The recently released build Windows 11 Build 25247 contains plenty of hidden gems. There is a new VPN overlay icon, Search Suggested Action with Google Chrome support, updated pages in the Settings app, and more. There is also a small update to the System > Display > About page that now lists links useful when you sell your PC.
Category: Windows 11
Search Suggested Action in Windows 11 supports Chrome, here’s how to enable it
With Windows 11 Build 25247, Microsoft introduced a new Suggestion Action that allows you to search online for a selected text. The feature is limited to those who lives in the US, and is locked down to Edge. But it was quickly discovered that it may work with any browser, and has several other options. All of them are hidden, but you can enable them with ViveTool.
There is a new VPN overlay icon in the notification area in Windows 11 Build 25247
Windows 11 Build 25247 contains a lot of hidden features that have not yet been officially announced. There is the ability to enable seconds for the taskbar clock, and the updated "Go back to earlier build" and "Startup" pages in the "Settings" app. In addition to these, it is now possible to enable an overlay icon for the network indicator when a VPN connection is active.
Windows 11: Enable updated “Startup” and “Go back to earlier build” Settings pages
Microsoft continues to polish the inbox Settings app by adding more consistent dialog. The app is getting more solid appearance of the Fluent Design style. The most recent Windows 11 Build 25247 released to the Dev channel contains two updated pages, Startup and Go to the earlier released build. Both are hidden, but you can activate them to learn how they will look in the near future.
Windows Subsystem for Android November update is out with several improvements
Microsoft has released a new version of Windows Subsystem for Android for Windows 11 (2210.40000.7.0) to Windows Insiders on the Dev and Beta channels. This update improves the stability and performance of the subsystem, and fixes security issues.
Windows 11 Build 25247 (Dev) includes improved Task manager, tray clock seconds, and more
Microsoft has released a new preview of Windows 11, build 25247 to Windows Insiders in the Dev channel. It features Windows Studio Effects from the Quick Actions Menu, Energy Saving Recommendations in the Settings app, Task Manager with search for processes and a better dark theme. Besides, there is a new "Suggested action" that allows directly searching for selected text in Bing. Also in Settings you will see a reminder if you are running out of free OneDrive space. For the clock in the taskbar, you can enable seconds. Finally, the Start menu now shows recently visited websites in the Recommended section.
Windows 11 Build 22621.898 adds out of OneDrive storage alerts to Settings
Microsoft released a new build of Windows 11 to Insiders running the OS in the Release Preview channel. It is out with the KB5020044 update, and raises the OS version to Build 22621.898. It comes with a few new features, including low disk space notifications and storage capacity in Settings, a new Windows Spotlight theme, and more.
How to Enable Seconds for the Taskbar Clock in Windows 11
Microsoft has updated the Windows 11 taskbar, so it can finally show seconds in the clock. Such a feature was available in Windows 10, but required you to apply a Registry tweak. With Windows 11, Microsoft significantly improved it and added an option to the Settings app. Enabling seconds is now a matter of few clicks.
Windows 11 may soon allow ungrouping taskbar buttons
The taskbar in Windows 11 lacks many of the useful features that previous OS versions used to offer out of the box. One of them is the ability to ungroup app buttons and show their text labels. This may change soon, with this feature coming back to the taskbar in Windows 11.
The Dark Mode quick action may be coming to Windows 11
If you always wanted to have a way to turn on the dark theme in Windows 11 faster, this may become possible in the near future. Microsoft is internally testing a new quick access button that will allow you to turn off the light in the OS with two clicks or taps.
