Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23595 (Dev Channel)
Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23595 to the Dev Channel.
[ADDED 12/4] New widgets board settings
We’ve updated the widget settings experience, providing more ways for users to customize their widgets board experience. One of the new settings enables you to just show widgets on your widgets board and another makes it easier for you to discover how to personalize your feed content.
The new settings experience also allows you to select the account you want to use for your Microsoft Start powered widgets and feeds. This means you are no longer limited to using the account you used to sign into Windows to drive those experiences, just like your other app powered widgets. You can easily manage the account used by Microsoft Start by navigating to ‘Microsoft Start’ settings under the ‘Personalize your content’ section in your widgets board settings. This change allows you to further personalize the experience to your preferences. The new settings experience is not limited by region.
[We are beginning to roll this out to Windows Insiders in the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels today, so the experience isn’t available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback before pushing it out to everyone.]
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.
Changes and Improvements
[Copilot in Windows*]
- We are making a change where the Copilot icon is shown on the right side of the system tray on the taskbar to make the entry point to Copilot more clear and easily accessible by being closer to where the Copilot pane opens. As part of this change, we have defaulted the “show the desktop” behavior for the far-right corner of the taskbar to off and this can be re-enabled in the taskbar behaviors section under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar (you can simply right-click on the taskbar to get to this). [UPDATE 11/30] This is just beginning to roll out to Insiders in the Dev Channel so not every will see this change right away.
- We are beginning to re-rollout the change previously documented with Build 23570 that introduces support for Copilot in Windows to be used across multiple monitors. Simply press the Copilot button on the taskbar on whichever monitor you want Copilot to show on or use the WIN + C shortcut to show Copilot on the last monitor that it was visible on. If you are using a keyboard, you can use the WIN + T keyboard shortcut to put the keyboard focus on the taskbar and navigate to the Copilot taskbar button to show Copilot on any monitor.
[Windows Share]
- If you’re signed in with a Microsoft Entra ID, in addition to being able to share to your Microsoft Teams (work or school) contacts, you can also now share directly to specific Microsoft Teams Channels and groups chats as well directly within the Windows share window.
[Windows Ink]
- We are expanding the ability to use digital handwriting (inking) in some edit boxes for Windows Ink to the following languages and locales: Chinese Simplified (People’s Republic of China), English (Australia), English (Canada), English (India), English (United Kingdom), French (Canada), French (France), German (Germany), Italian (Italy), Japanese (Japan), Korean (Korea), Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Mexico), and Spanish (Spain). This also includes more accurate recognition technology, gestures to delete, select, join, and split words and also gesture to insert a new line.
[Nearby Sharing]
- We’re beginning to roll out a change where you will be able to discover and share files with their Android devices in discoverable mode through Bluetooth under Nearby Share in the Windows share window.
[Task Manager]
- We improved process grouping in the processes page for Task Manager.
[Settings]
- This update starts the roll out of account-related notifications for Microsoft accounts on the Settings homepage. A Microsoft account connects Windows to your Microsoft apps. The account backs up all your data and helps you manage your subscriptions. You can also add extra security steps to keep you from being locked out of your account. This feature displays notifications across the Start menu and Settings. You can manage Settings notifications in Settings > Privacy & security > General.
- Xbox Game Bar is now Game Bar under Settings > Gaming.
- We’re beginning to update references to Azure Active Directory (AAD) to Microsoft Entra ID in Settings.
- [ADDED] System Components currently listed in Settings > Apps > Installed Apps page, have moved to its own page under Settings > System > System Components.
Fixes
[Desktops]
- Fixed an issue that was causing custom wallpapers to shift when switching desktops.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
Known issues
[Start menu]
- [NEW] We’re working on the fix for an issue causing the recommended section to be blank for some Insiders.
[Copilot in Windows*]
- When first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.
[Widgets – Added 12/4]
- [NEW] The Microsoft 365, Outlook Calendar, and To Do widgets get stuck in an error state when the Microsoft Start feed is disabled.
- [NEW] You may experience a loading delay when the Microsoft Start feed is reenabled.
- [NEW] Announcements from the Microsoft Start feed are still shown on the taskbar after the feed is hidden.
- [NEW] The Widgets Board should automatically close and reopen when enabling or disabling feeds.
- [NEW] Keyboard navigation from settings subpages back to the top-level Settings page is broken.
- [NEW] Incorrect spacing and fonts used in some settings pages.
For developers
You can download the latest Windows Insider SDK at aka.ms/windowsinsidersdk.
SDK NuGet packages are now also flighting at NuGet Gallery | WindowsSDK which include:
- .NET TFM packages for use in .NET apps as described at aka.ms/windowsinsidersdk
- C++ packages for Win32 headers and libs per architecture
- BuildTools package when you just need tools like MakeAppx.exe, MakePri.exe, and SignTool.exe
These NuGet packages provide more granular access to the SDK and better integration in CI/CD pipelines.
SDK flights are now published for both the Canary and Dev Channels, so be sure to choose the right version for your Insider Channel.
Remember to use adaptive code when targeting new APIs to make sure your app runs on all customer machines, particularly when building against the Dev Channel SDK. Feature detection is recommended over OS version checks, as OS version checks are unreliable and will not work as expected in all cases.
About the Dev Channel
REMINDER: The Dev Channel has been rebooted. Windows Insiders who were in the Dev Channel on 25000 series builds have been moved to the new Canary Channel. Going forward, the Dev Channel will receive 23000 series builds. Insiders who were moved to the Canary Channel and want to move back to the Dev Channel can follow these instructions to do a clean installation of Windows 11 and then re-join the Dev Channel to receive 23000 series builds.
The Dev Channel receives builds that represent long lead work from our engineers with features and experiences that may never get released as we try out different concepts and get feedback. It is important to remember that the builds we release to the Dev Channel should not be seen as matched to any specific release of Windows and the features included may change over time, be removed, or replaced in Insider builds or may never be released beyond Windows Insiders to general customers. For more information, please read this blog post about how we plan to use the Dev Channel to incubate new ideas, work on long lead items, and control the states of individual features.
In some cases, features and experiences may go out to the Canary Channel first before going out to the Dev Channel however the Dev Channel will provide better platform stability. As we get closer to shipping, some features and experiences will also make their way to the Beta Channel when they are ready.
The desktop watermark you see at the lower right corner of your desktop is normal for these pre-release builds.
*Availability of Copilot in Windows: Copilot in Windows in preview is being rolled out gradually to Windows Insiders in select global markets. The initial markets for the Copilot in Windows preview include North America, United Kingdom and parts of Asia and South America. It is our intention to add additional markets over time.
Important Insider Links
- You can check out our Windows Insider Program documentation here.
- Check out Flight Hub for a complete look at what build is in which Insider channel.
Thanks,
Amanda & Brandon