering over app icons on the taskbar could switch window focus unexpectedly.

[Widgets]

• As a result of fixing the issue causing third-party widgets to get unpinned when signed in with a Microsoft account across multiple Windows 11 devices, the most recent Widgets update in the Dev Channel will unpin third-party widgets. Insiders will need to go back to their widgets board and re-pin these widgets again. If you still see issues where widgets are being unpinned unexpectedly – please file feedback.
• The link for "Find more widgets" in the widgets picker currently is no longer broke and will point to the Store collection here.
  

[Input]

• We are beginning to roll out a fix for an issue where the IME candidate window and IME toolbar weren't shown or cropped sometimes.

[File Explorer]

• Drag and dropping files and folders across tabs should work again.

[Task Manager]

• Process names typed into the search box should no longer unexpectedly get spellchecked.
• Fixed a couple of issues with how Narrator was reading out content in Task Manager.
• Fixed an issue where the dropdowns in settings might not match your currently selected theme.
• When using search on the App History page, results should no longer suddenly disappear.
• If you open the Default Start Page dropdown in settings, clicking the Task Manager window should make the dropdown disappear now.
• Dragging the window using the search box area should work now (like other areas of the title bar).
• Fixed an issue where ending processes in the Details tab wasn't showing a confirmation dialog.
• Increasing the text scaling should no longer result in a "see more" button appearing with no contents.
• If you do a search and then press the down arrow, keyboard focus should now move from the search box into the results.
• If you have a contrast theme enabled and select one of the rows in the Processes page, that row should now show that it's selected.
• Fixed an issue where focus might not get set properly to search, leading to Narrator not saying that focus was on the search box.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue where Narrator's focus wasn't going back to the Quick Settings' window correctly when using the back button in the Cast page.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25309

• With this build, we're beginning to roll out a new enhanced volume mixer in Quick Settings. We're also re-introducing an update for the touch keyboard settings, some changes to File Explorer, graphics, and input. And we have some voice access improvements.
• As always, this build also includes a good set of fixes too.

What's new

New volume mixer experience in Quick Settings
We're introducing a new enhanced volume mixer into Quick Settings! The updated audio quick settings experience brings a modern volume mixer that allows for quick customization of audio on a per-app basis, with additional control to swap devices on the fly. We've also added a new keyboard shortcut (WIN + CTRL + V) to bring you directly to the volume mixer for faster control of the experience. With this change, you can now tailor your audio experience better with more control and fewer clicks to better manage your favorite apps.

In addition, we've made it easier for users to enable their Windows Sonic experience with a quick access list of installed spatial sound technology. You can visit the Microsoft Store to find additional spatial sound technology to choose from such as Dolby and DTS.

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

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

Updated Touch Keyboard Settings
After making some fixes, we are re-introducing the new touch keyboard setting we originally introduced with Build 25188 (and disabled with Build 25217) that replaces the "Show the touch keyboard when there's no keyboard attached" checkbox under Settings > Time & language > Typing > Touch keyboard with a new dropdown menu with 3 options to control whether tapping an edit control should launch the touch keyboard:

• "Never" suppresses the touch keyboard even when no hardware keyboard is attached.
• "When no keyboard attached" will show the touch keyboard only when the device is used as a tablet without the hardware keyboard.
• "Always" will show the touch keyboard even when the hardware keyboard is attached.

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

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Input and Language > Touch keyboard.

Auto Color Management (ACM) Expansion
Back in October, 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.

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.

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

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

Voice access improvements
Redesigned in-app command help page: We have completely renovated the in-app command help page in voice access to make it simpler to use and comprehend. The search bar allows users to quickly find commands and the different categories provide further guidance. Every command now has a description and examples of its variations, making it easier to understand and use.

You can access the command help page from Help > View all commands on the voice access bar or use the voice command "what can I say".

Please note that the redesigned in-app help page in voice access may not include all commands and the supplementary information may be inaccurate. We plan to update this in future builds. If you want an exhaustive list of Voice Access commands and extra information about them, we recommend you refer Use voice access to control your PC & author text with your voice – Microsoft Support.

Voice access is available in English dialects: We have extended voice access to support other English dialects such as English -UK, English – India, English – New Zealand, English – Canada, English – Australia.

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 – US.

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

New text selection & editing commands: See the Release Notes for added useful commands to make text selection and editing easier with voice access.

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

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• Starting with Build 25290, we started a new exploration of badging on the Start menu with two new treatments that some Insiders in the Dev Channel will see. Starting today, we're trying out different text variants within these treatments. If you see one of these treatments, give us feedback on what you think. As a reminder, it is normal for us to try out different concepts in the Dev Channel to get feedback.
  

• We're trying out a more personalized second-chance out of box experience (SCOOBE) with a small subset of Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• The search box on taskbar will be lighter when Windows is set to a custom color mode. Specifically, when the Windows 11 mode is set to dark, and the app mode is set to light under Settings > Personalization > Colors you will see a lighter search box on taskbar.

[File Explorer]

• Windows Insiders will begin noticing a "pizza" icon on the command bar in File Explorer. This icon denotes that an Insider is previewing the Windows App SDK version of File Explorer. Functionality in File Explorer remains unchanged, it just switches from using WinUI 2 to using WinUI 3.

[Snap layouts]

• After pausing this with Build 25300, we are un-pausing this with this build – we are trying out different treatments for snap layouts with Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. We are investigating ways to improve the discoverability and usage of the snap layouts such as decreasing the hover time required to invoke the flyout when you mouse over the maximum/restore button in an app's title bar. In addition to a few other tweaks, you'll notice some treatments will also pull in the icon of the app window you are working in and adding a descriptive title. If you see one of these treatments, give us feedback on what you think. As a reminder, it is normal for us to try out different concepts in the Dev Channel to get feedback.
  

[Windows Spotlight]

• Starting today, we are disabling the different treatments we've been trying out for Windows Spotlight that began with Build 25281 due to an issue impacting the experience Insiders will have on these treatments. We plan to re-introduce an updated Windows Spotlight experience for Insiders in a future flight based on the feedback from Insiders from using these different treatments. As part of disabling these treatments, Insiders may need to go to Settings > Personalization and re-enable Windows Spotlight.
  

[Input]

• We have updated the Simplified Chinese handwriting recognition engine to be faster and more accurate as well as supported characters defined in GB18030-2022. Currently you can write characters in GB18030-2022 Level 2 and some of characters in GB18030-2022 Level 1 in the handwriting panel or directly into the text field when it's supported. Please try it and let us know what you think.

