Windows 11 - what's new, different

Owned by Palak Chauhan
Nov 04, 2024
4 min read

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Wireless networks

  • If you get a message ‘Can’t connect to this network’ when trying to connect to a wireless network, right-click and select ‘Forget’, Windows should then detect it and connect successfully.

Dell Command Update

  • Dell Command Update may open when you log in for the first time.

  • It is recommended that you open it and select ‘Check for Updates’ - install any updates available.

Outlook

  • When opening Outlook for the first time you will be presented with ‘look’ options:

image-20241104-183542.png

  • You may see other minor display differences, e.g. new bar on left pane.

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Taskbar changes

  • New Widgets app on left

  • New widgets deliver a personalized feed of news, weather, traffic, sports, and stock market data, powered by AI for customization and Edge for rendering

  • To customize feeds or turn off notifications, click icon on bottom left (Widgets), click Settings gear icon

  • To disable hover, click icon on bottom left (Widgets), click Settings gear icon, toggle off ‘Open Widgets board on hover’ 

  • Start menu (Windows icon), Search bar and Pinned/Running app icons are shifted to the right (more toward the middle of the taskbar)

  • You can change the alignment from Centre to Left if desired - right-click on the taskbar and choose ‘Taskbar settings’, select ‘Personalization’, scroll down to ‘Taskbar behaviors’ section, click on the dropdown menu, and to the right of ‘Taskbar alignment’ choose ‘Left’

  • Some app icons look a bit different (e.g. Snipping Tool, Notepad)

  • Snipping Tool has been updated and needs to be re-added to taskbar if desired

  • Right-clicking on an app icon in the Taskbar results in a different menu, and shift + right-click in the task bar to start an app as administrator may not work.

  • To run a program as administrator, right-click to get the menu and then right-click the name of the program, choose ‘Run as administrator’ (note that this won’t work if the program is already running).

  • System tray (right side of the taskbar) changes:

  • When in Teams meetings you may notice that you have a ‘Microphone’ icon in the taskbar for easy muting/unmuting of the Microphone

  • New Icon in taskbar if a restart is required for Windows updates

  • You can add or hide system tray icons if desired - right-click on the taskbar and choose ‘Taskbar settings’, select ‘Other system tray icons’, toggle icons on or off.

Snap Layouts

  • Arrange your desktop just the way you like it with Windows 11's new Snap Layouts feature

  • Hover the mouse over the Maximize icon in a program window’s upper-right corner. When you do so, you’ll see a choice of layouts, like this:

  • Hover the mouse cursor over the layout diagram onto the spot you want to fit your current application into and click to set.

  • Tap on the app you want in each box in succession.

  • An alternative way to use Snap Layouts is via the keyboard. Use Windows Key–Right Arrow (or whichever direction you want to snap the window towards) to move and resize a window in half. You can also use a Windows Key–Arrow combination (e.g.  to get a window to fit exactly in the top right quadrant of the screen, use Windows Key–Right Arrow followed by Windows Key–Up Arrow).

Updates to default apps

  • Clock has new features including a productivity feature called Focus Sessions. With Focus Sessions, you set boundaries for when you want undistracted time for getting stuff done.

  • Photos is now not only for organizing and editing photos, but also for video editing with titles, transitions, effects, and more. The Photos app includes face recognition, auto-generated albums, and integrated maps for photos with location data.

  • Settings now features a persistent left menu. It saves you from having to back out of nested settings to quickly get to another group.

The new right-click context menu in File Explorer

  • Right-click on any file, folder, or empty space on your desktop to bring up the context menu.

  • Common Options: The new menu shows common options like Cut, Copy, Rename, and Delete at the top.

  • Show More Options: If you need more options, click on Show more options at the bottom of the menu or press Shift + F10. This will bring up the classic context menu with all the additional options you might be used to from previous versions of Windows.

Support for 7-Zip and RAR archive formats

  • Windows 11 natively supports 7z, RAR, TAR, and many other open-source archive formats. No need to install third-party archive software to create or open file archives.

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