Microsoft releases new Windows 10 preview with Edge, Narrator, Task Manager, and mobile broadband improvements

Microsoft today released a new preview for PCs with Edge, Narrator, kernel debugging, Task Manager, and mobile broadband improvements. This build is from the RS5 branch, which represents the Windows 10 update the company plans to release later this year.

Windows 10 is being developed as a service, meaning it receives new features on a regular basis. Microsoft has released five major updates so far: November Update, Anniversary Update, Creators Update, Fall Creators Update, and April 2018 Update.

First, Edge has received a redesigned “Settings and more” menu (organized into groups with icons and some keyboard shortcuts), a top sites section in the Jump List on the Windows taskbar or Start Menu, and an option to organize the tabs you’ve set aside (pictured above). There are also new “Show in folder” and “Copy link” options in the right-click menu in the Downloads pane.

Next, the Narrator’s scan mode now supports selecting content in Edge, Word, Outlook, Mail, and “most text surfaces.” For a full list of selection commands, refer to Narrator’s Show Commands List by pressing Caps+F1. Once content is selected, you can copy it to the clipboard with CTRL + C.

For those who care about debugging tools, there is a new preview of WinDbg available, and support for IPv6 is being added to KDNET. To make room for the larger headers required for IPv6, Microsoft is decreasing the payload size of packets and declaring a new version of the protocol so that host PCs running the latest version of the debugger can be used to debug target PCs that only support IPv4.

As for the Task Manager, the main memory column in the Processes tab no longer includes memory used by suspended UWP processes. Microsoft hopes this will more accurately reflect the memory used by suspended UWP processes that the OS can reclaim if needed. New and old memory columns will be available in the Details tab.

After introducing an improved Mobile Broadband USB class driver in build 17655, Microsoft has now set it as the default driver. To try it, install this build on a PC that relies on mobile broadband for cellular connectivity and turn off Wi-Fi.

This desktop build also includes the following general bug fixes and improvements:

• Fixed an issue causing Narrator to read extra text when invoking Alt + Tab.
• Fixed an issue resulting in Chinese and Japanese characters not rendering correctly in Command Prompt.
• Fixed an issue where double-clicking text in Command Prompt only selected up to the first punctuation mark, not up to the space.
• Fixed an issue resulting in the Home and End keys not working in Microsoft Edge in recent flights.
• Fixed an issue resulting in a high volume of reliability issues in any XAML surface using Reveal in the previous flight.
• Fixed an issue resulting in some apps like Adobe XD from crashing on launch in recent flights.
• When you press F1 in Microsoft Edge it will now take you to the Microsoft Edge support page, rather than Microsoft Edge tips.
• When a tab in Microsoft Edge is playing audio, the volume icon in the tab will now light up when you hover your mouse over it.
• When you open local files (like PDFs) in Microsoft Edge, those files will now appear in the History section.
• Fixed an issue where downloading files in Microsoft Edge could appear stuck on doing the security scan.
• Fixed a recent issue where Ctrl + Shift + Left to select backwards in Notepad wouldn’t work at the end of a line.
• When you execute “start cmd” from a Command Prompt window, a new Command Prompt tab will now be created if you have Sets enabled. This will also work for other start launches, like “start notepad.” To start something in a new window you can use the new /newwindow flag, for example “start /newwindow notepad.”
• Fixed the issue that was preventing users from enabling Developer Mode through the For developers settings page.

Today’s update bumps the Windows 10 build number for the RS5 branch from 17672 (made available to testers on May 16) to build 17677.

This build has 12 known issues:

• If you use your AAD account to receive new flights (via Settings > Update & Security > Windows Insider Program) there is an issue causing the “Fix me” option to be presented which unfortunately will not work and you will not be able to receive the latest flights.
• You may see some unexpectedly light colors in dark mode.
• Insiders who use Remote Desktop, project their screen, or have multiple monitors may experience explorer.exe hangs on this build. This issue can also lead to Microsoft Edge hangs.
• If you right-click apps in the taskbar you may find that the jump list is missing pinned and recent items.
• After update, Mixed Reality Portal will reinstall the Mixed Reality Software and as a result environment setting will not be preserved. If you need your Mixed Reality home experience to persist it is advised you not take this build until these issues are fixed.
• Sets UX for Office Win32 desktop apps is not final. The experience will be refined over time based on feedback.
• The top of some Win32 desktop app windows may appear slightly underneath the tab bar when created maximized. To work around the issue, restore and re-maximize the window.
• Closing one tab may sometimes minimize the entire set.
• Tiling and cascading windows, including features like “View Side by Side” in Word, will not work for inactive tabs.
• The Office Visual Basic Editor window will currently be tabbed but is not intended to be in the future.
• Opening an Office document while the same app has an existing document open may cause an unintended switch to the last active document. This will also happen when closing a sheet in Excel while other sheets remain open.
• Local files or non-Microsoft cloud files will not be automatically restored, and no error message will be provided to alert the user to that fact.

As always, don’t install this on your production machine.