Microsoft adds Websites to Windows 11 Start Menu, updates Windows Photos, Snipping Tool & Phone Link with new features

Microsoft has released Windows 11 Build 22621.2359 (KB5030310) to Insiders in the Release Preview Channel. The new build adds Websites to recommended section of the Windows 11 Start screen. Microsoft has also updated Windows Photos, Snipping Tool and Phone Link apps with new features.

Coming to details now, the websites added to recommended section of the Windows 11 Start screen will be personalized from browsing history. Users can remove any website URL from the Recommended section using the shortcut menu. To turn off the feature, one can go to Settings > Personalization > Start.

Windows Photos gets background blur, search, motion photo support, and other enhancements with the new update. With the new update, Snipping Toolis getting Text Actions feature, which detects text in captured screenshots, making it easy to copy text from any image to share with others or paste in another app. The update for Phone Link app introduces the ability to effortlessly access and edit most recent photos from Android mobile device in Snipping Tool on PC.

Here is the full changelog for Windows 11 Build 22621.2359 (KB5030310) provided by Microsoft.

This update includes the following features and improvements:

• New! This update completes the work to comply with the GB18030-2022 requirements. It removes and remaps characters for Microsoft Wubi input and Microsoft Pinyin U-mode input. You can no longer enter character codepoints that are not supported. All the required codepoints are up to date.
• New! This update introduces websites to the Recommended section of the Start menu. These websites will be personalized for you and come from your browsing history. This gives you quick access to the websites that are important to you. You can remove any website URL from the Recommended section using the shortcut menu. To turn off the feature, go to Settings > Personalization > Start. You can adjust settings for all recommended content on the Start menu on this Settings page. Commercial customers can manage this feature using a policy.
• This update supports daylight saving time (DST) changes in Greenland.
• This update changes the spelling of Ukraine’s capital from Kiev to Kyiv.
• This update addresses an issue that affects account lockout event 4625. The format of the event is wrong in the ForwardedEvents log. This occurs when an account name is in the user principal name (UPN) format.
• This update affects the Key Distribution Center (KDC) and user security identifiers (SID). KDC now reads the user SID from the Subject Alternative Name (SAN) of a certificate. Because of this, mobile device management (MDM) providers can use offline templates to fill in the user SID. To learn more, see KB5014754.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Excel. It stops responding when you try to share a file as a PDF in Microsoft Outlook.
• This update addresses an issue that is related to changes in the forwarding of events.
• This update addresses an issue that affects events that have a TAB character. The events do not render, or you cannot forward them.
• This update addresses an issue that affects XPath queries on FileHash and other binary fields. It stops them from matching values in event records.
• This update addresses an issue that affects an Application Virtualization (App-V) environment. Copy operations within it stop working. This occurs after you install the April 2023 update.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Print to PDF. It uses the metadata for the name you sign in with as the author of a printed PDF. It should use the display name instead.
• This update addresses an issue that affects some USB printers. Microsoft Defender stops them from printing.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC). AppID Tagging policies might greatly increase how long it takes your device to start up.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Korean touch keyboard It completes the first character in the search box on the taskbar. This is not expected.
• This update addresses an issue that affects IMEPad. It stops working. This occurs when you enter end-user-defined characters (EUDC).
• This update addresses an issue that affects sleep mode. After you resume from sleep, a blank window appears that has the title “Windows Input Experience.”
• This update addresses an issue that affects Remote Apps. The display of some elements is not aligned correctly.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the search box tooltip. It does not appear in the correct position.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the search button. It disappears when you interact with the search flyout box.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (DTC). It has a handle leak. Because of this, the system runs out of memory.
• This update addresses an issue that might make Windows stop responding. This might occur if you use Microsoft OneDrive files that are compressed by NTFS.
• This update addresses an issue that might cause a user-mode memory leak. It might occur when you call CopyFile() or MoveFile().
• This update addresses an issue that affects application compatibility. It is related to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
• This update addresses an issue that affects external binding. It fails. This occurs after you install Windows updates dated May 2023 or later. Because of this, there are issues that affect LDAP queries and authentication.

More details about the new features added to the Windows Photos, Snipping Tool and Phone Link apps are provided below.

Background Blur

Make the subject of your photo stand out by opening a photo in Edit mode and selecting the new Background Blur option. The Photos app automatically finds the background in the photo, and with a single click, instantly highlights your subject and blurs out the background. You can also customize the effect by adjusting the Blur Intensity or use the Brush Tool to modify the areas being blurred.

Content search for OneDrive-backed photos

For photos stored in OneDrive (home or personal) accounts, you can now quickly find the photo you’re looking for based on the content of the photo. To use the new content search feature, make sure you’re signed into your Microsoft account, navigate to the OneDrive Personal section, and in the search bar at the top, enter what you’re looking for, for example:

• Car
• Beach
• Birthday
• Vacation

Known issue: If you are brand new to OneDrive or have not previously used photo search on OneDrive, search may not work right away as OneDrive processes the photos. If you’re not seeing any search results, check back in a few hours and try again.

Location search

You can also now find photos based on the location they were taken. This feature is available to all photos in your collection including those stored in file systems, OneDrive, and iCloud.

Samsung and Google Motion Photo support

You can now view the video portion of Motion Photos captured on Samsung and Google devices.

Other fixes and improvements

• Based on community feedback, we updated our up-sampling logic so that images no longer appear pixelated when zooming in by a large factor.
• Touch support for slideshow is now available. Swipe left and right to easily navigate to the next photo in your slideshow.
• Edit and Create Video options are now easily accessible at the top of the gallery view.
• The previous issue where an app restart was required for iCloud photos to start showing is fixed. Once you have enabled photo syncing in your iCloud for Windows app, you will see photos stored on iCloud start showing up.

Text Actions with Snipping Tool

With this update to Snipping Tool (version 11.2308.33.0), we are introducing Text Actions, which detects text in your captured screenshots, making it easy to copy text from any image to share with others or paste in another app. To get started, click the Text Actions button in the toolbar to show selectable text before selecting and copying text with your mouse. You can also click the Copy all text button in the toolbar or use Ctrl + A and Ctrl + C to select and copy all text using your keyboard.

With Text Actions, you can also redact sensitive information in screenshots before sharing. Select Quick Redact from the toolbar to automatically hide emails and phone numbers or select any text and select Redact Text from the right-click menu to hide the text.

Remote capture with Phone Link

We are also beginning to gradually roll out a new feature for Phone Link (version 1.23082.123.0 or greater on PC) that introduces the ability to effortlessly access and edit your most recent photos from your Android mobile device in Snipping Tool on your PC. Say goodbye to missed opportunities as you’ll receive instant notifications on your PC whenever a new photo is captured on your Android device, provided both devices are connected via Phone Link.