The Simplified Chinese handwriting recognition engine is faster and more accurate and now supports characters defined in GB18030-202.
[Widgets]

• We are beginning to roll out theme-aware icons for Widgets on the taskbar so that based on the user's Windows theme (dark or light), the Widgets icons will display a theme-aware icon that will have a higher contrast ratio which will make information on the taskbar clearer for users, particularly for those with low-sight.

[Settings]

• Settings > Power & Battery has been updated to include settings for choosing what happens when interacting with your PC's physical power controls.

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an issue causing USB devices (including keyboard and mouse) to not work for some Insiders after upgrading to Build 25295+.
• Fixed an issue for some Insiders where if you'd uninstalled the previous flight, it would cause your Start menu and taskbar to cyclically crash.
• Fixed an issue where when using Windows Hello to sign in with facial recognition, it may not have worked on Arm64 PCs.
• Fixed an issue with the Windows Insider Program settings page showing a newer build was available in Windows Update even though you were on the latest available build in the Dev Channel.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed multiple Explorer.exe crashes impacting taskbar and system tray.
• Fixed a display issue that could result in the taskbar appearing duplicated when making resolution changes.
• Fixed an issue which was causing app icons on the taskbar to appear on the wrong monitor for some Insiders with multiple monitors.

[Widgets]

• We fixed an issue where under certain circumstances third-party widgets were not loading as expected.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Fixed rendering issues when using the touch keyboard with the search box on taskbar.
• Fixed an issue when double clicking the search highlight glyph in the search box makes it disappear.
• Fixed an issue where the search box would randomly disappear.
• Fixed an issue where the search icon flips incorrectly for right-to-left (RTL) languages.
• Fixed on issue where you might have seen some text flicker in the search box when you click into it.
• Fixed an issue where the search box might disappear on one monitor if you are using multiple monitors.
• Made some accessibility fixes to the settings for search under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue which caused Insiders with custom desktop icon arrangements / sizes to get set back to default in the previous build.
• Fixed an underlying issue believed to be the cause of File Explorer unexpectedly jumping into the foreground sometimes.
• The "Open in new tab" context menu option and middle clicking folders will now open the tab in the background rather than switching focus.
• Fixed an issue where the close button could get stuck in a highlighted state when you moved your mouse across it.

[Input]

• Fix an issue where when using the French-Canadian layout for the touch keyboard, the letters output when typing didn't always match what was displayed on the keys.
• When using the Korean IME, CTRL + F10 should no longer open the IME context menu.

[Settings]

• Fixed an underlying issue believed to be the root cause of why some Insiders saw their startup app settings get reset with the previous build.
• Going to Privacy & Security > Phone Calls should no longer crash Settings.

[Windowing]

• Fixed a high hitting DWM.exe crash in the last couple flights.

[Other]

• Fixed multiple issues that were preventing some of the new live captions language models from downloading correctly.
• Fixed an underlying issue causing Insiders on Arm64 PCs to not be able to activate M365, with it citing a network issue.
• Fixed a search indexer crash.
• Fixed an underlying issue that could cause UWP apps to appear in English after upgrading although that wasn't your display language.
• Fixed an issue which was causing .appinstaller packages to fail to install with an error message that says "The parameter is incorrect" (even though it wasn't).
• Fixed an underlying issue causing certain cameras to not work in apps with the last flight.
• Fixed an underlying issue which was leading to Microsoft Edge crashes for some Insiders in the last few flights.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23403

As a reminder, we have rebooted the Dev Channel to begin flighting 23000 series builds as announced earlier this week

Note: Windows Insiders who were previously in the Dev Channel on 25000 series builds are being moved to the new Canary Channel. If you are on Build 25309 and haven't been moved to the Canary Channel yet, you will not receive this build as it has a lower build number than the build you are already on. However, the migration continues to happen in the background and once complete you will receive the latest build available. Can't wait? If you want the latest builds immediately, you can move yourself to the Canary Channel on your own via Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program. Or follow these instructions to do a clean installation of Windows 11 and then re-join the Dev Channel to receive 23000 series builds going forward.

Insiders in the Beta Channel can move to Dev Channel via the settings as well and receive this build without additional steps.

Since we have rebooted the Dev Channel for flighting 23000 series builds, we're also rebooting the content in the blog posts for Dev Channel flights – including known issues below.

What's new in Build 23403

Introducing live captions in more languages
Live captions help everyone and people who are deaf or hard of hearing read live captions in their native language. The first release of live captions in the Windows 11 2022 Update provided captions in English, with a focus on English (United States). In this build, live captions gains the ability to also provide captions in Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish and other English dialects. We will add more languages as they become available.

To get started, live captions can be turned on with the WIN + Ctrl + L keyboard shortcut, or from the quick settings accessibility flyout via Quick Settings. When turned on for the first time, live captions will prompt for download of the required speech recognition support to enable on-device captioning. If speech recognition support is not available in your preferred Windows language or you want support in other languages, you will be able to download speech recognition support for live captions under Settings > Time & Language > Language & region.

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

Access Keys in File Explorer
We are adding access key shortcuts into the XAML context menu in File Explorer. An access key is a one keystroke shortcut that allows a keyboard user to quickly execute a command in context menu. Each access key will correspond with a letter in the display name. It's part of our effort to make File Explorer more accessible. To try this out, you can click on a file in File Explorer and press the menu key on your keyboard.

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

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.

File Recommendations in File Explorer
File Recommendations are coming to File Explorer Home to bring users the most relevant file content right to their fingertips. This feature (as pictured below) will be available to users signed into Windows with an Azure Active Directory (AAD) account. Files that are recommended will be cloud files associated with that account, either owned by the user, or shared with the user.

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

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.

Voice access improvements
Redesigned in-app command help page: We have completely renovated the in-app command help page in voice access to make it simpler to use and comprehend. The search bar allows users to quickly find commands and the various categories provide further guidance. Every command now has a description and examples of its variations, making it easier to understand and use.

You can access the command help page from Help > View all commands on the voice access bar or use the voice command "what can I say".

Please note that the redesigned in-app help page in voice access may not include all commands and the supplementary information may be inaccurate. We plan to update this in future builds. If you want an exhaustive list of Voice Access commands and extra information about them, we recommend you refer Use voice access to control your PC & author text with your voice – Microsoft Support.

Voice access is available in English dialects: We have extended voice access to support other English dialects such as English -UK, English – India, English – New Zealand, English – Canada, English – Australia.

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 – US.

