Microsoft releases new Windows 10 preview with cross-device Cortana suggestions, Edge tab sharing

Microsoft today announced the release of a new Windows 10 preview build for PC and mobile for people participating in the fast ring of the Windows Insider Program. The release has a lot of new features, and it’s coming just three days after Microsoft released an unusually feature-heavy preview build.

Build 15007, which follows build 15002, includes several enhancements to the Edge browser that debuted with Windows 10. For example, you can import favorites (aka bookmarks), along with history and saved passwords, from other browsers, Dona Sarkar, a software engineer in Microsoft’s Windows and Devices Group, wrote in a blog post. But Microsoft is also making it possible for people to share multiple browser tabs. “Just click the ‘Tabs you’ve set aside’ button, and under the ‘…’ menu select the option to ‘Share tabs’ with many apps installed on your PC,” Sarkar wrote.

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You can now click a “Run” button for a download link before you save it. A “Save as” button is also there now, (not just “Save”). Edge now allows you to deep-link into native Windows apps. And the Web Notes part of Edge, which lets you highlight and draw on images of webpages, now has the Windows Ink features that have previously come to apps like Photos and Maps. “Tap the pen or highlighter in Web Notes, and you will now see the full set of Windows Ink colors, as well as the new slider released for Windows Ink with Build 14986,” Sarkar wrote.

The Cortana virtual assistant embedded in Windows 10 is once again getting improvements: In Action Center, you’ll see suggestions of what to do based on what you were recently doing on a different Windows 10 PC.

“For example, if you were working on a PowerPoint deck on your laptop, when you later return to your desktop, a link to that deck appears in Action Center,” Sarkar wrote. “Or perhaps you’re browsing recipes in Microsoft Edge on your PC downstairs, and grab your laptop to go bake up a storm in the kitchen — Cortana will be there for you and have a link to that recipe ready to go.”

Soon it will be possible for people to download Windows 10 themes from the Windows Store, when you start in the Settings app. You can already download themes from the Windows Store, but the icon for the Windows Store in Settings won’t work quite yet.

The Snipping Tool app for making screenshots is finally getting keyboard shortcuts. Hurrah! Sarkar explains:

You can now take a screen capture using only your keyboard. Press Alt + N, select the desired snip type and press enter — this will start the capture. Now use the arrow keys to move the cursor to one of the intended corners of your snip, and press either space or enter to start selecting your snip area. Once you have the area you want, press enter or space again to finish the capture. This keyboard navigation also works with the new Win + Shift + S keyboard shortcut.

And Microsoft’s Scott Hanselman gave a sneak preview of this functionality yesterday:

https://twitter.com/shanselman/status/819309513643737089

Microsoft has adjusted the appearance of the scrollbar in apps that support the Windows 10 Creators Update software development kit (SDK), such that it will appear narrower than before, and only when you move your cursor in the area of the scrollbar will it get bigger.

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Microsoft has added more features for the Windows Hello biometric authentication system that relies on infrared cameras. “You’ll now see a visual guidance that tracks your face in real-time, shows you an improved progress indicator, and gives you real-time feedback to quickly and smoothly set your face up for signing in,” Sarkar wrote. You can see these new features if you set up or adjust Windows Hello by going to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Windows Hello > Face recognition.

And Windows 10’s emoji keyboard now has a rainbow flag.

As usual, this build also has bug fixes, as well as known issues.

The bug that popped up in build 15002 that caused PCs to go to the blue green screen of death (BSOD/GSOD) when dragging an Edge tab out into its own window is now fixed. Another bug from 15002, which would show a black screen when you try to play a video in Netflix, has also been squashed. Going to Settings > Systems > Battery won’t crash Settings anymore. Windows Hello will no longer say “Couldn’t turn on the camera” from the lock screen. The Data Usage page in Settings should load properly now.

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But there is still one issue with Netflix: It will crash when you start a movie if you’re using certain PCs, such as the Acer Aspire. Miracast connections won’t work. Dragging apps from the All apps view in the Start menu to the grid of tiles in the Start menu will not work. (Workaround: right-click on the app in that list and select “Pin to Start” instead.) Projecting onto a second display in Extended mode may crash File Explorer. (Disconnect that other display and restart!) Some Win32 games will minimize and can’t be brought up again when you click on certain things. PCs may now show BSOD/GSOD when installing build 15002 and newer builds and go back to the most recently installed build. Desktop shortcuts that include the percent (%) symbol will crash File Explorer. (Workaround: Remove the percent symbol from the shortcut using PowerShell.)

And, as is the case with build 15002, gosh darn it, copying in Command Prompt with Control-C still isn’t working. (See Sarkar’s post for all other fixes and issues for this build.)

If you want to try this new build for PC or mobile but you’re not a Windows Insider, you can sign up here.