As Microsoft is rolling out the new Windows 11 22H2 update to its users, Windows Insiders on the Dev channel are getting new updates that seem to be bringing in new features. This time users on the Dev channel will now be able to enable the new Spotlight UI on their desktop for Windows 11.
As it is with people digging into what’s new with the updates on the Dev channel, it has been reported that there’s a new Spotlight panel for wallpapers on Windows 11. Let’s take a look at how you can enable the new Spotlight UI on your Windows 11 PC.
Windows Spotlight is a feature that tells the operating system to choose wallpapers from the internet and set them as the background for your desktop as well as your lock screen. You can change the wallpaper by clicking on the little icons present on the desktop and lock screen. It also provides you with some information about the particular wallpaper. If you do not like the wallpaper, you have the option of selecting the not a fan of this picture. With that being said, here is our guide on how to enable the new Spotlight UI on Windows 11.
Before moving to the steps, take a look at a list of things that you need to have before you begin to enable this feature on your Windows 11 PCs.
- Windows 11 PC running on build 25197
- ViVe Tool from GitHub
- A backup copy of all important data
How to Enable Spotlight UI on Windows 11 PC
Now that you have taken note of the important things that you need to enable the Windows 11 Spotlight UI feature, here are the steps you need to follow.
- First off, check if you are running on Windows 11 build 25197 on the Dev Channel.
- You can do that by opening the Settings app > System and finally clicking on About.
- Under the Windows Specification section next to OS build, you should see the version number.
- Now, head over to this GitHub repository page to download the ViVe Tool.
- The file size of ViVe Tool will be 360KB.
- Once the zip file has been downloaded, extract the folder.
- Open the Start menu and search for Command Prompt.
- When you find it, make sure to run it by selecting the Run as Administrator option.
- Now, type in CD C;\ViVe Tools. This will be the path to where you extracted the Vive Tools.
- All you now need to do is type in execute the following commands:
- vivetool /enable /id:39710659
- vivetool /enable /id:40268500
- vivetool /enable /id:39880030
- Once the commands have been successfully set, you now need to restart your PC.
- On your desktop, you should see the Learn more about this picture icon.
- Right-clicking on it should now pop up the new Spotlight UI at the bottom of the screen, or you can check Settings from the Personalization > Themes in the Settings app.
- Here is where you will see the name of the wallpaper as well as any details about the wallpaper itself.
- Do note that this new Spotlight UI might not work on builds newer than 25197.
- Also, do not double-click on the icon as it will open up Microsoft Edge and then show you details of the wallpaper via Bing.
- That’s it.
This concludes the guide on how you can enable the new Spotlight UI on Windows 11 PCs running the Dev channel build 25197.
What do you think about the new Spotlight UI? Do you think it’s something that Microsoft should stick with or simply just put away? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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