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

New text selection & editing commands: See the Release Notes for the table of added useful commands to make text selection and editing easier with voice access.

Narrator Outlook Support
Narrator will now retrieve updates to its Outlook support when Narrator is started. You can learn more about the work we did for Outlook in Chapter 5 of the Narrator User Guide. We have not added any additional functionality to our Outlook support, but this work will allow updates to the Outlook experience to be made through the Microsoft Store. You will receive a notification after the download is completed to inform you that the update has been retrieved. With this change, Narrator's Outlook support is limited to U.S. English only. Other languages will be supported in a future flight.

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

Multi-App Kiosk Mode
Multi-app kiosk mode is a lockdown feature for Windows 11 that allows an IT administrator to select a set of allowable apps to run on the device, while all other functionalities are blocked. This enables you to create multiple different apps and access configurations for different user types, all on a single device.

Some lockdown customizations include:

• Limiting access to Settings, except selected pages (e.g., Wi-Fi and screen brightness)
• Lock down the Start menu to show only allowed apps.
• Block toasts and pop-ups that lead to unwanted UI.

Multi-app kiosk mode is ideal for scenarios in which multiple people need to use the same device. This can include frontline workers and retail scenarios, education and test taking.

Currently, multi-app kiosk mode can be enabled using PowerShell and WMI Bridge, with support for Intune/MDM and provisioning package configuration coming soon.

To configure using WMI, follow these instructions. Using the Windows 10 sample XML will enable the feature, but will result in an empty Start menu. To populate the Start menu with your apps, follow these instructions to generate the list of pinned apps, then add it to your XML file after closing the StartLayout section, like the below:

<win11:StartPins><![CDATA[ Your JSON here ]]></win11:StartPins>

Don't forget to update the namespace by replacing the AssignedAccessConfiguration tag with the below:

<AssignedAccessConfiguration xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/AssignedAccess/2017/config" xmlns:win11="http://schemas.microsoft.com/AssignedAccess/2022/config">

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Security and Privacy > Device Lockdown

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• Users will now see a copy button for quickly copying two-factor authentication (2FA) codes in notification toasts from apps installed on the PC or from phones linked to the PC. We make a best effort to determine if a notification toast has an authentication code but please send us feedback if we got it wrong or if we failed to detect the code in a notification toast. This change is beginning to roll out, so not all Insiders in the Dev Channel will see it right away.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• We have added a glanceable VPN status into the system tray when connected to a recognized VPN profile. The VPN icon, a small shield, will be overlayed in over the active network connection. Currently, the overlayed VPN icon does not use your system accent color but will do so in a future build.
  

[Search on the Taskbar]

• The search box on taskbar will be lighter when Windows is set to a custom color mode. Specifically, when the Windows 11 mode is set to dark, and the app mode is set to light under Settings > Personalization > Colors you will see a lighter search box on taskbar.

[Input]

• We have updated the Simplified Chinese handwriting recognition engine to be faster and more accurate as well as supported characters defined in GB18030-2022. Currently you can write characters in GB18030-2022 Level 2 and some of characters in GB18030-2022 Level 1 in the handwriting panel or directly into the text field when it's supported. Please try it and

[Settings]

• Right-clicking on a Win32 app in Start, or searching for the app, and choosing "Uninstall" will now take you to the Settings to uninstall the app.

Fixes

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Fixed rendering issues when using the touch keyboard with the search box on taskbar.
• Fixed an issue when double clicking the search highlight glyph in the search box makes it disappear.
• Fixed an issue where the search box would randomly disappear.
• Fixed an issue where the search icon flips incorrectly for right-to-left (RTL) languages.
• Fixed on issue where you might have seen some text flicker in the search box when you click into it.
• Fixed an issue where the search box might disappear on one monitor if you are using multiple monitors.
• Made some accessibility fixes to the settings for search under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an underlying issue believed to be the cause of File Explorer unexpectedly jumping into the foreground sometimes.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23419

ISOs for this build are available here.

What's new in Build 23419

Create live kernel memory dumps in Task Manager
We are introducing a set of new developer-focused features in Task Manager to aid the collection of live kernel memory dumps (LKDs). This is in addition to the existing "Memory dump" for user mode processes. The goal of kernel live dump is to gather data to troubleshoot an abnormal situation but allow the OS to continue operation. This reduces downtime when compared to a bug check for "non-fatal" but high-impact failures and hangs. Click here for more info on live kernel dumps.

To capture a live kernel memory dump (LKD), go to the Details page in Task Manager, right-click on the System process and the context menu should light up to show "Create live kernel memory dump file" to capture a Full live kernel or Kernel stack memory dumps.

The dumps will be written to a fixed location:

%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\TaskManager\LiveKernelDumps

You can also go to the Task Manager Settings page to view/edit the settings for live kernel memory dumps.

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

USB4 Settings Page
We are adding a USB4 hubs and devices Settings page for users under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > USB > USB4 Hubs and Devices. USB4 enables new productivity scenarios for docking, high performance peripherals, displays and charging. The USB4 settings page provides information about the system's USB4 capabilities and attached peripherals on a USB4 capable system. These insights are meant to assist with troubleshooting in case users need support from their device manufacturer (OEM) or system administrator. The features provided by this page are:

• View the tree of connected USB4 hubs and devices.
• View attributes and capabilities associated with the USB4 domain.
• Copy the details into the clipboard so it can be shared with customer support or system administrators for troubleshooting.

If the system does not support USB4 with the Microsoft USB4 Connection Manager, this page will not be displayed.

To confirm whether your system is USB4 capable or not, check for "USB4 Host Router" populating in the Device Manager.

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

Cloud Suggestion in Simplified Chinese IME
We are trying out some changes that will allow you to easily type popular words in Simplified Chinese. The changes include an improved cloud suggestion and integrated search suggestion. The cloud suggestion adds the most relevant word from Bing to the IME candidate window. We've updated the back-end logic so that we can provide better, fresh suggestions.

The integrated search suggestion gives you additional suggestions that are similar to what you see in Bing search page. You can either insert a suggestion as text or search it directly in Bing.  To turn on these features, select a chevron button at the right end of the IME candidate window. You'll find Turn on button.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Input and Language > Text Input.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• The new features for app defaults in Windows 11 as mentioned here in this blog post are included in this build. The features for app pinning are coming in a future flight.
  

[Start menu]

• We are trying out a small change with some Windows Insiders where the "Recommended" section of the Start menu is changed to "For you". Let us know what you think in Feedback Hub if you see this change.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• The glanceable VPN status show overlayed over an active network connection into the system tray when connected to a recognized VPN profile now displays in your system accent color.
  
