Windows Insiders located in the European Economic Area can now access photos stored in the cloud through the Windows search feature on the taskbar. Users have the ability to utilize their own terminology to locate images stored in the cloud, and precise matches for keywords within the text of cloud files will be displayed in the search results.
Enhancements in voice access involve the incorporation of custom words into the dictionary, which significantly boosts dictation accuracy. This development fosters a bias that enables voice access to be more contextually aware and to proactively comprehend specialized vocabulary.
The latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3872 (Beta Channel) brings a range of enhancements and resolutions. The initial enhancement involves the implementation of the "Add to Vocabulary" command for the manual inclusion of words, alongside the incorporation of voice access functionalities. This feature enables users to explore new functionalities and enhancements via an engaging in-product experience. You can also access the feature through the Accessibility flyout in the quick settings of the system tray on the taskbar.
The beta channel is systematically implementing enhancements, encompassing advancements in Windows Search, File Explorer, widgets, Windows Security, settings, and driver package catalog attributes. The start menu has been successfully resolved, and the Windows Security application now provides enhanced information regarding Pluton TPM chips. The settings dialog has been enhanced to align with the visual aesthetics of Windows 11.
The updates for the beta channel address several issues, including a resolution for the Start menu crash, a solution for the Windows key-on-start typing problem, and a fix for the voice access freezing concerns. Furthermore, enhancements have been implemented to optimize the performance of loading the early boot user interface, which includes the BitLocker PIN, BitLocker Recovery Key, and boot menu screens.
Here is the full announcement:
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3872 (Beta Channel)
Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3872 (KB5055640) to the Beta Channel for Windows Insiders on Windows 11, version 24H2.
New Copilot+ PC experiences
New text actions in Click to Do
We are beginning to roll out two new text actions in Click to Do!
Practice in Reading Coach: Improve your reading fluency and pronunciation with the “Practice in Reading Coach” Click to Do action. Simply select the text recognized by Click to Do on your screen, choose the Practice in Reading Coach action, and read the text out loud. The Reading Coach provides feedback and guides you on where to make improvements. To use this feature, install the free Microsoft Reading Coach application from the Microsoft Store.
Read with Immersive Reader: Enhance your reading experience with the “Read with Immersive Reader” Click to Do action. This feature displays recognized text in a distraction-free environment, allowing you to focus on reading. Originally designed to meet the needs of readers with dyslexia and dysgraphia, Immersive Reader helps readers of all ages and abilities improve their reading and writing skills using proven techniques. Customize the text by changing its size, spacing, font, or background theme. You can also have the text read out loud, use syllable break to split words, and highlight nouns, verbs, and adjectives to aid grammar learning. The picture dictionary option provides visual representations of unfamiliar words for instant understanding. Install the free Microsoft Reading Coach application from the Microsoft Store to access this feature
Text actions in Click to Do are rolling out to Windows Insiders on Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, with support for AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs coming soon. You can learn more about using Click to Do here.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Click to Do.
Finding photos saved in the cloud via the Windows search box, now available for Windows Insiders in the EEA
Windows Insiders in the European Economic Area can now find photos saved in the cloud with improved Windows Search to the Windows search box on the taskbar. Just use your own words to find photos stored and saved in the cloud by describing what they are about like “European castles” or “summer picnics” in the search box on your taskbar. In addition to photos stored locally on your Copilot+ PC, photos from the cloud will now show up in the search results together. In addition to searching for photos, exact matches for your keywords within the text of your cloud files will show in the search results.
Improved Windows Search experiences in the Windows search box on the taskbar continue to gradually roll out to Windows Insiders on Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, including finding photos saved in the cloud, so you may not see these experiences right away. Support for AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs is coming soon. See here for more details.
You can learn more about semantic search on Copilot + PCs here.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Search.
New features gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*
Improvements for voice access
We’re beginning to roll out several improvements for voice access in this build.
Add custom words to the dictionary: We are introducing the ability for you to add your own words to the dictionary in voice access. Adding your own words, including difficult to pronounce words, to the dictionary in voice access will help improve dictation accuracy. It increases the probability of recognizing these words more accurately by creating a bias that helps voice access become more context aware and proactively understanding your specific vocabulary. The feature will be available in all the currently supported voice access languages i.e. English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese.
You can add your own words to the dictionary in voice access in a few ways:
- After spelling a word using “Spell that” command or making a correction using “Correct that”
- Anywhere when you want to manually add a word by using “Add to Vocabulary” command.
- Directly through the settings menu in voice access.
Discoverability voice access features: Voice access will now support an immersive in-product experience to announce new features and improvements. It will help you quickly discover and learn more about new features in voice access to try out. You can launch or dismiss this new experience from the settings menu.
And we are also including voice access under the Accessibility flyout via quick settings in the system tray of the taskbar.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Voice access.
Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*
[Improved Windows Search
Improved Windows Search is currently available in preview for Windows Insiders on Windows 11, version 24H2 in the Dev and Beta Channels on Copilot+ PCs.
- You can now turn off searching for content saved in the cloud on your Copilot+ PC via Settings > Privacy and Security > Search permissions to access this setting. Please note this currently works only for the Windows search box on the taskbar. However, in a future update this setting will also apply to search in File Explorer.
[File Explorer]
- We’re starting to roll out the change so that when you launch File Explorer folders from outside of File Explorer (for example, from an app or from the desktop), by default they will now open in a new tab if you have an existing File Explorer window. If you’d prefer that they continue opening in a new window, you can change this in File Explorer folder options, under General > Browse Folders.
[Widgets]
- We are trying out improvements to the notification settings page in widgets on Windows 11 by introducing the ability to control the notifications per feed or dashboard. This change is currently rolling out to Windows Insiders in the European Economic Area (EEA).
[Windows Security]
- We are beginning to roll out a change in the Windows Security app where will show more details such as manufacturer and manufacturer version for Pluton TPM chips if your PC has one under Device security > Security processor details.
[Settings]
- We’ve updated the dialog when renaming your printer under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners to match the Windows 11 visuals.
[Other]
- When running the pnputil /enum-drivers command, we’re adding a new field that enumerates driver package catalog attributes, indicating the driver type and if the driver is attestation-signed.
Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*
[Start menu]
- Fixed an issue which was causing Start menu to crash when creating folders recently for some Insiders.
- Mitigated an issue after the last flight, where if you press the Windows key to open Start and start typing to search, focus was not transferred to search and so your search wouldn’t work.
[Windowing]
- Fixed an issue where the colors used for the snap layouts at the top of the screen weren’t displayed correctly for some Insiders, making some text unreadable.
[Search on the Taskbar]
- Mitigated an issue causing search to load very slowly, sitting at a blank screen for 15 – 20 seconds, for some people recently.
[Input]
- Fixed an issue where voice typing wouldn’t start from the touch keyboard when using the Chinese (Simplified) narrow layout.
[Task Manager]
- Fixed an issue causing search and other options such as filtering in Task Manager to not work in the previous flight.
[Voice Access]
- Fixed an issue which could voice access to freeze with error “working on it” when dictating.
[Other]
- Mitigated an underlying issue which was leading to third party screen readers not working in certain scenarios (such as navigating browsers) for some Insiders after the last flight.
- We did some work to improve the performance of loading early boot UI including the BitLocker PIN, BitLocker Recovery key, and boot menu screens.
Fixes for everyone in the Beta Channel
[General]
- We have mitigated the issue causing some apps like Spotify to not install from the Microsoft Store with an 0x80070032 error.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3872 (Beta Channel)
