Windows 11 build 22572 outs with new features

Windows 11 build 22572 is now available with new features in the Dev Channel.
Build 22572 introduces redesigned Print Queue, new icons for features, and more improvements.
Microsoft also announced upcoming changes coming to the search experience.

Microsoft is now rolling out Windows 11 build 22572 for devices enrolled in the Dev Channel of the Windows Insider Program. This is another significant update with various visual changes, new features, and improvements.

Build 22572 for Windows 11, according to the official changes, introduces the Microsoft Family features as an app, and the Clipchamp app becomes another that will come pre-installed by default. Also, this flight ships with a modern version of the Print Queue experience, and Quick Assist, Windows Sandbox, and Focus get new icons using the Fluent design system. Furthermore, you can now open the classic context menu in File Explorer with the “Shift + Right-click” action.

Build 22572 for Windows 11 new features

Here are all the new features and improvements for the latest release of Windows 11 in the Dev Channel:

Print Queue

Starting on build 22572, Windows 11 introduces a redesigned version of the Print Queue app that matches the design language with rounded corners, mica material, and more. The new application also makes it easy to identify your desired print job (with thumbnail previews), see the status, and manage it.

In addition, this flight also includes a new interface to print content. It’s the same app available on previous versions, but the visuals have been updated to match the design language of Windows 11.

New icons for apps

The Quick Assist app, the Focus feature, and Windows Sandbox have new modern icons using the Fluent design system in this release.

New Windows 11 apps

Microsoft is also introducing two new apps for Windows 11, including Microsoft Family and Clipchamp.

The Microsoft Family app is an app that houses all the family safety features you use on the web and mobile. The app lets you set parental control settings, configure screen time for apps and games, and location tracking for family members.

Clipchamp is a new video editor for Windows 11 defined for making video creation easy, fast, and fun. The app has all the basic tools, like trimming and splitting, more pro-style features like transitions and animated text. In addition, for real-time content capture, there are also built-in webcam and screen recorders.

File Explorer

In this preview, you can use the “Shift + Right-click” action to open the “Show more options” context menu (also known as the classic context menu).

Microsoft hasn’t officially announced it, but build 22572 also includes an updated version of File Explorer that has support for tabs, which you can use like in a web browser.

Start menu

The Start menu isn’t getting a lot of changes, but the Windows Terminal app is now called “Terminal.”

Also, the legacy version of “Windows Media Player” available in Windows Tools has been renamed to “Windows Media Player Legacy.”

Settings

As part of the changes for Windows 11 build 22572, the Windows Management Instrumentation command-line (WMIC) tool now becomes a feature on-demand, which you can now uninstall or reinstall via Settings > Apps > Optional Features.

Also, on Settings > Personalization > Taskbar, the touch keyboard icon option has changed from being a toggle to now being a dropdown where you can select “Never,” “Always,” or “When no keyboard attached.”

Search highlights

Microsoft has also announced that in the coming weeks, it will begin rolling out an update for Search in Windows 11 that highlights interesting moments in time.

According to the company, the “search box in Start and Search will periodically update with content, including fun illustrations, that help you discover more, be connected, and stay productive.” Search highlights will also show notable moments, including holidays, anniversaries, and other educational moments in time both globally and in your region.

Furthermore, the feature will offer “additional content in search home related to today’s moment and daily content like word of the day, Microsoft Rewards offers, trending searches, and more.”

On the left side, you will also find “an extended list of your recently launched apps, files, settings, and websites to help you get back to what you were doing last.”

In addition, if you use a work or school account, you will also be able to use Microsoft Search in the organization.

If you don’t like the feature, you will be able to disable it on Settings > Privacy & security > Search settings and toggling “Show search highlights.”

The company says that search highlights will also be available on Windows 10.

General fixes for build 22572

In addition to the new features and improvements, Windows 11 build 22572 also ships with a bunch of improvements for the Taskbar, Start menu, Settings, File Explorer, and more.

Taskbar

We fixed the issue that was causing explorer.exe to crash if you right-clicked on the Start button or used WIN + X.

Mitigated an explorer.exe hang that could happen in the last few flights related to the visual indicator in the taskbar when sharing a window in Microsoft Teams.

Adjusted the sensitivity so quickly sliding your mouse across the widget’s icon on the path to an open flyout or menu will no longer make it dismiss.

Made a change to help address a memory leak in Shell Experience Host when repeatedly opening and closing the Notification Center.

Addressed a scenario where the Notification Center might not light dismiss if it was opened on top of certain apps.

Fixed an underlying issue when the display scaling was greater than 100% which was causing drag and drop in the taskbar to unexpectedly show that it wasn’t available.

In addition to these new features and improvements, Microsoft is also detailing many fixes and known issues that Insiders need to know before upgrading their devices.

Touch gestures are restored on all device types, as we resolved the issue that broke several of the new touch gestures announced as part of Build 22557 on non-tablet devices.

Improved reliability of taskbar auto-collapsing after launching an app.

Fixed several bugs related to the taskbar state change when disconnecting or reconnecting your keyboard.

Addressed positioning issues with the hidden icons button and flyout when using the Arabic or Hebrew display language.

Start menu

Improved how the “Pinned” header name is rendered in the Arabic display language.