• In response to user feedback, we are introducing the capability to show seconds in the clock on the system tray. This feature can be enabled by toggling the option listed under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar in the Taskbar behavior section. You can also right-click on taskbar to quickly get to taskbar settings. We are beginning to roll this change out so not all Windows Insiders will see this change right away, but we hope to make it available to everyone soon.
  

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Once you have access to the new Bing, the search box on the taskbar will include a button that opens the Bing chat experience in Edge. If you don't have access to the new Bing, the search box on the taskbar will feature a dynamic search highlight button. We're beginning to roll this out to Insiders, not everyone will see it right away.
  

[Voice access]

• The redesigned in-app help page in voice access introduced with Build 23403 now includes all commands and the supplementary information accurately.
  

[Settings]

• As part of the deprecation of Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) and MSDT Troubleshooters, we have begun redirecting some of the troubleshooters found under Settings > System > Troubleshoot and in other areas of the OS to the new Get Help troubleshooting platform.
  
• Pressing the print screen key will now open Snipping Tool by default. This setting can be turned off via Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard. If you have previously modified this setting yourself, your preference will be preserved.

[Developer]

• Virtual Memory ranges which are marked by a KbCallbackTriageDumpData BugCheck Callback Routine will now be added to kernel-generated minidumps after a bugcheck.
  

Fixes

[General]

• Improved the experience on logon after booting up by reducing the performance impact of startup apps.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue that was causing Narrator to read the position before the name on system tray icons.
• Fixed an issue causing the show hidden icons flyout to open behind things like OneNote flyout and live captions.
• Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe crashes related to drag and drop.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Fixed a search crash from the last flight.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue which could cause explorer.exe to crash when opening Home if certain content was visible in the Recent section.
• Made some improvements to the performance of loading File Explorer in the case where there's a disconnected network drive visible in the navigation pane.

[Start menu]

• Fixed an issue where dragging content across an open Start menu folder could cause a crash.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where after using voice typing your PC might not enter modern standby.

[Live captions]

• We fixed the issue causing live captions to not work for Chinese Traditional on Arm64 devices.

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue where some of the details in the Performance page wouldn't display properly until you resized the window or changed pages back and forth.

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.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23424

What's new in Build 23424

Evolved Widgets Board
We are beginning to preview a revamp of the widgets board experience with a larger canvas (3-columns if supported by the device) and new zones to provide users quick access to glanceable widgets from their apps and services as well as enable users to take a high-value break with their personalized feed.

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

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

Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC) on plugged in devices including desktop PCs
This feature in Windows 11 will dim or brighten areas of a display or monitor based on the content being displayed with the goal of striking a balance between reduced power consumption with visual experience to save battery life. Starting with this build, we are allowing this feature to run on devices such as laptops and 2-in-1's that are plugged into a charger, as well as on desktop PCs. For most users, this change won't be noticeable and should reduce energy consumption.

This feature can be adjusted via Settings > System > Display under "Brightness & color" and through a drop-down menu with 3 options: Off, Always, and "On Battery Only". For battery powered devices such as laptops and 2-in-1's, the default is "On Battery Only". On desktop PCs, this is off by default. We encourage Insiders across laptops, 2-in1's, and desktop PCs to try the  "Always" option and give us feedback on the visual quality of CABC so we can ensure it is properly tuned.

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

Changes and Improvements

[Input]

• Made a change to help improve performance when using a high polling mouse while gaming.

[Settings]

• Windows Insiders can help us preview a new experience we're working on. Insiders will begin to see a new toggle under Settings > Windows Update for "getting the latest updates as soon as they are available". This new toggle is meant to be used in the Beta Channel to allow Insiders to switch more seamlessly to the enablement package. But because the Dev Channel does not use an enablement package, turning this toggle on will not do anything for Insiders in the Dev Channel. However, by turning it on, a "Windows configuration update" will be offered via Windows Update that is designed to help us make sure it this new toggle is connected to our backend services correctly before making it available in the Beta Channel. This update introduces nothing new for Insiders.
  
• Improved the performance of search within Settings.
• The settings page for wheel devices such as the Surface Dial has been updated to better match the Windows 11 design principles.

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an issue that was causing voice access to take some time to turn on after using the wake-up command.

[File Explorer]
We fixed the following issues for Insiders with recommended files in File Explorer:

• We fixed the issue causing an error dialog to pop up when clicking on the "Open File Location" command.
• We fixed the issue causing no action to occur when clicking on the 'Remove from list' command.

[Input]

• Made a change to help improve performance when using a high report rate mouse while gaming. As a reminder, if you have gaming performance feedback, please follow these steps to file actionable feedback.
  

[Settings]

• Improved the performance of search within Settings.

[Windowing]

• Fixed an issue from the last flight where Microsoft Edge tabs would show when doing ALT + Tab even if Settings > System > Multitasking was set to "Don't show tabs".

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue where the search icon could end up overlapping the Task Manager icon in the title bar.

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.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23430

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• Urgent or important notifications that break through when do not disturb is turned on while using apps at full screen will now display a "view notification" button to view the content of the notification for privacy.
  
• In the previous flight, we documented that Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC) works on desktop PCs – however, it does not. We have updated that blog post. Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC) also needs to be enabled by the OEM (the manufacturer of the device). As a result, this feature is not available on all laptop or 2-in-1 devices.
  

[Settings]

• A limit of 20 most recent tabs has been introduced under Settings > Multitasking to show tabs in ALT + TAB and Snap Assist.

[Developer]

• We are introducing a new setting under Settings > Privacy & security > For developers to enable end task when right-clicking an app on the taskbar. This setting is in Build 23430 but does not currently work when the feature is toggled on. It will be fixed in a future flight.

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an underlying issue causing some Insiders to see an increase in explorer.exe crashes in the last 2 flights.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where text input features like touch keyboard, voice typing, and emoji panel might not launch.
• Fixed an issue where the buttons in the Pinyin IME's settings flyout were hard to see when they had focus if a contrast theme was enabled.

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue impacting Task Manager reliability.
• The search box should no longer be cropped at the top when the window is maximized.

[Accessibility]

• Fixed an issue where in Quick Settings, Narrator was reading out the previous page's title instead of the active page's.
• After downloading voice access, information to help you get started with it should correctly open again now.
• Fixed an issue where popups for voice access weren't translated correctly.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23435

What's new in Build 23435

Gallery in File Explorer
We are introducing Gallery, a new feature in File Explorer designed to make it easy to access your photo collection. The set of content shown in Gallery is the same as what you'll see in the All Photos view in the Photos app.

