News Archives - Windows Developer Blog https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/tag/news/ Thu, 31 Jul 2025 13:10:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.4 https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/06/cropped-browser-icon-logo-32x32.jpg News Archives - Windows Developer Blog https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/tag/news/ 32 32 Enhance your application security with administrator protection https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2025/05/19/enhance-your-application-security-with-administrator-protection/ Mon, 19 May 2025 16:30:15 +0000 https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/?p=57440 Introduction

Administrator protection is a new Windows 11 platform security feature that aims to protect the admin users on the device while still allowing them to perform the necessary functions which may require use of admin level permissi

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]]> Introduction Administrator protection is a new Windows 11 platform security feature that aims to protect the admin users on the device while still allowing them to perform the necessary functions which may require use of admin level permissions. This article provides the guidelines and best practices for applications running on Windows to elevate more securely with administrator protection enabled. As Windows application developers, this article will guide you through best practices for using elevation in your applications and leveraging the new layer of security provided by administrator protection. This provides guidelines on what changes you need to make in your applications to make them compatible with administrator protection and help avoid breakages. As IT professionals and technical users you will learn how the new administrator protection feature offers a more secure environment to run your applications, and how to navigate the changes effectively.

How administrator protection increases security

Applications are most vulnerable to attacks when operating with elevated privileges. In an elevated context, applications possess extensive abilities to alter configurations and implement systemwide changes, which can affect the overall security of the device. Running applications as admin increases the risk from malware infiltration. If malicious code is executed while elevated, it can capture tokens and then have an opportunity to move laterally within an organization, leading to a widespread compromise. Recent statistics from Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2024 indicate that token theft incidents, which abuse user privileges, have grown to an estimated 39,000 per day. The administrator protection feature is designed to enhance security by minimizing the risks associated with elevated privileges. It safeguards users by providing just-in-time administrator privileges, incorporating Windows Hello to enhance both security and user convenience. Running applications with administrator protection enabled is crucial for maintaining a robust security posture.

Key design highlights

Administrator protection brings in a paradigm shift in user access control (UAC) architecture for admin users. It enforces the Principle of Least Privilege which brings in transparency for the elevations.
  • New security boundary with separate profile: Administrator protection uses a hidden, system-managed, profile-separated local user account to create the isolated admin token. This helps ensure that user-level malware cannot access and compromise the code running in the elevated context, thus making elevation a security boundary. Application developers please note: This System Managed Administrator Account (SMAA) has a different security identifier (SID).
  • Just-in-time admin token: The admin token which is required to perform system tasks is generated from SMAA. This token is non-persistent and created just in time to perform elevation and is discarded once the task is completed. The whole cycle repeats itself when the user tries to perform another task which requires admin privileges.
  • Removal of auto-elevation: Auto-elevation refers to allowing certain Windows processes and applications to automatically gain elevated privileges without prompting the user to consent. This can be exploited to perform User Access Control (UAC) bypass attacks where malware may misuse admin privileges to install an unwanted application on the device or for changing device security configuration thus compromising the security. With administrator protection, all auto-elevations in Windows are removed and users need to interactively authorize every admin operation. This helps ensure that the user stays in full control and that admin privileges are not abused.
  • Windows Hello integration: Administrator protection is recommended to be used in conjunction with Windows Hello. This further enhances security while providing a convenient authentication experience with face, fingerprint or PIN.​

