Windows 11 Start menu gets a mysterious new feature but youll have to search for it

Date:
Thu, 12 Jan 2023 12:41:22 +0000

Description:
The latest patch for Windows 11 has made a surprise introduction thats mysteriously hidden.

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Windows 11 just got a couple of sizeable new additions with its latest
patch, although these flew under the radar, as theyre hidden and need to be enabled using a special configuration tool.

Neowin flagged up that PhantomOcean3, an avid Windows tester and leaker on Twitter, posted about the hidden search features that come with Windows 11s KB5022303 patch (which has just been deployed for January). Shouldn't be surprising, but you can enable new taskbar search and even the unannounced
new start menu search in .1105 with ViVeTool. That doesn't mean you should, but you can :)IDs: 40887771 for new taskbar search, 38937525 for new start search.You'll also need 39281392 pic.twitter.com/dFjUH7uOqz January 10, 2023 See more

They consist of a search bar along the top of the Start menu , and a search box for the taskbar (Windows 10 style, as seen in Windows 11 preview builds already).

With the search box for the taskbar , not only can you enable this, but there are a few options available to choose from, such as having the full box or just an icon.

As mentioned, you wont see these additional search functions in Windows 11 as theyre lurking behind the scenes. They can, however, be enabled using the Windows configuration utility ViVeTool, as Neowin describes. However, youre probably best off not turning these things on just yet, as well discuss next. Analysis: Features are hidden for a reason

So why not turn on these search functions? For starters, youll need to be a little tech-savvy to use ViVeTool (its not particularly difficult to turn on
a hidden feature using its assigned ID in the tool, but less confident computing types may feel a bit intimidated by the process).

Moreover, though, once youve turned on these features, they could behave
oddly and mess with your Windows 11 environment, and thats not something you want on your main PC . Remember, these features are tucked away for a reason they arent ready for release yet, and may cause problems. As PhantomOcean3 points out in their tweet, you might be able to turn them on, but that doesnt mean you should.

What this does show us is that Microsoft is likely on the cusp of introducing these features to Windows 11 soon enough. As ever, though, there are no guarantees anything in testing or still behind the scenes will make the eventual cut for inclusion in the OS.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/windows-11-start-menu-gets-a-mysterious-new-fea ture-but-youll-have-to-search-for-it


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