Windows 10 Redstone 4 Preview Build
This new build introduces the long-awaited Windows Timeline which was rumored to be included in the Fall Creators Update but was inevitably kept out. It is a more robust version of the current Task View (Alt + Tab) and is a visual timeline that is directly integrated into Task View, so you can move back into the activities of files and apps you were using – up to thirty days’ worth.
Cortana is gaining new improvements including an update to the Notebook interface and new capabilities for completing tasks. Cortana’s Lists is an improvement on what was previously called Cortana Collections in previous builds. It will help you keep track of To-Do’s and manage grocery and other types of lists you make.
Microsoft Edge has received Fluent Design update and now supports an updated Dark theme. It includes improvements to the reading experience for PDFs and eBooks, open source media extensions, gesture improvements and more. There is also a majr shift to the acrylic Fluent Design experience. You will see that throughout this new build and can expect it when next year’s major feature release comes out to everyone.
The Settings app is being tweaked with a more modern look which introduces the Fluent Design.
Microsoft is providing access to the tabbed experience called Sets to select group of Insiders. “Starting with today’s build, Sets will be available to Insiders however because it is being introduced as a controlled study,” notes Dona Sarkar in today’s post. If you haven’t seen Sets yet, you can check it out in the video below from Microsoft.
Here is a list of the other improvements and fixes you can expect in this Windows 10 Redstone 4 preview build:
We fixed an issue where all types of dynamic volumes listed here wouldn’t mount properly or be accessible from Windows (the data remained intact but inaccessible on the volume on impacted builds).We fixed an issue where after opening and closing the People flyout notification toasts might stop appearing until the computer had been rebooted.We fixed an issue where Cortana’s notification settings were unexpectedly missing in Settings after upgrading to recent builds.We fixed an issue where when there was a problem with Cortana’s speech resources not being available, she could end up blocking Start.We fixed an issue resulting in potentially not receiving all of your notifications from Cortana in the last first flights. We fixed an issue where when using Windows in Hebrew no search results were shown in Search until a space was entered.We fixed an issue such that Recycle Bin will now show up in the search results when typing in Cortana. This was a server-side change so you will see it outside the bounds of this flight.We fixed an issue where opening the Action Center while there was a notification toast visible could result in the Action Center unexpectedly animating in from the bottom corner rather than the side.We fixed an issue where if you reinstalled or reset your PC without internet in the last few flights the default tiles in Start could get stuck as downward arrows.We fixed an issue where if the system was low on memory context menus might display in a narrow width missing all text.We fixed an issue with the File Picker dialog from recent builds where saving file names that included an additional period in the name (like A.ver2.exe) would result in the file extension not being included with the saved file (A.ver2).We fixed an issue where certain videos when watching in Microsoft Edge would stop playing and become unresponsive upon altering play speed to 4x or 8x.We fixed an issue resulting the expected tooltip not appearing when hovering the mouse over images on certain sites in Microsoft Edge.We fixed an issue where no search suggestions were displayed while typing in the Microsoft Edge address bar if the PC was set to a region not currently supported by Cortana.We fixed an issue that could result in an error message saying “device does not respond” when attempting to use Near Share.We fixed an issue where nearby devices that had near share enabled might not be listed in Share.We fixed an issue resulting in cursor lags on some devices when night light was transitioning.When you use the split gesture to add more space between two words in the handwriting panel (a caret, as showcased here) that space will now close back up after a pause.We’ve added a top level link to Storage Settings to “free up space” now, so you can get at it faster if you need it, rather than having to open Storage Sense first.We’ve made some small tweaks to the design of the Windows Update Settings page and subpages.To improve discoverability, when you have an update pending reboot in Windows Update Settings, beside the restart now button you will now also see a button for selecting other restart options.We fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders finding that Outlook 2016 crashed frequently on the previous flight.We fixed an issue where the group policy to set a custom lock screen image wouldn’t work if you had also set a policy that disabled the image on the login screen.We fixed an issue resulting in docker not working in the last few flights.We fixed an issue from recently flights where the Emoji Panel’s most frequently used page wasn’t updating.We fixed an issue where the touch keyboard showed a very small size on large monitors.We’ve updated the touch keyboard to now have an animation when invoking and dismissing.We fixed an issue where keys on the full touch keyboard might become stuck in a visually pressed state.We’ve updated the wide touch keyboard such that if you double tap the Shift key to turn on caps lock the key will now stay in a visual pressed state so you can see that caps lock is engaged.We’ve updated the full touch keyboard so that you can now use keyboard shortcuts that contain 3 keys (for example, WIN + Alt + D).We’ve made some small design changes to the dictation UI that appears when you press WIN+H.We fixed an issue where the Chinese (Simplified) Pinyin IME might hang when typing quickly into Cortana.We fixed the issue where VPNs that used custom pop-up windows during connection were failing with error 720 when attempting to connect.We fixed the issue causing users that have enabled the legacy console to be unable to launch any command line application.
This is a momentous new Windows 10 build and there are tons of things going on. Make sure to check out the post from Dona Sarkar for the complete list of new additions.
Do you like the new features you see coming to the next major feature update for Windows 10? Let us know in the comment section below or for all things Microsoft check out our Windows 10 Forums. Keep up the good work Thanks Ed Comment Name * Email *
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