Microsoft releases Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.891 and 22623.891 with improved Task Manager

Microsoft has released new builds of Windows 11 for Windows Insiders on the beta channel. KB5020040 takes the builds to 22621.891 (no features) and 22623.891 (with features). If you are on the lower build number without the new features you can switch to the higher build via Windows Update.

This update has some interesting improvements for Task Manager. There is now a search box so you can filter on the name of the application you are looking for. You can search by the name, PID or publisher name and the filter algorithm shows potential matches. This is one of the top request features from Windows Insiders so its great to see it added to Windows 11.

Also added is app theme support. You can selection Light, Dark of system settings. All dialogs with the exception of “Run new task” support themes.

Microsoft has also improved the efficiently mode dialog. There is now the option to tick “Don’t ask me again” when you turn on efficiency mode for an app.

Here are the other changes, fixes and known issues with the build:

Changes and Improvements in Build 22623.891

[Input]

• We have made improvements to Emoji search for Japanese and Simplified Chinese by handling Kana/Kanji and Pinyin properly in the emoji panel.

Fixes in Build 22623.891

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• When using the bottom right edge gesture to see Quick Settings, the taskbar should no longer get stuck in the expanded state (instead of dismissing to collapsed state).
• Fixed an issue causing the do not disturb icon to disappear while in do not disturb mode.
• The new show hidden icons flyout’s animation should now be consistent with other taskbar flyouts.
• The show hidden icons flyout background color should now align with your accent color if “Show accent color on Start and taskbar” is enabled in Settings > Personalization > Colors.
• Fixed multiple explorer.exe crashes impacting taskbar performance.

Fixes for BOTH Build 22621.891 & Build 22623.891

• New! You can back up applicable settings to your Microsoft account. You can also sync these settings on any Windows device and in Microsoft Office.
• We fixed an issue that affected File Explorer. It failed to localize folders.
• We fixed an issue that affected the CopyFile function. It might have sometimes returned error 317: ERROR_MR_MID_NOT_FOUND.
• We fixed an issue that affected process creation. It failed to create security audits for it and other related audit events.
• We fixed an issue that affected printing in landscape mode in Microsoft Edge. The print output was incorrect. This issue occurred when you used Microsoft Defender Application Guard.
• We fixed an issue that affected Microsoft Defender when it was not the primary antivirus. Microsoft Defender failed to turn off passive mode. This issue occurred when you turn off Smart App Control (SAC).
• We added .wcx to the list of Dangerous Extensions that some app control policies do not allow.
• We fixed an issue that affected a computer account. Use of non-standard characters can stop the cleanup of the Out of Box Experience (OOBE) accounts.
• We fixed an issue that affected the Windows Firewall service. It did not start when you turned on the Override block rules option.
• We fixed an issue that might have affected applications that run on the Windows Lock Down Policy (WLDP). They might have stopped working.

Known issues

[General]

• We’re looking into reports that audio stopped working for some Insiders in recent Beta Channel builds.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• The taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture.
• The taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet posture.

[Task Manager]

• [NEW] Filtering by publisher name does not match correctly on the Processes page.
• [NEW] Some services may not show in the Services page after filtering is applied.
• [NEW] If a new process is starting while a filter is set, then that process may appear for a split second in the filtered list.
• [NEW] The delete key and tooltip are not working on the filter input box.
• [NEW] Some dialogs may not render in the correct theme when applied from Task Manager Settings page.
• [NEW] The data content area of the Processes page may flash once when theme changes are applied in the Task Manager Settings page.
• [NEW] There’s an issue we’re investigating where Task Manager isn’t displaying light and dark content correctly, leading to unreadable text. This happens when you have your mode in Settings > Personalization > Colors set to Custom – as a workaround for the time being, please switch it to Light or Dark.

Via