Microsoft is working on a new emoji panel design that combines clipboard history and adds support for GIF images. The new feature appears inside Windows 10 build 20185, available through the Dev Channel, but it’s not enabled by default.
Spotted by Deskmodder, the new emoji panel has a modern design using Fluent Design visual elements, such as blur and transparency. It now supports GIF images, and it integrates the clipboard history, which means that you can now open the emoji panel using the “Windows key + ;” or “Windows key + V” keyboard shortcuts.
When you first open the new panel, you’ll arrive to most recently used emoji, GIF, Kaomoji, and symbols. You will also notice that the emojis larger with this new interface.
In addition, there’s a new search box to make it easier to find the symbol or emoji you want to use. There’s a dedicated section to find GIF images, and a new section to access the clipboard history.
Another improvement with this new experience is that for each section, the different categories are now aligned at the top and described by name, instead of at the bottom and icons.
In addition, the new design expands to the on-screen keyboard that also is receiving some visual tweaks, such as rounded keys and app bar to make it easier to drag the keyboard around.
The new emoji panel is available starting with Windows 10 build 20185, but it’s not activated, which means that if you want to try it out, you must enable it manually with a third-party tool called “ViVeTool” created by Rafael Rivera and Lucas in GitHub.
Enable new emoji panel design on Windows 10
To enable the new emoji design on Windows 10 build 20185 or higher, use these steps:
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Download the ViveTool-vx.x.x.zip file to enable the new expereinces.
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Double-click the zip folder to open it with File Explorer.
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Click the Extract all button from the “Compressed Folder Tools” ribbon.
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Click the Extract button.
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Copy the path to the folder.
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Open Start menu.
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Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
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Type the following command to navigate to the ViveTool folder and press Enter:
cd c:\YOUR\FOLDER\PATH\ViveTool-v0.2.0
In the command remember to change the path to the folder with your path.
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Type the following command to enable new emoji panel on Windows 10 and press Enter:
vivetool.exe addconfig 20438551 2
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Restart your device.
Once you complete the steps, the new emoji panel design will enable on your installation of Windows 10.
If you change your mind, you can revert the changes with the same instructions, but on step No. 10, make sure to use this command: vivetool addconfig 20438551 1.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].