Windows 11 gets some welcome shortcuts and streamlining measures to make the desktop look cleaner
The Windows 11 interface is being worked on. These changes may be small, but they are nevertheless useful and in some cases save time.
All of this is wrapped up in a new beta version (preview version 22635) recently released by Microsoft. The first notable change concerns the File Explorer.
Specifically, it’s the home page in File Explorer, which now has an option to show all the files that have been recently shared with you. So if someone has shared a document on Teams, or via email – or through other means – all the most recently shared material will be shown (chronologically), along with key details like who shared it.
Another useful change is inbound for the taskbar, and this is a streamlining measure. Essentially, in the system tray at the far right of the taskbar, Microsoft has trimmed the time and date so that they take up less space (and no longer show the year), plus it’s gotten rid of the notification bell (though you can turn it back on if you want).
Additionally, Windows Studio Effects is now accessible via Quick Settings in the system tray, making it easy to access. This feature brings a bunch of AI-powered camera and audio tricks to PCs with an NPU (for accelerating AI workloads).
The beauty of this is that if you’re using an app that can take advantage of Windows Studio Effects (which offers capabilities like a background blur feature or filtering out background noise so you can hear the speaker better), an icon will appear in your system tray that will let you directly open the Studio Effects settings in Windows 11.
There are several other minor changes with build 22635 and Microsoft’s blog post explains them all in detail.
Analysis: Convenience everywhere
A system tray with trimmer is certainly welcome, as is the handy feature of much easier access to Windows Studio Effects settings (and knowing when an app can use them).
Additionally, the change to File Explorer is another handy move, giving you quick and easy access to shared material. If you know someone has recently shared something but can’t find the file, you can simply open File Explorer on the desktop and look at this list. A useful shortcut indeed, potentially, although it will ultimately be overshadowed by the Recall feature, in theory, for Copilot+ PCs – when it relaunches. (For people who want to use Recall, and we’re guessing after all the controversy that not everyone will.)
It’s worth noting that build 22635 also includes an interesting hidden tweak, in the form of a change to better organize the list of installed apps in the Start menu. As we’ve already seen, that would be a welcome change.