File Explorer

Made some more improvements to help with context menu invocation performance.

Using the Filter option in Quick Access should work for images now.

Fixed an underlying issue causing the title bar in File Explorer when colored to not visually occupy the full area it was supposed if you maximized the File Explorer window.

Fixed an issue where if you had a folder selected in the navigation pane and right-clicked another folder, options like Open in Windows Terminal would unexpectedly open the first folder.

“Pin to Quick Access” is now available in the command bar when a file in Recent Files in Quick Access is selected.

Input

Mitigated an issue where clicking hyperlinks in RichTextBlocks wasn’t working when performed with touch or pen.

Addressed an issue where custom mouse pointers might revert to the default Windows one after rebooting.

Fixed an issue where voice typing might display “there is a connection issue” when that wasn’t the cause of the error.

Addressed an issue where voice typing might not launch after unlocking your PC.

Fixed a touch keyboard crash that could happen on the login screen when there were multiple accounts on the PC.

Mitigated an issue impacting pen sensitivity in recent flights.

Fixed a rendering issue causing the screen to have small freezes in recent flights when trying to ink in certain apps.

Made some refinements to help improve detection of the pinch to zoom gesture on touchpads.

Addressed an issue leading to IME toolbar options being unresponsive in some cases for the Chinese (Simplified) IMEs.

Settings

Fixed an issue causing a hang when trying to access Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors.

Addressed an issue where font previews under Personalization > Fonts might not be visible when a contrast mode was enabled.

Improved performance when switching between the different available views on Apps > Installed apps.

Uninstalling an update via Windows Update > Update History > Uninstall Updates should show a confirmation now before it proceeds.

Windowing

An acrylic area should no longer get stuck on the screen if you press WIN + D while interacting with snap layouts at the top of the screen.

Fixed an issue where if you used snap assist to snap a window that had been minimized, it might not fill the entire available space.

Fixed a few animation stutters when using 3-finger on-screen gestures.

Addressed an explorer.exe crash that could happen if you attempted to use 3-finger on-screen gestures while no windows were visible on the screen.

Addressed an underlying issue that could impact the animations and performance when invoking Task View.

Mitigated an underlying issue that was causing you to unexpectedly see an X when attempting to rearrange Desktops in Task View in certain scenarios.

Tweaked the logic to help further reduce the number of sounds heard when connecting and disconnecting monitors and docks.

Mitigated a recent issue where windows for minimized apps weren’t launching on the expected monitor upon undocking and redocking.

The title bar should no longer peek out onto secondary monitors when maximizing certain apps.

Fixed an issue that was causing certain windows to show an unexpected white rectangle poking out from underneath, spanning the top of the window.

Updated the new full-screen gripper for edge gestures to use acrylic.

Narrator

Fixed an issue preventing Narrator from reading in the Run dialog correctly in scan mode.

Narrator in scan mode will now read error messages in the Error List correctly in Visual Studio.

Errors while setting up a PIN in device setup (OOBE) will now be read out by Narrator.

Pitch range for Narrator natural voices has been adjusted to provide more levels of control.

Addressed an underlying issue that was leading to the pitch not changing when adjusting Narrator’s speed in the 0 to 5 and 15 to 20 ranges in Narrator settings.

Task Manager

Improved visibility of content when a contrast mode is enabled.

Fixed an issue where critical system processes were unexpectedly displaying as background processes.

Addressed an issue that was causing random rows in the processes list to be unexpectedly written in black text when using dark mode.

Right clicking the Task Manager icon in the system tray should now actually show the context menu rather than a blank box.

Pressing Esc should no longer unexpectedly close Task Manager.

General fixes

Fixed an issue for Enterprise edition devices going through the setup experience (OOBE) where the network add screen was skipped on the first attempt.

Addressed an issue that was causing some Insiders to see a bugcheck with a CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error in the previous build while attempting to do various things including logging in, opening Outlook, and accessing network shares in File Explorer.

Mitigated an underlying issue that was leading to audio stutters and touchpad issues in the previous flight.

Addressed an explorer.exe crash Insiders were seeing in recent builds when attempting to use Windows Mixed Reality.

Fixed an issue with scroll bars not rendering appropriately on some Win32 applications.

Fixed another issue where users weren’t hearing the startup sound.

Images should no longer be backward when using a lock screen slideshow with an Arabic or Hebrew display language.

In addition to these new features and improvements, Microsoft is also detailing many fixes and known issues that Insiders need to know before upgrading their devices.

Install Windows 11 build 22572

If you want to download and install the Windows 11 build 22572, you need to enroll your device in the Dev Channel using the “Windows Insider Program” settings from the “Update & Security” section.

Once you enroll the computer in the program, you can download build 22572 from the “Windows Update” settings by clicking the Check for Updates button. However, you will need a device that meets the minimum system requirements to receive the update if you are new to the Windows Insider Program.

Update March 11, 2022: Microsoft is now rolling out build 22572.100 as update KB5012817. However, the update does not include anything new, it’s only designed to test the update mechanism through the Dev Channel.

Update March 15, 2022: Microsoft is now rolling out build 22572.202 as update KB5012886. However, the update does not include anything new, it’s only designed to test the update mechanism through the Dev Channel.