Windows 11 update improves Snap Layouts usability, adds new features

Microsoft recently noted that there won’t be any more feature releases for the test channels of Windows 11 for the remainder of 2024. But there’s still plenty of time before the new year, and the company is still playing around with new features in these coming weeks.

Just a few days ago, Windows 11 Insiders got a new preview update that comes with some features and improvements, including some minor Snap Layouts changes. (If you’re unaware, Snap Layouts is a feature that makes it easy to snap multiple windows in various configurations, and it only takes a keyboard shortcut to use.)

Windows Latest reports that Microsoft has improved the Snap Layouts feature in beta update KB5046716. Snap Layouts now has some descriptive text explaining what the feature does, and Microsoft seems to be experimenting with different wordings for the text. It also now shows that you can open Snap Layouts with the Windows key + Z shortcut.

Other improvements in patch KB5046716 include:

• Sharing files directly from taskbar jump lists.
• Gamepad layout for the on-screen keyboard.
• Narrator scan mode features for skipping past links and jumping to lists, plus keyboard shortcuts for both.
• Better speech-to-text and text-to-speech.

Further reading: Why you should (or shouldn’t) be a Windows Insider