If you are using Office on an Insider Preview of the Windows 10 Creators
Update you are getting some goods today as Microsoft quietly released a
new app. The Office Hub can now be found in the Taskbar.
Before you get too excited, the app is currently pretty basic right now.
It allows you to view your Office documents, open Office apps and get
support. However, it is expected to be improved before the final release
and there is some speculation about what those improvements could be.
These include mobile apps to allow access to documents.
This is just one update users can expect in Windows 10 Creators Update.
Some that the company has already announced include a new People bar,
and a OneClip replacement to Windows 10 devices.
We expect a final release of the operating system update in early 2017. Photo credit:tanuha2001 / Shutterstock ~ Alan Buckingham
It’s taken a few days longer than normal for a new build to arrive for
Windows Insiders, but Build 14959 for both PC and Mobile finally makes
its way onto the Fast ring.
This is the first new build since Microsoft announced the next big step in Windows 10’s evolution -- Creators Update.
This is due to be released early next year, but Windows Insiders will
get an early taste of all its new features and improvements.
In fact, if you’re a Windows Insider you’ll already have experienced some of what will become Creators Update through Build 14955,
released last week. Dona Sarkar, Windows Insider chief, explains that
"Windows is an iceberg, the features that people 'see' are quite a small
percent of the engineering work that we do to enable new UI to be
visible". So while the big new features revealed at the Windows 10 event
last week won’t start rolling out for a few weeks yet, each new build
lays the foundations for them.
Build 14959 is being published using Microsoft’s Unified Update Platform
(UUP), and the biggest new feature to be detailed is the ability to
control the display scaling of virtual machines on PC.
That’s not all though. Other improvements and fixes for PC include:
Fixed an issue for Insiders resulting in the automatic brightness
setting unexpectedly being turned off after upgrading. In doing so,
Microsoft re-enabled automatic brightness adjust for users that have
never changed their auto-brightness setting. If you have already
manually configured your auto-brightness setting, then this fix will not
affect you. If you would like to enable or disable automatic brightness
adjustment go to Settings > System > Display, where you can
adjust your preferences.
Fixed an issue Insiders on domain connected PCs may have experienced
where login might fail when the computer was disconnected from its
domain network.
Fixed an issue resulting in certain apps, such as Outlook Mail and
Calendar, failing to update for some Insiders with the error code
0x800700B7.
Fixed an issue for Insiders with certain device models where ejecting an SD card might result in a system crash.
Fixed an issue where disliking one of the Spotlight lock screen
images would show the new image immediately, followed by a transition
animation from the previous image to the new image.
Fixed an issue where launching an app from another app while in
Tablet mode no longer launched it side by side, and instead launched it
fullscreen (for example, when launching a web link from the MSN News
app).
Known issues for PC include:
If you have a 3rd party antivirus product installed on your PC --
your PC might not be able to complete the update to this build and
roll-back to the previous build.
Microsoft is aware of an issue where Internet Explorer may crash a few seconds after launch and working.
As for Mobile, improvements and fixes include:
The data usage page in Settings via Settings > Network &
wireless > Data usage has been updated with performance and UI
improvements.
Fixed issues preventing Insiders from adding cards to Wallet and paying using tap to pay.
Fixed an issue resulting in being unexpectedly able to close Start in the task switcher.
Fixed an issue resulting in certain options for default calling app
via Settings > System > Phone > Default apps from being
unexpectedly missing.
Fixed an issue causing apps that play media in the background, such as Groove Music, to stop when Battery Saver turns on.
Fixed an issue Insiders may have experienced where the phone would
get into a state where copy/paste wouldn’t work until the device had
been restarted.
Fixed an issue where Settings might hang after unchecking "Let apps automatically use this VPN connection" in VPN Settings.
Known issues for Mobile include:
If you used the previous ‘date change’ workaround to update to Build
14951 or Build 14955: Don’t use it any longer! The Microsoft account
(MSA) ticket on your device needs to expire and then you’ll be offered
today’s build. If you changed your date by 30 years… you’ll want to do a
device reset.
You will be unable to install additional languages, keyboards, and
speech packs on your phone for the next few weeks. If you have existing
languages, keyboards, and speech packs installed -- they will carry over
when you update to new builds. You just can’t install any new ones. If
you do a hard reset of your phone on these builds -- you will also be
unable to install additional languages, keyboards, and speech packs. You
can use Windows Device Recovery Tool
to go back to Windows Phone 8.1 or Windows 10 Mobile, install any
languages, keyboards, and speech packs you need and then update to the
latest build in the Fast ring as a workaround.
At Microsoft’s Windows 10 event in New York, the software giant has lifted the wraps off the next big update of Windows 10, which it’s calling the Creator’s Update.
Yes, we know -- weird name, right? New in this update (among other
things) will be a fresh version of Paint, called Paint 3D. This isn’t a
minor update of the awful Paint program that most people have ignored
for years, but rather a tool that lets you scan objects in the real
world, and import them into a 3D environment.
Speaking at the event, Megan Saunders, general manager at Microsoft said
"We want to make 3D creation for everyone. It has to be as easy as
taking a photo", and from what we saw on stage, that certainly seems
true.
A Community panel lets you pull in content created by other users, and
creations you make or import, can be viewed in PowerPoint, and in 360
degrees through Microsoft’s Hololens AR headset. At the event, Microsoft
also revealed a new app called HoloTour that works with regular VR
headsets and HoloLens, and will let users explore locations around the
world.
Microsoft is adding 3D support to Word, Excel
and PowerPoint over the next year, and says Microsoft Edge will be the
first browser to fully embrace 3D -- can you spot the theme here?
You can find out more about Paint 3D in the video below:
And more about 3D in Windows 10 Creator's Update in this new clip.
A new Twitch-like option in the Creator's Update will let Xbox owners
broadcast their games. This is powered by Beam, which Microsoft acquired
in August. The Update also gains faster and easier sharing -- drag and
drop content to your favorite people -- and the ability to aggregate
multiple communication platforms, such as email, Skype, and SMS.
The first builds of Windows 10 Creator's Update will be made available
to Windows Insiders later this week. The update will be available to all
in Spring 2017.
