Windows 11 Build 26231 (Canary) improves the Snipping Tool, Narrator and sharing

Microsoft has released Windows 11 Build 26231 to Insiders in the Canary channel. It ships a newer Snipping Tool version with screenshot auto-saving, a new folder to store video recordings. Narrator now works in tandem with Voice Access, the Share dialog allows copying the file, and more. Due to the fact that the Canary channel has moved to higher-numbered builds, you cannot now switch to the Dev channel without  reinstalling Windows.

Narrator users can now use voice access to dictate text hands-free

Narrator users can now use the Voice Access feature in Windows 11 to type text with their voice and hear what was actually recognized and typed. In addition, using “Voice Access” you can give commands to “Screen Narrator”, for example, “speak faster”, “read the selection”, “read the next line” and so on.

For a complete list of Narrator commands supported with Voice Sharing, click the help button on the Voice Access panel and go to the Narrator commands section.

To get started:

1. Launch and set up Voice Access by downloading the required voice pack.
2. check out the list of available commands.
3. Change the microphone status for Voice Access.
4. Start typing by voice and listen to what was actually typed.

Tip:

• If you don't use headphones to listen to Narrator, the audio output from the screen reader may be picked up by the microphone when Voice Sharing is running, causing unwanted effects.

Note. Microsoft is rolling out the feature to some Insiders on Canary channels. Microsoft wants to gather feedback from a small group of users before the change is rolled out to all Insiders.

Automatic restart of Voice Access and a new command for searching in Windows

Microsoft has implemented Voice Access to automatically restart when problems occur, so people with disabilities can quickly get back to using the feature. From now on, you will no longer have to resort to alternative assistive technologies or the help of other people to restore Voice Access. If the feature restarts automatically, the system will send information about the failure to Microsoft so engineers can investigate and fix the problem.

In addition, new commands have been added for searching in Windows - “Search “Entity””, “Search Windows for “Entity”” and “Search for “Entity””. With their help, you can quickly find the application or file you need.

Note. Microsoft is rolling out the feature to some Insiders on Canary channels. Microsoft wants to collect feedback from a small group of users before the change is rolled out to all Insiders.

Snipping Tool update

A new update for the Snipping Tool app, version 11.2405.24.0 and later has become available to insiders on the Dev and Canary channels. The application now automatically saves created videos in the Screen Recordings folder in the Videos user location. The application can also automatically save screenshots. If necessary, the feature can be disabled in the app settings.

Changes and improvements

Share dialog

Microsoft is rolling out the ability to copy files from the Share window in Windows. For this purpose, a new “Copy” button has been added.

Settings

Updated designs for the Rename PC and Change Date and Time dialogs to match the visual style of Windows 11 should now be available to all Insiders on the Canary channel. This change began rolling out in build 26217 .

Fixes

File Explorer

Some insiders have already noticed that Microsoft has improved the display of buttons in the context menu for languages ​​other than English.

Task Manager

• Updated DDR memory speed units (from MHz to MT/s).
• Fixed an issue where the Safely Remove Hardware option for USB drives does not work when Task Manager is open.
• Some improvements have been made to help Task Manager free up process handles more quickly when they exit.
• Additional improvements have been introduced to improve the stability of Explorer.
• Improved performance when changing sort order.
• Numerous improvements have been made to make Task Manager compatible with accessibility features, such as keyboard focus, tab navigation, text scaling, item names spoken to screen readers, and more.
• Made it easier to resize the Task Manager window when attempting to do so at the top of the window.

Known Issues

Microsoft is investigating reports that some Insiders in the Dev and Canary channels are stuck on build 26040 or 23620. If you want to upgrade to the latest build, you can download the official ISO image and perform a clean install of the system to continue receiving new builds for Dev and Canary channels.