New preview build with taskbar update and better near-sharing

There’s a new update for Windows Insiders on the Dev Channel. Preview build 25163 is said to belong to the Sun Valley 3 development branch and thus to Windows 11 23H2. The update may roll out to all Windows 11 users by the end of summer or autumn next year. Key features of this preview build include the return of the taskbar overflow menu and the ability to find more devices with Nearby Sharing.

overflow menu returns

Once the taskbar becomes overcrowded, the question arises as to where to put all the programs. Microsoft has now given its Windows 11 operating system the overflow function for the taskbar. The company wants to provide its customers with a “more productive switching and early experience”. Once the maximum capacity of the taskbar is reached, an overflow condition occurs. In this case, the user is offered an access point to an overflow menu, which displays all overflow programs that no longer fit on the taskbar with one click. This menu grants the same functions as the regular taskbar and disappears as soon as one navigates to the application or clicks outside it.

Better “Sharing Nearby”

Users can now search for more devices under “Nearby Sharing”. Instead, the functionality of local file sharing from the desktop, File Explorer, Photos, Snipping Tool, Xbox, and other applications has been improved using the built-in Windows Share window. User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is used with Bluetooth to detect nearby devices.

When sharing a file, users can select OneDrive as the destination to upload the file directly to OneDrive and share it further with access control options. All this can be done by sharing local files directly in File Explorer without having to switch contexts or open the OneDrive app. On the next page you can see all the bugs that were fixed as a result of preview build 25163.