Running applications elevated

Without administrator protection, an admin user would receive two access tokens upon logon – a full privilege, “elevated” administrator token with admin group set to “Enabled” and a restricted, “unelevated” access token with admin group set to “DenyOnly”. Now, when an application is launched elevated with this split-token administrator model, both “halves” of the user share a common profile. Despite each token being appropriately restricted in its use, both restricted and admin-level processes could access shared resources such as the user file system and the registry. This could be abused to perform classic UAC bypasses, such as the registry key manipulation and environment variable overloading attacks. When an application is run elevated with administrator protection enabled, it is elevated using the profile separated SMAA. As separate-but-linked accounts, each with its own profile, file system directories, registry hives are no longer shared. This design mitigates the classic UAC bypass attacks as well as allows for the tokens to be created on-demand and discarded just as quickly, thus limiting exposure of the privileged token to the lifetime of the requesting process. Understanding this new design is crucial for both app developers and technical users to ensure that it does not regress the functionality of their application when the same application is run elevated. The profile separated elevation implemented by administrator protection utilizes the same security principles as implemented by over-the-shoulder elevation for standard users in Windows. Running your application compatibly with administrator protection also helps ensure that it will run compatibly  with a standard user (user without administrative privileges). The following behavior may be observed when an application is run elevated with administrator protection enabled:
  • Files created by apps when running elevated and saved in library folders (e.g. Documents, Pictures, Videos), will be saved into corresponding library folders of SMAA profile by default. If the user is using an app from an elevated context which needs to access a file created from the unelevated context, they will need to navigate to the unelevated library folders.
  • When running elevated, default registry hive for the current user will map to SMAA user’s registry hive instead of primary user’s registry hive.
  • Any application specific configuration like background color or font applied by the regular user will not be automatically applied to the SMAA profile, and vice versa.
  • Users may see more elevation prompts due to the removal of auto-elevations.

Recommendations

The following are general guidelines and best practices for installing and running applications with administrator protection: Application installation
  • Per-user application installations should be run unelevated. Install all executables, applications and packages unelevated. This includes Win32 installers like setup.exe and package installers like MSIX or AppxBundle.
  • For installing Store applications, use the UI based installation whenever available. Preferably install from an unelevated context. If necessary, you can install elevated too.
  • If you need to install using API based Store apps they should be installed unelevated using the catalogID.
  • For app developers: If installer elevation is absolutely necessary, then avoid placing app binaries under user profile folder. Use %ProgramFiles% for 64-bit apps or %ProgramFiles(x86)% for 32-bit installs on a 64-bit system. A better option is to use MSIX packaging since that allows for elevation too and manages the installation location itself.
  • For app developers: Refrain from switching context from within the application during installation and continue to install either elevated or unelevated.
  • For app developers: If the files created in the elevated context need to be accessed by the unelevated user (for example, log files using file explorer) then you need to store that file in the unelevated profile’s file directory. Avoid sharing files between elevated and unelevated context from your application.
Launching and running an application
  • Always run applications as non-elevated unless there is a specific task you intend to perform that needs elevation.
  • If you are required to run the app in both elevated and non-elevated mode, you will need to duplicate your application settings like theme, background, widgets etc., across the two elevated and non-elevated modes.
For example, when you change the theme to dark in the unelevated Notepad, the change will not be reflected automatically in the elevated Notepad. If you need parity you will need to make the change manually. Screen showing Notepad screens in unelevated and elevated context side by side.
  • Any file you create while running your application non-elevated, which needs to be saved in library folders should be saved in the regular user’s library folders, so that they are easy to retrieve when running the application non-elevated. If the files are stored in the library folders of elevated user profile, you will have to run the application elevated to access those files again.
  • For app developers: Accessing the user registry (HKCU hive) and user registered COM classes should be in the context for the same user.
  • For app developers: Since users will mostly be running app unelevated, apps need to be designed for granular use of elevated privileges, rather than elevating “up-front”.
  • For app developers:  With administrator protection enabled there will not be any silent elevations; your application will request authentication at every elevation. To improve user experience, remove dependency on auto-elevation from your applications.
Using elevation
  • Run your apps with least privilege. Reduce and if possible, eliminate the need to elevate your apps.
  • Consider using system accounts and services-based design to manage processes that need to run elevated.

General troubleshooting guidelines

  • If you are not seeing the toggle to enable administrator protection in the Account protection section in Windows Security settings, make sure you are on a supported build.
    • Supported editions: Windows 11 Home, Windows 11 Professional, Windows 11 Enterprise and Windows 11 Education
    • Supported builds at GA: 24H2+ (Servicing build number will be communicated)
    • Preview builds: Windows Insider Program in Canary #27718+, Dev #26200.5702+, Beta #26120.4733+
    • Not supported in Windows Server editions, Windows 10 or other legacy editions. 
  • If you enable administrator protection by toggling the switch on Windows security settings but you are not prompted with Windows Hello when you try to elevate, try the following:
    • Reboot the device.
    • Ensure Windows Hello is enabled on the device.
  • If your IT admin has informed you that administrator protection has been enabled on your device, but you are not prompted with Windows Hello when you try to elevate, try the following:
  • To test if administrator protection is enabled on the device:
    • Launch command prompt as an administrator
    • Type in the command “whoami”
    • You will see the profile as “ADMIN_”
  • Your device already has administrator protection enabled on which you have installed an application from an elevated context. If the application is not able to launch even after you have uninstalled administrator protection, you may need to reinstall your application.

