Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23451 brings an End Task button to the Taskbar's right-click menu
Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23451 is now available for users in the Dev Channel. The latest update adds a new shortcut to the Taskbar's context menu.
Windows 11 will let you End Task from Taskbar's right-click menu
Sometimes apps or games may not respond, and you may have to open the Task Manager to kill the process. Microsoft wants to make this simpler by adding an option to end the task directly from the Taskbar. The option isn't enabled by default, you will have to go to the Settings > Privacy & Security > For Developers page. Enable Developer Mode, which will allow you to interact with the rest of the settings. Click the toggle next to "End Task".
Right-click on any app (that is open) on the Taskbar, and you should now see an option to End Task.
Notification Badges in Start Menu
Remember the Start Menu alert that was tested in Build 25309 earlier this year? Microsoft is expanding the notification badging to all users in the Dev Channel. It will only display badges on devices that are signed in to a Microsoft account, and remind users to backup their data, manage subscriptions, add a recovery phone number, among other things. Recently, the operating system was also found to nag users to log in to their Microsoft account.
If you find that annoying, you can turn off the feature from the Settings > Personalization > Start page. Toggle the option that says "Show account-related notifications".
That's not all, Microsoft is also working on "adding more valuable content" to the Start Menu's Recommended Section. It will display websites that you may find useful, the suggestions are based on your browsing history. The recommended section is not available for all users. You may remove recommendations individually by right-clicking on them, or turn them off completely from the Personalization page that I mentioned above.
Improvements in File Explorer
Microsoft has added a new details pane in File Explorer. Like the old style, it tells you the specifics of a file, such as its side, type, location, etc. But, the interesting bit about the new version is that you don't need to open a file to view
the recent activity on it such as sharing, changes made by other authors who collaborated with you. The panel also displays related files and email conversations. The Redmond company says that the modernized details pane will replace the legacy version in the file manager.
Windows Spotlight
Two styles for Windows Spotlight are being tested, in addition to the default experience. One of the new treatments has a richer UI, lets you switch to full screen view, and an optional minimized panel experience. Both styles support 4K portrait images, and an option to learn more about the image.
The new Spotlight and File Explorer experiences are being A/B tested, and will only be available for a small subset of users.
Facebook Widget
A new Facebook Widget is available in the latest Dev Channel Build. Users who want to view notifications from their social feed may open the Widgets Board and click on the + button to pin the new widget.
Now, if you have some privacy concerns about it, don't worry, it is an optional feature. The widget will only be available if you have the Facebook app from the Microsoft Store installed on your computer.
Other changes in Build 23451
The Widgets board is getting a new widget picker that displays a visual preview before you pin the widget. The Widgets button on the taskbar will display animated icons for announcements, it currently shows these for weather and financial related changes.
Live Captions are now supported for the following languages: Danish, English (Ireland), French (Canada), Korean, Portuguese (Portugal).
(Images via Microsoft)
Please refer to the official announcement for a full list of bug fixes and known issues in Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23451.
I bet I can implement this “end task” via registry + runhiddenconsole, to my Windows 7. Nothing special
Whoever keeps coming up with these features is a hack with no talent. Nobody will use those useless Widgets like live tiles from ten years ago. It will always crash since it is using Meta’s API with a terrible webview2. Please quit pressuring people to use your shoddy cloud rental services. Stop clogging up the file explorer with slow Windows app SDK bloat. When will the taskbar be smaller and contain labels? When will the start menu be freaking customizable?
It may be useful when the whole W11 useless taskbar gets blocked, as often it does! OMG Microsoft, where is the place that are you going? Is it too far from W12? Thanks @Ashwin for the article! :]