Gallery is optimized for accessing your most recently taken photos. If you have OneDrive Camera Roll Backup set up on your phone, photos you take will show up automatically at the top of the view. You can choose which folders are shown in Gallery through the Collection dropdown. You can also add subfolders of existing sources to filter to a subset of your content, such as desktop backgrounds and SD card/camera imports.

Gallery also works from the file picking dialog, bringing that same ease of use to situations such as inserting attachments, building a PowerPoint deck, or crafting social media posts.

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

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• We are continuing the exploration of badging on the Start menu with several new treatments for users logging in with local user accounts to highlight the benefits of signing in with a Microsoft account (MSA). If you see one of these treatments, give us feedback on what you think. As a reminder, it is normal for us to try out different concepts in the Dev Channel to get feedback.
  

[File Explorer]

• Windows Insiders will begin noticing a "pizza" icon on the command bar in File Explorer. This icon denotes that an Insider is previewing the Windows App SDK version of File Explorer. Functionality in File Explorer remains unchanged, it just switches from using WinUI 2 to using WinUI 3.

[Narrator]

• Narrator users who interact with Traditional Chinese characters are now able to do this with confidence while using Narrator and the IME candidate window in Windows. This was accomplished by creating a Traditional Chinese dictionary for detail reading. Narrator now consumes the dictionary to disambiguate each Traditional Chinese word. Users should be aware that Narrator detailed reading is only supported for the Taiwan language pack. The Hong-Kong language pack is not supported with Narrator.

[Settings]

• We are introducing new presence sensor privacy settings and APIs. If you have a device with compatible presence sensors, you can now manage your privacy and block/allow certain apps from accessing these sensors. No images or metadata is collected by Microsoft and all processing is done locally on the device hardware to maximize privacy. You will find these settings under Settings > Privacy & security > Presence sensing here if your device supports it. 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.
  

Fixes

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed a few explorer.exe crashes that were impacting taskbar reliability.

[Input]

• Updated the TextInput/EnableTouchKeyboardAutoInvokeInDesktopMode MDM policy to allow "2" as a valid value to enforce showing the touch keyboard on tapping an edit control even when the hardware keyboard is attached.
  

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue which was causing Settings crashes when navigating to various Windows Update related pages in the last couple flights.

[Live captions]

• Fixed the issue that caused enhanced speech recognition support installed through the Language & Region settings page to require restarting live captions if you switch languages in the live captions Caption language menu on Arm64 devices.
• Fixed the issue where you may not see install completion of "Enhanced speech recognition" (required by Live Captions) when adding a language through the Language & Region settings page, and language feature installation progress may become hidden.

[Task Manager]

• Improved the performance of the expand all / collapse all View options on the Processes page.

[Accessibility]

• Updated Narrator's default for "Context level for buttons and controls" to "3 – Immediate content name and type."

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23440

ISOs for this build can be downloaded here.

Changes and Improvements

[Start menu]

• We are trying out a recommendation in the Start menu to quickly access the release notes for Windows Insider Preview builds. Insiders can click the recommendation in Start where it will open this blog post for Build 23440 to learn about all the changes and improvements included in the build. Let us know what you think of this experience. As a reminder, the settings for what is recommended on Start can be adjusted via Settings > Personalization > Start.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• You can now hide the time and date in the system tray. You can turn this on by right-clicking on the system tray clock and choosing "Adjust date and time".
• When right-clicking on the network icon in the system tray, we've added the option to diagnose network problems.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• We are exploring a new hover behavior for the search box and search highlight gleam. The proposed interaction model aims to create a more engaging search experience by invoking the search flyout when you hover over the search box gleam. This behavior can be adjusted by right-clicking on the taskbar, choosing "Taskbar settings" and adjusting your preferred search box experience.

[Windows Spotlight]

• We have updated the icon that shows on the desktop for Windows Spotlight. You can turn Windows Spotlight by right-clicking on your desktop, choosing "Personalize", and then choosing the Windows Spotlight theme.

Fixes

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed a few explorer.exe crashes that were impacting taskbar reliability.

[Widgets]

• Updated the Widgets invocation logic, so that if you brush your mouse quickly across the Widgets icon in the taskbar while travelling somewhere else, it should be less likely to accidentally open Widgets. As a reminder, if you'd prefer that Widgets doesn't launch on hover, there is an option for that in the Widgets settings.

[File Explorer]
We fixed the following issues for Insiders previewing the Windows App SDK version of File Explorer

• Fixed an issue where the context menu was opening far away from where your mouse had right-clicked sometimes.
• Fixed an issue which was causing some of the icons in File Explorer and the context menu to be blurry after DPI changes.
• Fixed an issue where the New button in the command bar might not show anything in the dropdown.

We fixed the following issues for Insiders with Gallery in File Explorer:

• CTRL + Mouse wheel scrolling should now resize the thumbnails.

We fixed the following issues for Insiders with recommended files in File Explorer:

• Made some improvements to how Narrator reads out the recommended files.

We fixed the following issues for Insiders with access keys in File Explorer:

• Shift + Right click on a file or folder should open "Show more options" again now.
• Adjusted how Narrator was reading out the access keys after pressing the menu key, to make it clearer.

[Search]

• Fixed an issue where the cursor wasn't displaying correctly in the search box when using an Arabic display language.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where the touch keyboard didn't correctly recognize a hardware keyboard was available in some cases.

[Windowing]

• Fixed a shellexperiencehost.exe crash when disconnecting from another monitor using WIN + P.

[Notifications]

• Fixed an issue where 2FA codes weren't being recognized if they were in parentheses.

[Live captions]

• Fixed an issue that was causing live captions to crash on first launch due to an issue impacting registry data retrieval.
• Adding enhanced language recognition support in Language & region settings will now install the right files on ARM64 devices. You will no longer need to restart live captions after switching between caption languages installed from Language & region settings. However, you will need to uninstall any "speech pack" entries in Settings > Apps > Installed apps which were installed before the Language & region settings fix and re-install from Language & region settings.
• Fixed an issue in Language & region settings that caused language feature installation progress to be hidden.
• Fixed an issue causing live captions' Add a language menu icon and label to overlap.

[Task Manager]

• Double clicking Task Manager's title bar to maximize the window should work again now.
• Fixed a Task Manager crash which was impacting Insiders in the last couple flights.

