Microsoft has released two new Windows 11 beta channel builds. There's build 22623.1250 for those who have new features rolling out, and then build 22621.1250 for those who have new features off by default. These don't bring any significant features, and the second build (for those who have new features) is focused on bug fixes for the Taskbar, Task Manager, and search.
Starting first with the changes in both builds, there's just one you'll need to be aware of. Microsoft says it is adding a new policy for IT administrators to manage how the search box on the taskbar appears in their organizations. The new ConfigureSearchOnTaskBarMode policies can hide the search on the taskbar, hide the search icon only, hide the search icon and label, or show a search box. Without these policies, Windows will be set to default, and users can change in settings on their own. Microsoft talks about this in a separate blog post, if you're curious.
For the changes in build 22623.1250, you can check out the full log below. Basically, these are patches for issues like the narrator not working, dragging windows around the search box, text scaling, or the search box straight up disappearing.
- Typing F in the search box should work again now.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator wasn’t reading out some of the text in dialogs.
- Dragging the window using the search box area should work now (like other areas of the title bar).
- If you do a search and then press the down arrow, keyboard focus should now move from the search box into the results.
- Fixed an issue where ending processes in the Details tab wasn’t showing a confirmation dialog.
- Increasing the text scaling should no longer result in a “see more” button appearing with no contents.
- Fixed an issue where focus might not get set properly to search, leading to Narrator not saying that focus was on the search box.
- If you have a contrast theme enabled and select one of the rows in the Processes page, that row should now show that it’s selected.
- Fixed an issue where the search box would randomly disappear sometimes when you clicked it (leaving a blank space on the taskbar).
- Fixed an issue where the search box was shifting to the side slightly when you clicked it.
- If you have the taskbar set to auto-hide and press the Windows key and start typing, the taskbar should no longer unexpectedly hide.
That's all there is to know about the beta channel builds this week. If you're running Windows 11 and have a PC enrolled in the Dev channel, you got a build to download earlier this week. The build delivered new Spotify and Phone Link widgets.
Source: Microsoft