Windows 11: Microsoft promises to make it easy to install default apps

A cumbersome process adopted in Windows 11 – setting third-party programs as default – seems to be (finally) coming to an end. Microsoft announces what it calls Friday (17) “A principles-based approach to app pinning and app standards on Windows”or giving users control of their computers.

The company’s commitment is to enable users to “control what is pinned to the Desktop, Start menu, and Taskbar, in addition to being able to control their default applications, such as the browser, through Windows-provided dialogs and system settings.” consistent, clear and reliable”.

To this end, a new settings deep link URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) ​​will be introduced soon by Redmond engineers, so app developers can take their users directly to the appropriate location in Settings, to change their defaults. Additionally, Microsoft will begin testing a new API that will allow setting primary or secondary blocks in the Taskbar.

For a friendlier Windows 11

Perhaps laying the groundwork for the release of Windows 12 next year, Microsoft is trying to reverse a feature of the current version. made choosing a web browser a traumatic and complex experience. Meanwhile, the situation only reversed in March last year.

So, now allowing deep links of an app that takes its users directly to the right location in the Settings menu represents a huge advance, for both users and developers. Adding application tiles to the Taskbar can also encourage the creation of new widgets and APIs.

Microsoft assures that it will release these new features “first in a flight on the Windows Insider Dev Channel in the coming months.”