Why it issues: Lengthy-time Home windows 10 customers, who swore by its ‘stay tile’ Begin interface, didn’t obtain its Home windows 11 overhaul too effectively. The taskbar misplaced lots of its staple capabilities. For many who gave these modifications a tough thumbs-down, there’s excellent news: a number of cool updates are on the horizon.
The Home windows 11 construct 22635.3785 landed on the beta channel not too long ago. One good characteristic is the flexibility to tug pinned apps from the Begin menu to the taskbar to pin them there as an alternative. Earlier builds solely allowed pinning apps from the “All Apps” listing, not the pinned part of the Begin menu itself, which was an odd omission. The brand new drag-and-drop performance addresses this, although the animations nonetheless look unpolished. Hopefully, that will get smoothed out earlier than its public launch. Sadly, the choice to pin folders on to the taskbar remains to be lacking. It is an admittedly area of interest energy person characteristic, however having fast folder entry from the taskbar is handy for many who need it.
Undocumented enchancment in Beta 22635.3785: now you can drag apps from the Begin menu’s pinned listing to the taskbar to rapidly pin them to it (beforehand, you had to do that from the all apps listing). pic.twitter.com/GO5UgU9DUx
– PhantomOcean3 ð³ (@PhantomOfEarth) June 14, 2024
The devs tweaked the Begin menu’s “All Apps” view. Just a few builds in the past, Microsoft tried a extra fashionable format for it, resembling an app drawer-like look, much like Android. It additionally did away with alphabets for a cleaner look. Within the more moderen construct, the standard alphabetical listing made a return – however organized horizontally quite than in a vertical column like earlier than.
It additionally reintroduced one other Home windows 10 fan favourite. The “All Apps” listing now helps folders. They even develop with a slick animation harking back to tile folders from the earlier Home windows model.
Extra Begin > All apps grid view progress in .3785: folders now work correctly! pic.twitter.com/sAfjhsCoFP
– PhantomOcean3 ð³ (@PhantomOfEarth) June 14, 2024
There are indicators that Microsoft needs to offer customers extra management over the taskbar’s crowded look. Whereas not but absolutely practical, new choices below taskbar settings trace at upcoming toggles to cover the notification bell icon and trim down the system tray clock to point out solely the time quite than the time and date.
Home windows 11’s more and more cluttered taskbar has been no stranger to criticism, with the search field, Widgets button, Groups chat, and new Copilot icon all jockeying for that restricted area. It is nice that Microsoft is giving customers the choice to reconfigure issues.
Microsoft did not listing any of those options on the official changelog, so kudos to @PhantomOfEarth for sniffing them out. One attention-grabbing change it did point out was ‘bounce lists’ for apps on pinned Begin apps.
“When right-clicking on apps pinned to the Begin menu, bounce lists can be proven for apps which have them reminiscent of File Explorer,” notes Microsoft in a weblog publish.
Though it isn’t taskbar or Begin menu associated, one final change provides the flexibility to simply share content material to an Android telephone straight from the Home windows 11 share window by way of the Hyperlink to Home windows app. For these always shifting information and media between units, it is a helpful shortcut.