Case study: Running Visual Studio with administrator protection

We recommend running Visual Studio as an unelevated user whenever possible. However, installation and certain development, building, debugging, profiling and deployment scenarios require elevated permissions. In scenarios where Visual Studio is required to run elevated and the Windows administrator protection feature is enabled there are incompatibilities and Visual Studio is not supported in such a configuration. However, many scenarios continue to work and most of the incompatibilities are minor, but there are some incompatibilities that could block certain scenarios. When running Visual Studio elevated with administrator protection enabled, you’ll notice some behavioral differences caused by the use of per user locations as illustrated in the examples below. The list below isn’t exhaustive and ultimately you will need to test your scenarios that require elevated Visual Studio with administrator protection enabled.
  1. Extensions are typically per user and are by default installed into a location that’s specific to the user who installed the extension. As such per user extensions won’t be accessible from Visual Studio running as elevated with administrator protection enabled.
  2. Various settings in Visual Studio are stored in per user locations and those settings will be different between Visual Studio running elevated or not. However, several settings are roamed and will be based on the user account that is signed into Visual Studio (see: Synchronize settings across multiple computers - Visual Studio (Windows) | Microsoft Learn).
  3. In places where the default path includes the signed in user, such as in the new project dialog, Visual Studio will use the admin’s account which might not be accessible when not elevated.
Visual Studio user interface Whenever Visual Studio 2022 is running as an elevated process the top right of the IDE will contain a badge “Admin” as show in the screenshot below. Visual Studio user interface, top right of the IDE containing a badge “Admin”

Conclusion

Administrator protection is an upcoming security feature in Windows 11, offering robust security and user privilege management to help the user stay in control of changes to their Windows device. By requiring user authorization for administrative tasks, it helps safeguard the system from unauthorized changes and malware, enhancing overall device security. A seamless integration with modernized Windows Hello helps provide a secure and convenient way to authorize the use of admin privileges. Our goal is to enable administrator protection by default in Windows very soon. This feature is available now to Windows Insiders. We encourage you to try out your applications with administrator protection enabled and provide us with your feedback. Securing the present, innovating for the future Security is a shared responsibility. Through collaboration across hardware and software ecosystems, we can build more resilient systems secure by design and by default, from Windows to the cloud, enabling trust at every layer of the digital experience. The updated Windows Security book and Windows Server Security book  are available to help you understand how to stay secure with Windows. Learn more about Windows 11, Windows Server and Copilot+ PCs. To learn more about Microsoft Security Solutions, visit our website. Bookmark the Security blog to keep up with our expert coverage on security matters. Also, follow us on LinkedIn (Microsoft Security) and X (@MSFTSecurity) for the latest news and updates on cybersecurity. Editor’s note – July 31, 2025 – Supported preview builds were updated Editor’s note – May 21, 2025 – Supported operating systems and platforms were updated. Editor’s note – May 19, 2025 – The installation guidelines for app developers were updated for clarity and consistency. ]]> Microsoft App Assure helps Nord Security build for Windows on Arm https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2025/05/14/microsoft-app-assure-helps-nord-security-build-for-windows-on-arm/ Wed, 14 May 2025 17:24:51 +0000 https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/?p=57405 With the recent release of Copilot+ PCs, developers are increasingly focused on optimizing their apps for these devices. Copilot+ PCs are the fastest, most intelligent

