Microsoft treats Windows Insiders with new builds to Beta channel and Dev channel on the last day of the week. Talking about the beta channel update it is available to Insiders with build 22631.2199 (KB5029352). The company also released an update to Canary channel earlier this week.
As with every Beta channel update, there is also a second build 22621.2199 in which new features are off by default. Talking about features, the new Windows 11 update to beta channel brings a much awaited feature.
Windows 11 finally gets native support for reading additional archive file formats. Here is the list of main formats that Windows 11 will support natively.
- .tar
- .tar.gz
- .tar.bz2
- .tar.zst
- .tar.xz
- .tgz
- .tbz2
- .tzst
- .txz
- .rar
- .7z
- And more!
Yes no longer need for third party apps for reading these archive formats. But for more advanced options you may still need them.
The update also brings changes to different department from Start Menu to Settings.
Windows 11 Build 22631.2199 Changes and Improvements
[Start menu]
- For files that do not have rich thumbnail previews that can be provided, it will no longer show a blank preview area.
[Taskbar & System Tray]
- You can now turn on never combined mode on the taskbar by right-clicking on the taskbar, choosing “Taskbar settings” and under “Taskbar behaviors” simply adjusting “Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels” to never. And we provide a separate setting for turning this on for other taskbars (multiple monitor scenarios for example).
[Narrator]
We have made the following improvements for Narrator:
- Changed default verbosity level from 2 to 3 which will now announce “Immediate Context Name and Type”. The Control context type like “list” or “toolbar” will allow users to better understand the focused control – same default as JAWS and NVDA.
- Narrator users are unblocked for typing Traditional Chinese characters in Windows by addition of Traditional Chinese dictionary for detailed reading.
We have made the following improvements for Narrator with Braille:
- When navigating to any attachment in Outlook with scan mode, narrator announces the & of the attachment, the same is now reflected on braille display.
- Navigate to different headings in Scan Mode using down arrow, or ‘Space + 4’ key in Braille device, now navigating to heading is reflected in Braille.
- When navigating a list with items , whenever Narrator announces index with the menu item name, Braille display also reflects the same index values as “1 of 4”.
[Settings]
The end task feature under System > For Developers no longer requires Developer Mode to be enabled first before it can be used.
Along with these changes and improvements the new beta channel update also addresses some bugs. All the bug fixes and known issues in the official page.
Those who are on the Build 22624 will automatically moved to the new build 22631. But in case if you receive the other build 22621, then you will have the option to upgrade to the main build 22631. You can check for the new update by visiting Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates.
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