[Accessibility]

• Fixed an issue that was leaving voice access's window empty after opening.
• Fixed an issue where voice access was crashing when using the command to go to the start of a document.
• Fixed an issue where Narrator's CTRL + Narrator + Home and Ctrl + Narrator + End commands to move to the beginning and end of text weren't working correctly in Edge.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23451

What's new in Build 23451

Modernized Details Pane in File Explorer
We are introducing a modernized details pane in File Explorer (ALT + Shift + P) designed to help you easily access related content, stay up to date with file activity, and collaborate without even opening a file.

When a user selects a file in File Explorer and enables the pane, a modern pane will display contextual information about the file including file thumbnail, share status and button, file activity, related files and e-mails, and other information. To enable the pane, choose 'Details pane' in View menu and then toggle the pane with an easy-access button located on right side of the command bar. The View menu/toggle button in the command bar can similarly be used for accessing the preview pane. This modernized pane will replace the legacy details pane in File Explorer.

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

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.

Improving Windows Spotlight
Starting with this build, we are trying out two different treatments for how Windows Spotlight looks. Both treatments will continue to share existing core Windows Spotlight features such as hovering over the icon on the desktop, right-clicking on the icon on the desktop, and double-clicking on the icon on the desktop. One treatment will include a richer UI, full screen, and minimized experience. Both treatments will include 4K portrait images and the ability to learn more about each desktop image. Insiders in the Dev Channel will see different treatments across their PCs so not everyone will see the same thing and the treatments will be shown in English only.

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.

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

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

Narrator enhances interaction with Excel
Narrator now provides a more succinct and efficient reading experience while working in Microsoft Excel. Announcements are prioritized based on the information you need to skim a workbook and are customizable using convenient keyboard shortcuts. Review the Enhanced Narrator support in Excel documentation for further information.

To enable the enhanced announcements, you need to be on the latest Windows Insider and Office Insiders builds and start Narrator using the keyboard shortcut Control + Windows + Enter. The updated experience will be available through the Microsoft Store, so it may take a few minutes to be available on your PC. We look forward to you trying out our new changes and would love to hear your feedback and suggestions.

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

New Widget: Facebook
Facebook is rolling out a preview version of their widget. To give it a try, download the Facebook app from the Microsoft Store or update to the latest version of the app. Then open the widgets board and navigate to the widgets picker by clicking the "+" button at the top-right of the board to pin your widget.

As you give this and other new widgets a try, please let us know what you think through the Widgets feedback link in the widgets picker. You should expect to see additional new widgets as more developers create and release widgets for their apps.

Changes and Improvements

[Start menu]

• We're beginning to expand the roll out of notification badging for Microsoft accounts on the Start menu. A Microsoft account is what connects Windows to your Microsoft apps, backs up all of your data, helps you manage subscriptions, and where you can add extra security steps so you're never locked out of your account. With this feature, we're giving customers quick access to important account-related notifications. These notifications can be managed by going to Settings > Personalization > Start.
• We continue to work on adding more valuable content to the Recommended section in the Start menu by re-introducing websites after trying this out with Insiders last fall. One improvement we've made is to recommend more useful and personal websites based on your browsing history instead of generally popular websites. Insiders can right-click on a website and choose to remove a website individually at any given time. Only some Insiders will see this experience and, if you do, please share your feedback. This feature will apply to users who have opted into sharing browsing data with Microsoft and have visited enough websites in Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome (with Continuous Import enabled). As a reminder, the settings for what is recommended on Start can be adjusted via Settings > Personalization > Start. Commercial customers can manage this experience via policy.
  

[File Explorer]

• For Windows Insiders who have Gallery in File Explorer (which began rolling out with Build 23435), we have updated the icon for Gallery.
  

[Widgets]

• We are beginning to roll out a new widget picker experience with an image that gives a visual preview of the widget before pinning, a deep linking ability that allows users to jump directly to the picker from the provider app/service as well as a link to the widgets Store collection page where users can discover more apps with widgets.
  
• We are beginning to roll out animated icons for Widgets on the taskbar. The animation triggers when you hover or click on the Widgets taskbar entry-point or when a new widget announcement is displayed on your taskbar. Currently, only a few weather and finance icons are supported.

[Live captions]

• Languages support has been expanded to include Danish, English (Ireland), French (Canada), Korean, Portuguese (Portugal).

Fixes

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an explorer.exe crash impacting taskbar reliability.
• Fixed an issue that was causing Quick Settings and its project options to sometimes not respond when using ALT + F4 to close them.

[Start menu]

• Fixed an issue that was causing the Recommended section in Start to be blank the first time it was opened.

[File Explorer]
We fixed the following issues for Insiders previewing the Windows App SDK version of File Explorer

• We fixed an underlying issue believed to be the cause of explorer.exe crashing when opening the context menu in the previous flight for some Insiders.
• If you use an Arabic or Hebrew display language, the tabs should be displaying correctly now.

We fixed the following issues for Insiders with Gallery in File Explorer:

• Fixed an issue where the scrollbar for Gallery was displaying on the wrong side for Insiders with an Arabic or Hebrew display language.
• If you have the Item Check Boxes setting enabled, the Gallery will now show check boxes on images.

[Search]

• Did some work to fix an underlying issue which could cause Search to get stuck and not open. When this happened, you might also see a delay opening the Start menu.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where the Pinyin IME's insert text button wasn't displaying correctly in some cases.
• Fixed an underlying crash impacting the ability to launch the touch keyboard / PIN entry on the login screen.

[Notifications]

• Fixed another 2FA code pattern which wasn't being recognized. If you see any others, please file feedback!

[Live captions]

• Fixed an issue where caption characters shown in the second line of the default height window were getting clipped on top.
• Features have been added to the enhanced speech recognition language files to improve performance and provide out-of-language filtering meant to limit the incorrect captions for speech not in the caption language.

[Accessibility]

• Fixed an issue where using the down key while navigating by landmark with Narrator in Edge wasn't jumping to the first line of the landmark correctly.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23466

This build includes a set of these new features that were announced and shown at Build this week.

What's new in Build 23466

Dev Drive
Dev Drive is a new form of storage volume available to improve performance for key developer workloads. Dev Drive is built upon Resilient File System (ReFS) technology and includes file system optimizations and features that enable developers to better manage their performance and security profile. It has been designed to meet a developer's needs to host project source code, working folders, and package caches. It is not designed for general consumer workloads such as document libraries, installing packaged applications or non-developer tools.

