Microsoft should evolve the Windows 11 taskbar by adding practical functions yet present in Windows 10. A reintegration. welcome which proves that the publisher listens to its users.
Microsoft never stops improving Windows 11. Since the release of its latest operating system in the fall of 2021, the publisher has continued to review its copy to correct defects and bring new functions, often in the greater confusion, as evidenced by the abundance of updates which sometimes have enough to lose the most seasoned users (see our article). And while continuing to track down bugs and repair the problems caused by the lack of finishes and control – like the Patch Tuesday of April 2023 which causes still unresolved concerns (see our article) –, the firm from Redmond tirelessly continues its transformations into testimonies in preview versions released via Windows Insider program channels. This is how we recently discovered the changes that Microsoft will soon make to the Taskbar, this essential element of the system which has been the subject of numerous criticisms during the transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11, an evolution which led to the disappearance of very practical functions.
Windows 11 taskbar: Microsoft reintegrates Windows 10 functions
It is precisely on this point that the editor is working at the moment. Thus, as a certain Albacore – a very active expert in the Windows community – announced on Twitter, Microsoft should reintegrate two functions which had disappeared and which were claimed by many users. According to his findings, it should be possible to once again display the names of pinned apps in the Taskbar as a label next to their icon. A small option that will help some to find their way around better, but which will obviously take up more space. In addition, we should also be able to ungroup the windows of an application, as in older versions of Windows. A practical function that will allow easier access to the different windows of a browser or to the documents opened in a word processor, for example, rather than combining everything in a single icon as is the case today.
Taskbar item labels (as well as ungrouped items) are indeed on their way to Windows 11
Here’s a demo of the current state of the feature, definitely further along than last time we looked at itFiddled with a few settings in the video so you can see how it reacts pic.twitter.com/7A7H0MWpJV
— Albacore (@thebookisclosed) April 19, 2023
In a completely different register, we should also be able to hide the date and time in the Taskbar. A small welcome option for those who never consult this information, and which will save a little space. Finally, and these are probably the ones that will interest the most people, Microsoft should finally make it possible to move the Taskbar , to position it at the top, right or left of the screen as we could do with Windows 10 The integration of this function requested by many users would however seem more delicate than others, in particular because of the management of the search field, which has evolved a lot.
For the time being, it is still unknown if and when Microsoft will deploy these new functions – sometimes some do not go beyond the test stage. Since they are reviewed in Windows Insider, it would seem logical that they would arrive in the next few months, or even weeks, via point updates. And, if they are indeed maintained, they will anyway be incorporated into the big 23H2 release that will be released in the fall of 2023. Regardless, these small improvements prove that Microsoft is responsive to user criticism, which is good sign. However, we would like the publisher to finish its major cleaning by ridding Windows 11 of the remains of old versions – certain modules date from Windows XP… outfits.