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]]> Copilot+ PCs, developers are increasingly focused on optimizing their apps for these devices. Copilot+ PCs are the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built. With powerful new system architecture designed to deliver best-in-class performance, all–day battery life and the ability to run the most advanced AI models on device, Copilot+ PCs help users to be more productive, creative and to communicate more effectively. The first wave of Copilot+ PCs was powered by Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus silicon. AMD and Intel soon released Copilot+ PCs powered by Ryzen AI 300 and Intel Core Ultra 200v processors, respectively, demonstrating that we are all-in on Copilot+ PCs. Users expect all their apps to run seamlessly on all Windows devices and we are excited to support developers in meeting these expectations through our App Assure Program. Developers can leverage Microsoft’s App Assure program for guidance and technical assistance to get the most out of Copilot+ PCs, especially optimizing apps to run on Arm-based Snapdragon X Series devices. Even the most technically adept companies can benefit from the expert advice offered by App Assure. Many developers have already taken advantage of the App Assure program to release Arm-native versions of their apps. Today, I’d like to talk about a successful engagement with a well-known application developer: NordVPN. App Assure delivers on Microsoft’s compatibility promise: your apps will run on Windows on Arm, and Microsoft will be here to help remediate any issues. This no-cost program has been successful in helping many market-leading developers build Arm-optimized apps for Windows. One great example of this is the acceleration of NordVPN's release of the Arm-optimized version of their well-known VPN solution.

Embracing Windows on Arm with Microsoft App Assure

Windows users expect their favorite apps to work great on Arm-based PCs. To meet this expectation, App Assure engages with the most popular apps, such as NordVPN and many others, helping them optimize the platform. NordVPN was enthusiastic and receptive when we reached out to them to provide technical support and advice. Adding an Arm-optimized version would extend their market presence and widen their audience. They planned to launch their product soon after Snapdragon X Series-based Copilot+ PCs became available. "Working with Microsoft's App Assure team was a game-changer for us. Their technical guidance made a significant difference in the project. As engineers, we value direct, effective information and support, and that's exactly what we got. Being able to work so closely with Microsoft almost made it feel like their engineers were part of our extended team. Their engagement sped up our development process and is helping us get to market faster,” said Gytis Murauskas, Head of Engineering, Windows, at Nord Security. Quote from the blog post along with photo of a manDevelopers often face challenges when starting the effort of adding a new architecture to their application. Deciding the best approach among the many options can be the difference between an easy port and a difficult one. This is exactly why we provide the Arm Advisory Service for developers, giving them an opportunity to consult directly with Microsoft engineers, ensuring a smooth development process and informed decision-making. “The biggest decisions and scariest things were at the beginning of kicking off the project. On this whole path of migrating applications to Windows, there are quite a lot of possibilities. You can migrate to Native Farm. You can do some emulation, etcetera, etcetera. There were at least four possible ways to do that, and it was not an easy choice to decide which one made more sense for us,” said Murauskas. Microsoft App Assure engineers offer guidance, best practices and deep insights enabling effective decision making. Murauskas emphasized the value of collaborating with Microsoft, stating, "The input from the App Assure team was instrumental in making informed decisions. This collaboration enabled us to implement solutions with confidence, knowing we were on the right path." As the engagement continued, our App Assure engineers were available to consult directly whenever challenges arose, ensuring a smooth development process and informed decision-making. Ultimately, this ongoing support and expertise helped NordVPN establish a solid foundation and accelerated their time to market. We are excited that NordVPN continues to invest in the ARM ecosystem by bringing support for their Threat Protection feature. To try NordVPN along with Threat Protection today, download NordVPN for Windows PC or Laptop

App Assure helps developers unlock potential

With Copilot+ PCs, we have completely reimagined the entirety of the PC – from silicon to the operating system, from the application layer to the cloud – with AI at the center, marking the most significant change to the Windows platform in decades. The challenges, dependencies and development journey may look very different for every organization offering productivity tools, security, frameworks or gaming, and at Microsoft, we’re passionate to help you in your journey to enable support for our customers. We are excited to offer App Assure to developers building Arm-optimized applications for Windows, to help all organizations see just how easy it is to build for this platform. Read more about App Assure helping Opera build an Arm-optimized browser to see another example of this work. If you’d like to know more about how to add Arm support to your Windows app, check out our technical documentation at aka.ms/win/arm/howto. Once you’re ready to begin your porting journey, Microsoft’s Arm Advisory Service can provide detailed insights into platform features, best practices and code examples. For example, App Assure engineers can help you:
  • Understand the nuances of emulated code translation and how to seamlessly interoperate between native and x64 code.
  • Configure build systems most efficiently for multi-architecture delivery.
  • Obtain Arm-based hardware or get started with Azure Virtual Machines and then prepare those environments for development, continuous integration or test runners.
If this sounds like something you’re interested in, let us know by completing this form.