To setup a Dev Drive, you can create one in free space on an existing drive or create a VHD/VHDX. This is done via Settings app under System > Storage > Advanced Storage Settings > Disks & Volumes, or via the command-line. A Dev Drive must be at least 50GB or higher in size and we recommend having 8GB or higher RAM on your device.

Performance mode, a new capability of Microsoft Defender Antivirus, is designed for Dev Drive to minimize impact on developer workloads.

More details on Dev Drive, see this documentation on MS Learn.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Developer Platform > Dev Drive.

Backup and Restore improvements
Building on the app restore feature we announced last year, we are introducing additional backup and restore capabilities in this build to make moving to a new PC easier than ever and to help app developers retain users across this new PC transition. The goal of these changes is to land users on a desktop that feels familiar to them and get them back to productivity within minutes on their new PC.

• Windows Backup app – we're introducing this new app to quickly get your current PC backed up and ready to move to a new PC.
• App pins – your Store apps from your prior PC will be pinned where you left them, both on taskbar and in the Start menu.
• Settings – Settings from your previous device will restore to your new PC to help you get back into the flow as quickly as possible.

Once you're backed up either via the new Windows Backup app or by visiting Accounts/Windows Backup in settings, you can try out the new restore during the out-of-box- experience (OOBE) when setting up a new PC or by resetting an existing PC with this build.

NOTE: An easy way for Insiders to try this experience out is by running the Windows Backup app on a PC running this build and then setting up a new VM using the ISO for this build provided here (or clean installation of this build on another PC) and going through OOBE for the new restore experience.

For developers, review the developer best practices to learn more about how to provide the best restore experience for your app. Note that in this build, not all settings and app types are supported, including desktop apps in the Store and Android apps. Backing up a Work or School account is also not supported.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23471

What's new in Build 23471

Add Phone Photos in File Explorer Gallery
Accessing your phone's camera roll from your PC is an important everyday task that is now easier with File Explorer Gallery. There is a new button in the Command Bar titled "Add Phone Photos" that will help with setting up your PC to be ready to show these photos in Gallery. Clicking this button today will open a URL with a QR code that you can scan with your phone to get started.

NOTE: Users may need to opt into OneDrive's Insider Program to get a version of the OneDrive sync client that handles the protocol invoked when clicking this button. To join the OneDrive Insider Program, open OneDrive settings by bringing up the OneDrive flyout from the system tray; from there, navigate to the About page and turn on the toggle for the OneDrive Insider Program.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.

Narrator natural voices in Spanish (Spain and Mexico)
We are introducing new natural voices in Spanish (Spain and Mexico) 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:

• 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 new Spanish (Spain) voices are Microsoft Alvaro and Microsoft Elvira.
  
• The new Spanish (Mexico) voices are Microsoft Jorge and Microsoft Dalia.
  

• 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.
• 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 Spanish , 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.

Changes and Improvements

[Lock screen]

• We have updated the network flyout on the Lock screen to align with Windows 11 design principles.

[File Explorer]

• We are beginning to roll out the ability to tear out and merge tabs in File Explorer. This feature is beginning to roll out, so not all Insiders in the Dev Channel will see it right away.
• Gallery in File Explorer, which began rolling out with Build 23435, is now available for all Insiders in the Dev Channel.
  

[Settings]

• It is easier to control whether to use cellular when Wi-Fi is available but poor, using a new toggle which has been added to Settings > Network & Internet > Cellular.

Fixes

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where pressing Shift + F10 wasn't opening the context menu in File Explorer.
• Fixed an issue where access keys appeared inconsistently if no button was pressed.

We fixed the following issues for Insiders previewing the Windows App SDK version of File Explorer

• Fixed an issue that was causing explorer.exe to crash when opening the context menu for some Insiders. This same issue is believed to be the cause of some Insiders seeing an older design instead of the updated one.

We fixed the following issues for Insiders with Gallery in File Explorer:

• Fixed an explorer.exe crash in the last flight related to loading/interacting with the scrollbar in Gallery.
• Fixed an issue where Gallery may require clicking twice on the node in the navigation pane for initial load.
• Fixed an issue where minimizing and reopening File Explorer would lose your scroll position in Gallery.
• Hovering your mouse over pictures in Gallery should now show a tooltip with information about the picture.
• Live updates (including filtering) are now enabled and no longer require using the Refresh button manually.
• Fixed an issue where some file types (e.g., .heic) were not rendered correctly or performantly.

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

• Made the background for thumbnails a little lighter in light mode so it doesn't stand out as much.
• If you have Narrator running when you open the details pane, it should now announce the file name.
• If the setting to show file name extensions has been enabled, that will now be reflected in the details pane too.

[Taskbar]

• Fixed an issue that was causing the taskbar to get cut off when switching to and from the tablet-optimized taskbar.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• We have fixed the issue causing Insiders to see an empty tooltip displayed momentarily in certain cases including while the gleam is hovered if the new hover behavior for the search box and search highlight gleam is enabled.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue where Narrator with Braille support wasn't reading numbered lists correctly in Microsoft 365 apps.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23475

What's new in Build 23475

Modernized File Explorer Home and Address Bar
Now that File Explorer is powered by Windows App SDK, we are introducing a modernized File Explorer Home powered by WinUI. Recommended files for users signed into Windows with an Azure Active Directory (AAD) account will be displayed as a carousel and support file thumbnails which is coming soon. Quick Access folders (available by default for users signed into Windows with a Microsoft account), Favorites, and Recent also bring in an updated experience with WinUI.

We are also introducing a modernized address bar and search box to File Explorer. The new address bar intelligently recognizes local vs. cloud folders with built-in status. For OneDrive users, you'll notice the address bar now contains your OneDrive sync status and quota flyout.

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

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.

Dynamic Lighting
Dynamic Lighting provides Windows users and developers with native control of Lighting Devices implementing the open HID LampArray standard. By adopting an open standard, and by working with our OEM and ODM partners,  Microsoft seeks to improve the RGB device and software ecosystem for users by increasing interoperability of devices and apps. Included are APIs for Windows apps to control devices from the background and foreground, as well as a page in Windows Settings for users to customize how their devices behave.

Several device manufacturers including Acer, ASUS, HP, HyperX, Logitech, Razer, and Twinkly have partnered with Microsoft on Dynamic Lighting.

As of the publication of this post, a list of current, in-market compatible devices is below. Review the Dynamic Lighting Hardware MS Learn page for a more current list of compatible in-market devices. The latest firmware should be used with these devices. We are aware of several issues with wireless device connections so please use a wired connection with a compatible device to a PC, if possible, for the time being. And check out the known issues below in this post for other issues that may impact this experience.

