By Dervish / Last update December 10, 2024

For members of the Windows Insider project of the Dev channel, today Microsoft launched the Windows 11 Build 22518 preview update. This update introduces several new features, including Spotlight collection wallpaper, Voice Access, a new entry for Widgets in the taskbar, and more. The Spotlight Collection will allow you to enjoy fresh desktop wallpapers every day. Voice Access is a new feature that will allow you to interact with your computer using voice.

The following is the complete update log of the preview version of Windows 11 Build 22518

Through the Spotlight collection, you can browse the customs of various countries on the desktop

introduce

Use Spotlight Collection to keep your desktop fresh and inspired. Every day you will receive beautiful new desktop wallpapers from all over the world and interesting facts about each picture.

Here is how you can try Spotlight highlights:

1. Right-click on your desktop and select "Personalize".

2. On the personalized settings page, select "Background".

3. In the drop-down menu of "Personalize Background", select "Spotlight Collection".

Switch

After enabling the Spotlight Collection, you will see an inspiring picture from White haven Beach, Australia, and the Spotlight icon on your desktop. Right-click the Spotlight icon on your desktop to switch between Spotlight pictures, or tell us whether you like or dislike a picture.

After launching for a period of time, Microsoft will replace White Paradise Beach with a collection of up to five background images from all over the world. This may take up to 24 hours. If you hover your mouse over the Spotlight icon, you can learn more about each picture.

Right-click the Spotlight icon on the desktop, a right-click menu will open, you can switch to different background pictures, and tell us whether you like or dislike one of the pictures. Double-click the Spotlight icon to launch the login page, where you can learn more about any Spotlight series pictures you see during the day.

Notice

The Spotlight highlights experience has not been localized and will only display English text. Full localization will appear in future updates. Windows Insiders in the following countries and regions can use Spotlight Collection. Australia, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and more countries will join.

Updated the entry point of Widgets on the taskbar

Microsoft is trying to display the Widgets entry on the left side of your taskbar and display real-time weather content. You can also open the Widgets panel by simply hovering the mouse over the entrance.

For users who choose to align the taskbar, the Widgets entry point will be to the right of the task view icon. The group policy and the ability to show/hide the Widgets button from the taskbar remain unchanged.

Introduce Voice Access

Introduce

Voice Access is a new experience that enables everyone, including people with mobility impairments, to control their computer and write text with voice. For example, Voice Access supports scenarios such as opening and switching applications, browsing the web, and reading and writing emails. Voice Access uses voice recognition on modern devices to accurately recognize voices and can support it even without an Internet connection.

Voice Access currently only supports English-U.S. languages, so the Windows display language should be set to English-U.S., otherwise voice access may not work as expected.

Start using

 You can find Voice Access in Settings> Accessibility> Voice. When you open Voice Access for the first time, it will prompt you to download a voice model for voice recognition on your device. Once the download is complete, you can select a microphone you want to use voice access and start controlling your computer with your voice.

You can choose in the settings to automatically start Voice Access the next time you log on to your computer. You can also use voice commands or keyboard shortcuts (Alt + Shift + C and Alt + Shift + B) to control whether voice access is listening or not.

Voice Access includes an interactive guide explaining how to use voice to complete common tasks. In addition to the interactive guide, when the voice access is listening, you can access the complete list of commands by asking "what can I say?" (what can I say?). You can also access the complete set of voice access commands here. Voice Access will provide real-time feedback on what you hear during voice access, so that you know which word has not been correctly recognized.

Operate

Let Voice Access start and listen to your commands-you can say "Voice access wake up", "Unmute"

Put Voice Access into sleep state (after enabling it, it will only take effect for the "voice access wake up" voice command)--"Voice access sleep", "Mute"

Stop Voice Access completely and listen to your commands (after starting, the user needs to use the mouse or keyboard to click the microphone button to change the state)--"Turn off microphone"

Windows interaction through voice

You can navigate and interact with Windows by voice, including opening and switching applications with your voice. You can also simulate your standard input, such as keyboard and mouse, by voice.

For example, you can do something like this

Open a new application-"Open xxx", such as "Open Edge," "Open Word"

Switch to the opened application - "Switch to xxx", such as "Switch to Edge"

Manage your window--"Minimize window," "Maximize window," "Close window"

Click on an element, such as a button or link-"Click xxx", such as "Click Start," "Click Cancel"

Right-click an element-"Rick click xxx", such as "Right click Start"

Double-click an element-"Double click xxx", such as "Double click Recycle Bin"

Scroll in a certain direction-"Scroll down" or "Start scrolling down"

Press a key or key combination--"Press Escape," "Press and Hold Shift," "Press tab 3 times"

Digital layout

For those pages that do not have a name, users can choose to display numbers and then operate on a number.

Show numbers layout--"Show numbers" or "Show numbers here"

Click on a number element-"Click xxx" such as "Click 1", "Double click 1", "Right click 1"

Hidden number layout--"Hide Numbers," "Cancel"

Grid layout

In order to interact with the inaccessible user interface and achieve precise mouse movement through the grid overlay.

Show grid - "Show grid" or "Show grid here"

Lock to a grid - "xxx", such as "1"

Click on the central element of the grid-"Click xxx" such as "Click 1"

Mark an object for dragging-"Mark xxx" such as "Mark 1"

Drag the marked object to a certain position-"Drag"

Create text with your voice

Insert text in the text box - "xxx" such as "hello world"

Choose your last dictated text-"Select that"

Select the specific text in the text box-"Select xxx", such as "select hello world"

Select the previous or next character or word or line or paragraph--"Select next word", "select previous two lines"

Delete the selected text or the last dictated text--"Delete that"

Delete the specific text in the text box-"Delete xxx" such as "delete hello world"

Capitalize the first letter of a word-"Capitalize xxx" such as "capitalize hello"

Capitalize all the letters of a word-"Uppercase xxx" such as "uppercase hello"

Change all letters in a word to lowercase-"Lowercase xxx" such as "lowercase hello"

Place the cursor before/after specific text--"Move before ", e.g., "Move before hello world"

Move the cursor to the beginning/end of a word or line or paragraph - "Go to beginning of line", "go to end of paragraph"

Improve speech recognition skills

● As clear as possible

● Try to use it in a relatively low-noise environment

● To prevent system sounds (such as media playback or people talking during a call) from being received by Voice Access, it is recommended to use headphones/earplugs or mute the system audio when Voice Access is actively listening.

Be sure to check the known issue's section below for known issues with voice access. We look forward to you trying to use voice access, and hope to hear your feedback and suggestions under "Accessibility"> "Voice Access" in the "Feedback Center" (Win + F). You can also find the link to the feedback center on the voice access help menu--use the voice command "open voice access help"">"click to give feedback" to get there.