ISV testimonials

We are proud to showcase a few Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) that have successfully leveraged our Arm Advisory Service to optimize their applications for the Windows on Arm platform. These organizations have harnessed the power of Arm technology to deliver outstanding software solutions, demonstrating the immense potential and ease of transition with the right support. Proton VPN logo“At Proton VPN, we prioritize delivering a seamless and secure experience for our users. Working with Microsoft’s App Assure team has been an outstanding experience—their expertise and proactive approach ensured that Proton VPN runs flawlessly on ARM PCs, helping us bring fast, private and reliable VPN access to more devices and people than ever before. Microsoft’s App Assure team made it effortless for us to optimize Proton VPN for PCs with ARM architecture. Their support ensured that users get the best performance and security, reinforcing our commitment to privacy and freedom online." - Antonio Cesarano, Lead Product Manager, Proton VPN. Proton VPN logo"The App Assure team played a crucial role in driving discussions with F-Secure's partners to accelerate ARM64 support, ensuring our product's compatibility with Copilot+ PCs—an effort that proved easier and faster than anyone expected." - Katja Bashlovka, Product Manager, Consumer Engagement. Of the many prominent ISVs that the App Assure team has helped to develop Arm-optimized apps, a few more recent successes are highlighted below: Collection of logos]]> Discover magical AI experiences through the Microsoft Store on Windows, with the new AI Hub https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2025/02/18/discover-magical-ai-experiences-through-the-microsoft-store-on-windows-with-the-new-ai-hub/ Tue, 18 Feb 2025 17:00:01 +0000 https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/?p=57340 The post Discover magical AI experiences through the Microsoft Store on Windows, with the new AI Hub appeared first on Windows Developer Blog.

]]> Grammarly have noted that “through this partnership, we saw a meaningful lift in key metrics, including a 245% increase in page views, a 13% growth in installs and a 24% rise in new active users. The AI Hub spotlight helped us connect with more users seeking AI assistance for communication and productivity, reinforcing the value of Grammarly for Windows.” Today, we’re excited to announce the next iteration of AI Hub1. We have reimagined it to be the destination for users to learn about the AI experiences possible on their devices. For users on Copilot+ PCs, we’ll showcase the Windows and developer ecosystem experiences that leverage the power of their PC. For users not yet on Copilot+ PCs, we’ll showcase the best apps and experiences compatible with their devices. And we are proud to do this with a brand-new product design – you’ll find beautiful new visuals and snappy flows that help make your browsing experience inspiring.

AI experiences powered by Microsoft

https://youtu.be/A63BCh-qs-E When you’re browsing the new AI Hub on your Copilot+ PC, you’ll find rich informational content on the AI experiences powered by your PC’s Neural Processing Unit (NPU). The NPU plays a key role in handling tasks related to AI and machine learning. It is designed to speed up complex processes such as facial recognition, voice assistance and data analysis, delivering advanced computation with exceptional battery efficiency. The NPU’s ability to offload these tasks from the CPU and GPU allows for faster, more efficient operation of the entire system. As you become more familiar with the capabilities of your Copilot+ PC, AI Hub is here to help! We’ve created a new Welcome Experience to help you familiarize yourself with exclusive Windows features, ready for you to use – to start, these include Windows Studio Effects, Paint Cocreator and Photos Image Creator. And when you’re ready to dive into a specific workflow, we’ll help you get started. Your AI Hub will stay current to include details on the latest Copilot+ PC features and NPU-powered apps available. We're excited about helping customers connect to upcoming Windows features when they're generally available, including Recall, Click To Do and Improved Windows Search2. https://youtu.be/3ptccBogS18 For users browsing AI Hub on Windows 11 PCs, you’ll find informational content available on the AI-powered apps that work on your device. Microsoft apps like Copilot, Designer, Clipchamp and Reading Coach all have AI functionalities ready for you to dive into.

