You may have found it Windows PC recently updated itselfLike it or not, Microsoft started automatically upgrading Windows 11 PCs with the big annual update at the end of January. This is an optional upgrade since the release in September. But that’s okay: there are plenty of new things to check out the big Windows 11 2022 Update, code name 22H2. The system is a bit slicker and polished almost everywhere else – you’ve probably noticed the more obvious interface changes, like new icons to change the volume.
Here are five of the more significant changes in the Windows 11 2022 Update that you should check out first. If you want to go deeper down the Windows 11 rabbit hole, check out our guide 10 Windows 11 tips and tricks we use to customize our PCs.
Clipchamp: New, free video editor
Windows now has a new default video editor: Clipchamp. As a sort of spiritual successor to Windows Movie Maker, it’s simpler and more accessible than professional video editors – something you can use to quickly trim or fade a YouTube video when you’re sharing it with friends. The tool includes the usual basic graphics and editing capabilities, and it can upload directly to YouTube, TikTok, and various web hosting services.
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As of Windows 11 version 22H2, Clipchamp should be included in your operating system – just search for it in the Start menu. If it’s not there, you can download it for free From the Microsoft Store. Here is the complete guide about the basics for this new tool.
Icons in File Explorer
Power users have been waiting for this for a long time. Tabs are a feature that more advanced alternative file browsers have used for decades, and finally Microsoft-finally— Windows 11 introduced a tabbed File Explorer in the 2022 update. Here it is a complete guide on how to use them.
Mark Hachman / IDG
To open a new tab in any Explorer window, simply click the “+” button on the top menu bar. Tabs work just like you would in any modern web browser, although you can’t click and drag them into a new Explorer window (yet). While you’re here, check out the new, simplified left menu with faster access to system folders and the places you use the most.
If you want to have many programs easily accessible in the Start Menu, you’ll love the new folders feature. It works like folders on the home screen for Android or iOS (or perhaps more appropriately Chrome OS). Any two or more shortcuts can be combined into one folder, and any folder can have a special name.
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Simply click and drag one Start Menu icon to another to get started. When you see both shrink, release the mouse button and the folder will be created automatically. Click the new folder, then click the title to rename it. Any additional apps can be dragged or dropped into a folder and you can have as many folders as you want.
New ways to use the Snap Bar
The Snap Bar is one of the most useful multitasking tools in newer versions of Windows. If you often drag windows with the title bar, you may have noticed this: it’s what allows you to easily move them to half, third or quarter of your screen. But there is new ways to access it.
Michael Crider/IDG
Move the mouse cursor to the maximize window button located between the close (X) and minimize (_) buttons in the upper right corner (don’t click!). You will see the six most common layout options. Click on any of the subnets in this pop-up to send the window to that location. You can also activate this view to “crush” options by typing Win + Z, then a number, then a number again.
Updated Notepad
NotePad is one of the oldest, simplest tools in all of Windows, but this basic text editor is a little more capable than you might remember. In the most basic version, it now follows a dark or light color scheme in your customization settings.
Michael Crider/IDG
Microsoft may have more in store for the humble Notepad. As you read this, trial versions of Windows 11 are being developed Updated with icons on NotePad As an add-on similar to Windows Explorer. Whether this will make it to full release remains to be seen.
Want to discover more cool computer tricks? Check out our roundup 10 Little-Known Windows Features That Will Blow Your Mind.