Note: Many of the devices listed below have not yet been verified for compatibility by Microsoft. In case of issues, contact the device manufacturer.

Keyboards:

• Coming soon: ASUS ROG Scope II Wireless 96 Gaming Keyboard
• Razer BlackWidow V3
• Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro
• Razer BlackWidow V3 Mini
• Razer BlackWidow V3 Tenkeyless
• Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro
• Razer DeathStalker V2
• Razer DeathStalker V2 Pro
• Razer DeathStalker V2 Pro TKL
• Razer Huntsman Mini
• Razer Huntsman Mini Analog
• Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition
• Razer Huntsman V2
• Razer Huntsman V2 Analog
• Razer Huntsman V2 Tenkeyless
• Razer Ornata V2
• Razer Ornata V3
• Razer Ornata V3 TKL
• Razer Turret Keyboard Xbox One Edition

Mice:

• Coming soon: ASUS ROG Harpe Ace AimLab Edition Gaming Mouse
• Microsoft Pro IntelliMouse
• Razer Turret Mouse Xbox One
• Razer DeathAdder V2
• Razer DeathAdder V2 Pro
• Razer Naga Left-Handed
• Razer Naga Pro

To control and configure a HID LampArray device at both the per-device and all-device level, navigate to the new Dynamic Lighting page in Settings > Personalization > Dynamic Lighting.

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

Changes and Improvements
[General]

• The feature where we now detect if the user is interacting with toasts or not and provide a suggestion to turn the toast banners off for such apps that began rolling out with Build 23466 is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
  

[Emoji]

• The Unicode Emoji 15 is beginning to roll out to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Users will now be able to see, search for and insert new emoji from the emoji panel. Here are a few of our Emoji 15 designs which include more hearts, animals and one new smiley face.
  

Fixes
[Taskbar & System Tray][/B]

• Fixed an issue where the taskbar may not have shown the correct apps when using multiple desktops.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Fixed the issue where Narrator customers were unable to navigate down the left side panel of the search flyout.

[Start menu]

• Fixed an issue where when using a Japanese display language, sometimes apps with names written in kanji would all show at the bottom of the all apps list, rather than displayed alongside hiragana and katakana app names.

[Notifications]

• Fixed an issue where certain notifications were leading to an explorer.exe crash.

[Input]

• We're rolling out the fix for an issue where Korean touch keyboard sometimes finalizes characters unexpectedly in the search flyout on the taskbar.

[Backup and Restore]

• Backups of a PC that was set up using a restore will now show up in subsequent restores.
• Restore of solid color desktop backgrounds are now supported.

[Other]

• Fixed issues that were causing voice access commands for moving settings sliders and selecting things on the taskbar to fail.

[Corrine]

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23481

What's new in Build 23481

Improvements for Windows Ink
Windows Ink is being modernized to allow users to enable inking directly onto edit fields. In addition, we are improving the accuracy from the recognition technology and a scratch out gesture for when users need to make edits. The goal with Windows Ink is to let users use their pen and handwrite anywhere they can type on their Windows device.

Currently, these new Windows Ink improvements support English (U.S.) only but stay tuned for broader language support. This new experience can be managed via Settings > Bluetooth and devices > Pen and Windows Ink under "Shell Handwriting". And please check out some of the known issues for Windows Ink below.

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

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Input and Language > Pen input.

Folder Options changes in File Explorer
We are removing a handful of old settings under Folder Options in File Explorer as part of an effort to clean up the number of settings for File Explorer. Many of these are legacy settings that have been around for ages and are not being regularly used by people on Windows 11.

The following settings will no longer appear under Folder Options in File Explorer:

• Hide Folder Merge conflict.
• Always show icons, never thumbnails.
• Display file icon on thumbnails.
• Display file type information on Folder tips.
• Hide protected OS files.
• Show drive letters.
• Show popup description for Folder and Desktop items.
• Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color.
• Use sharing wizard.

(Note: These settings can still be accessed via registry keys.)

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.

New Widget: Focus Session
We are beginning to roll out a new Focus Session widget as part of a Clock app update (version 11.2305.6.0 and higher) via the Microsoft Store to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels. With this new widget, you will be able to quickly start and stop focus sessions on your device.

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

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

Changes and Improvements

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Never combined mode, which enables you to see each window of your applications on the taskbar individually, and which began rolling out with Build 23466, is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
  
• Starting with his 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. Stay tuned for more enhancements as we continue to enhance Microsoft Teams – Free with more features and improvements.
  

[File Explorer]

• The ability to tear out and merge tabs in File Explorer, which began rolling out with Build 23471, is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
  

[Voice access]

• The new text authoring experiences in voice access that began rolling out with Build 23466 is now available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
  

Fixes

[Dev Drive]

• Fixed an issue where filters beyond AV might be attached to your Dev Drive on reboot.
• Fixed an issue which could cause a bugcheck when using Dev Drive.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where the icons in the File Explorer context menu could be blurry.
• Fixed an issue where sync status icons for files backing up to a storage provider were not reliably displayed.
• Fixed an issue for authentication errors on File Explorer Home where the 'Please Sign-in' button appeared but clicking on it did not pop-up the authentication dialog.
• Updated "Show files from Office.com" text in folder options to "Include account-based insights, recent, favorite, and recommended files".
• Using CTRL + V to paste an image in Gallery will now paste the image into your default pictures folder (the default folder can be configured under Collection > Manage Collection in Gallery).
• If you hover your mouse over the details button in File Explorer, the tooltip should no longer block the close button for the window.

We fixed the following issues for Insiders with the modernized address bar in File Explorer:

• Fixed the direction of the search icon within the tab when doing a search in File Explorer.
• Fixed an issue where tabbing or Shift + tabbing from the command bar wouldn't land focus inside the current folder.
• Fixed an issue where if you set focus into the address bar (to edit the path), you wouldn't be able to use tab to move focus out of it.
• If the current path is longer than the available space in the address bar, a bit of room now has been added so you can still click and go into edit mode.

We fixed the following issues for Insiders who have the modernized File Explorer Home:

• Fixed an issue where hovering over folders in the Quick Access section of Home was causing the name to disappear and the icon to slide to the side if you had checkboxes enabled.
• Dragging and dropping into the Favorites or Quick Access sections should work again now.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Fixed an issue where navigating the search flyout on the taskbar with the keyboard arrow keys did not work as expected.