Our rich AI developer ecosystem

Decorative image with app icons No matter what PC you’re using, we have a rich AI developer ecosystem available inside the Microsoft Store on Windows – and the AI Hub is a wonderful destination for you to browse content. Some examples include:
  • For Copilot+ PC users who are passionate about music creation, djay Pro features "NeuralMix," which leverages the extra processing power of the NPU to isolate vocals or instruments when re-mixing songs. On Copilot+ PCs, NeuralMix can use an AI model that is twice as large and more complex than on other devices, resulting in better sound quality and cleaner music stem separation. djay Pro was selected as a 2024 Microsoft Store Awards winner in the category of AI apps!
  • For users on Copilot+ PCs who require a stand-out video presence, from sales professionals to streamers, Camo Studio uses the NPU to power real-time visual effects that ensure you look your best. The NPU powers several machine learning workloads (such as real-time background segmentation and relighting) where latency is critical – and with incredible efficiency that ensures minimal impact to battery life.
  • Gamma stands out for its ability to offer users AI-powered presentation creation, a user-friendly interface and versatile formats. Its intuitive design, real-time collaboration features and interactive elements make it a favorite among businesses. And Gamma was also selected as a 2024 Microsoft Store Awards winner in the category of Business apps!
  • And for those who love to converse with assistants, ChatGPT now is available as an app for all Windows devices exclusively through the Microsoft Store. Easily ask questions, get writing assistance and generate ideas – all in a seamless, user-friendly experience.
Visit AI Hub regularly to see the latest AI-enabled products from our amazing partners.

A preview of what’s ahead

Today, this experience is available for Copilot+ PCs in United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia. In the coming months, we will expand it to additional markets and for the broader Windows population. To stay current on release plans, please watch the “What’s New” page in Store to see our latest release information. And, as we shared in December, we are keen on your feedback – please submit via Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Microsoft Store. AI is changing the way we do everything on our PCs – from tackling complex research projects, to finding new recipes, editing photos and everything in between. We believe AI innovation isn’t just about creating new products; it’s about enabling us to reimagine how we solve everyday problems. Happy browsing! 1 AI Hub is available in select markets within Microsoft Store on Windows.  2 Windows features will be added to the AI Hub as they become available to retail users by market. Features in the Windows Insider Program will not be included. ]]> Dev Drive: Performance, Security and Control for Developers https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2023/06/01/dev-drive-performance-security-and-control-for-developers/ Thu, 01 Jun 2023 16:02:00 +0000 https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/?p=56804 We are excited to introduce Dev Drive! A new storage volume optimized for developer workloads that delivers performance, security, and control. Dev Drive is built on the Resilient File System (ReFS) and combined with the new performance mode capabili

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]]> Performance and Security We received feedback from developers that slow file io performance was disruptive to their workflow. In response, we analyzed the file system to understand where the bottlenecks were. Benchmarks were created across multiple end-to-end developer scenarios and across multiple languages. We then made optimizations to the file system and introduced a new performance capability for Microsoft Defender Antivirus. Now available in public preview, this new capability provides asynchronous scanning on a Dev Drive and does not change the security posture of your system drive or other drives  Asynchronous scanning provides improved security compared to traditional folder and process exclusions which are often used by developers. As a result, Dev Drive improves overall build performance, most notably in heavy file io based scenarios. For more information, see Protecting Dev Drive using performance mode.

Control

Beyond simply providing faster performance, the purpose of Dev Drive is to give control back to you, the developer. While there are specific configurations that Microsoft generally recommends, and have used as defaults, we have also created tools for you to further customize it. For example, administrators on the device can modify the behavior of filter manager to allow which filters are attached. You may wish to use additional filter drivers for app compat reasons, or if you have a different security posture, you can gain more performance by removing filters. Including new, easier UX Previously the “Disk Management” tool was used to set up and maintain disks. Now we have the same functionality with the modern Settings app. You can do everything you need to do to create a Dev Drive, including creating a new volume, creating & attaching a VHD, shrinking or expanding disk sizes, and creating partitions, all in one place. Here is the new Disks & Volumes UI to support creating a Dev Drive and VHD scenarios. Guidance  We recommend placing your working directories, repositories, and package caches on a Dev Drive. We are working with partners to fully take advantage of Dev Drive by default, see our partner blogs for Visual Studio and Dev Box along with other features such as Copy on Write. And our own documentation at aka.ms/devdrive for full configuration guidance. Since Dev Drive only enables a minimal set of filter drivers, any applications or features that depend on those filters will not work on a Dev Drive. For that reason we do not support all apps being installed on a Dev Drive. Developers should test their scenarios, and if needed, enable additional filters or keep their tools installed on another drive.

