Windows 11 version 22H2, the annual Windows 11 update for 2022 is now released to Public. This major update brings many desired changes and new features along with itself. In this hands-on article we are covering the top features and changes brought by the Windows 11 version 22H2.

Windows 11 22H2 Start menu new features:

  • Create, Rename, Arrange Folders in the Start Menu:
    • Microsoft has brought back the ability to create Folders in the Start Menu with Windows 11 version 22H2. Now, you can simply drag and drop an app on top of another to create a folder.
    • You can add more apps to a folder, rearrange apps within a folder, and remove apps from a folder. You can also name and rename your folders of apps in Start Menu.
    • A folder will have the default name of “Folder”, when newly created. Open it, click on “Edit name”, and type folder name of your choice. You can also use keyboard focus to open the folder then select the text box and start typing.
    • When you hover one pinned app icon over another, there will now be a small animation to hint that this will create a folder.
  • More Pins/Recommendations: This new feature brings ability to personalize the Start Menu by tweaking the “Pinned” and “Recommended” areas. You can right-click on Start to quickly access Start settings and choose the “More pins” or “Recommended” layout option to show an extra row of either pins or recommendations, respectively. By default Pinned and Recommended have three rows each.You can now configure Start to show more pins or more recommendations based on your preference.

Windows 11 22H2 Taskbar new features:

  • Drag and drop:
    • With Windows 11 version 22H2, Microsoft has brought back Drag and drop support to the Taskbar. This is the only missing Taskbar feature, however, that Microsoft found important enough to bring back. There is a big list of removed Taskbar features that Microsoft has ignored comfortably even after strong user feedback.
    • You can quickly drag and drop files on any open and running app icon on the Taskbar. When you do this the app window comes to the foreground and then you can drop the file on app window to open it. You can try this with an image and Paint/Photo app to try.
    • You can also customize your taskbar with your favorite apps from Start’s All apps list by dragging and dropping over the taskbar to pin them. You can also drag and drop to the desktop via “Show desktop” at the very right corner of the taskbar.
  • Updated entry point for Widgets on Taskbar: With Windows 11 version 22H2, the Widgets entry point will be placed on the left side of Taskbar with live weather content by default. You can open the Widgets board by simply hovering over the entry point. If you choose to realign your taskbar, the Widgets entry point will be to the right of the Task view icon.

Windows 11 22H2 File explorer new features:

  • File Explorer Tabs & Navigation Updates:
    • File Explorer now has tabs, one of the most-desired feature by Windows 11 users. Using File explorer to explorer multiple things in one Window is now a reality.
    • Microsoft has also introduced a refreshed layout of the left navigation pane which makes it easy to navigate. The updated organization provides easy access to pinned and frequently used folders (Quick access) and your OneDrive cloud profiles added to Windows. OneDrive cloud profiles reflect the user’s name associated with the account.
  • File explorer “Home”, User Interface & other changes:
    • The default homepage of File Explorer is now called Home in version 22H2. Quick access section is now the pinned/frequent folders section and Pinned files are shown under Favorites section to align with Office and OneDrive.File Explorer with tabs and navigation updates.
    • Recent and pinned files displayed in Home are now searchable using the search box in File Explorer even if they are not local files. So you can find Office files also which are shared with you.
    • Known Windows folders which are available by default in the navigation pane are no longer displayed under this PC to keep that view focused for your PC’s drives. When you navigate to folders syncing to OneDrive such as Documents, Pictures, etc., the address bar displays the correct path to help bring clarity when your folders are on the cloud vs when they are local to you.
    • Shift + Right-clicking in File Explorer opens the “Show more options” context menu. This usability improvement will be welcomed by many.
    • Microsoft has added OneDrive integration into File Explorer. When browsing your OneDrive folders, you can now see your sync status and quota usage without having to leave File Explorer.OneDrive storage as shown in File Explorer when navigating to OneDrive folders.

Windows 11 22H2 new Multitasking (Windowing) features:

  • ALT + TAB, Task view, and Snap assist redesign:  Microsoft had redesigned ALT+TAB interface to shows apps as windowed unlike the full-screen window experience that we have on Windows 11. The focus rectangle of ALT+TAB, Task view, and Snap assist shows the default accent color. The same experience existed on Windows 10 earlier and it is a welcome step to bring it back to Windows 11.
  • Microsoft Edge tabs in snap assist: Microsoft has recently improved multitasking in Windows 11 by including Microsoft Edge tabs in snap assist. When a windows is snapped, three most recent Edge tabs are now shown as suggestions. One can also control whether to include Microsoft Edge tabs in multitasking via settings.
  • If you press WIN + Z to open snap layouts, all the layouts will now show associated numbers, so you can quickly use the number keys to select the desired layout.
  • Microsoft has updated multi-finger touch gestures with new animations that follow your finger. You can use three fingers to swipe left and right and switch between recently used windows.
  • New way to snap Windows: Microsoft has added a new way to snap windows into snap layouts by dragging a window to the top of the screen to reveal the snap layouts. Once snap layouts are revealed you can drop the window on top of a zone to snap it and use snap assist to finish building your layout.ust drag a window to the top of the screen to reveal the snap layouts, drop the window on top of a zone to snap it, and use snap assist to finish building your layout.

Task Manager changes:

  • Task Manager Redesign & Efficiency Mode: Microsoft has updated the design of Task Manager to match the new Windows 11 design principles. This includes a new hamburger style navigation bar and a new settings page. A new command bar on each page gives access to common actions. Update also brings dark theme to Task manager and will automatically match the system-wide theme configured in the Settings app.The updated design of Task Manager in dark theme.
The updated design of Task Manager in dark theme.
  • Efficiency mode. This feature is helpful when you notice an app consuming high resources and would like to limit its consumption so that the system gives priority to other apps which will lead to faster foreground responsiveness and better energy efficiency.The new Suspended and Efficiency mode icons as they appear in Task Manager.
The new Suspended and Efficiency mode icons as they appear in Task Manager.

You can apply Efficiency mode either by clicking on the command bar in the Processes page or right click on the process. You can only apply Efficiency mode to single process and not to the entire group process.  If the option is grey out, it generally means that it’s a core Windows process and throttling it might affect the performance of the system. The Efficiency mode process will be marked with a new leaf icon, and Microsoft is also introducing new pause icon for Suspended process to indicate the process is in suspended mode.

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