Benchmarks

How we tested Our testing plan while creating Dev Drive was two-fold:
  1. Build out automatic performance tests that would run on a build-by-build cadence
  2. Test and profile our end-to-end scenarios regularly
We added automatic performance tests to our build labs to ensure that we had measurements tracking our performance for each build. We used the full git suite (clone, commit, etc.) in the lab. These tests enabled us to watch the progression of git clone performance, for example, build over build. Not only were we watching to ensure the speed of a single git clone operation was trending down, but we were also watching to see if any regressions were checked in by the development team for Dev Drive, or other feature teams working on similar components of the Windows OS. Validation and investigation testing To further test, validate and profile key developer workloads we’ve built a set of synthetic benchmarks which cover various workloads like Python, Node, .NET, and Java. We’ve worked with the Storage & File Systems and Defender teams to take traces, validate the improvements and find opportunities for further refinement to the file system and Defender. For these tests we created a consistent hardware setup using a Surface Laptop 4 to compare the default Windows 11 22H2 configuration with Defender enabled, against the latest builds with Dev Drive. We used common public repos and basic scenarios, a few of which are: Results  As you can see, every scenario benefits differently from the optimizations. Scenarios that are more file io heavy benefit the most from Dev Drive.

Welcome to the Journey!

This is just the start of improvements to come. The Windows ecosystem consists of a wide variety of hardware configurations, with each configuration comes varied performance results. We invite you to help us test Dev Drive to ensure the product is impactful for the scenarios that matter most to you. Your feedback is incredibly valuable to us. We are excited for you to try out your developer scenarios on your hardware configuration and leave us feedback through Feedback Hub under the Dev Drive context. For more information visit: aka.ms/devdrive]]> Announcing the Microsoft Store App Awards 2023 Winners! https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2023/05/23/announcing-the-microsoft-store-app-awards-2023-winners/ Tue, 23 May 2023 15:00:29 +0000 https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/?p=56717 We are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2023 Microsoft Store App Awards! This year, we're excited to recognize apps and developers within two award groups: the Microsoft Store Community Choice Awards, with apps

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]]> We are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2023 Microsoft Store App Awards! This year, we're excited to recognize apps and developers within two award groups: the Microsoft Store Community Choice Awards, with apps nominated by the community, and the Microsoft Store Editor's Choice Awards, recognized by Microsoft. We were amazed by the overwhelming number of nominations for the Community Choice Awards. It is absolutely energizing for us to see our community flourishing, and that is reflected in your interest in the Microsoft Store.

Microsoft Store Community Choice Awards

This year, we asked our community to nominate and vote for their favorite apps in the Microsoft Store on Windows. Thank you for participating and helping us recognize these great Apps! Windows would not be the same without you! We have 5 different award categories, so let’s dig into the winners! We were really impressed by the wide range of technologies utilized and the exceptional teams behind them. These teams come in various sizes and forms, including individual developers, distributed projects, open-source projects, as well as larger companies, demonstrating that remarkable, stunning, and practical apps can be created by any team, regardless of their scale or type. Windows is an open platform, and the applications chosen by our community are just a reflection of that. Thank you!

Utilities & Tools Category

The Utility & Tools category recognizes apps that are designed to make your life easier by performing a variety of tasks that you may need daily. This includes managing your PC, simplifying tasks of a workflow, and much more. The community spoke, so congratulations to the winner of the Utilities & Tools category: Torrex! Winner of the Utilities & Tools category Torrex!

Productivity Category

The apps in this category are designed to help you stay focused and get things done. They can include to-do lists, note-taking apps, time-management tools, and much more. Congratulations to the winner in this category: Mozilla Firefox! Winner in the productivity category Mozilla Firefox!

Audio & Video Category

These apps are designed to help you manage your audio and video content, whether you're creating it yourself or simply organizing media files that you've downloaded or purchased. This can include media players, libraries, file converters, and much more. Congratulations to the winner in this category, the amazing open-source app: VLC! Winner in the audio and video category VLC!

Creativity Category

Apps in the Creativity category are designed to help you unleash your creativity and bring your ideas to life. They include graphic design tools, modeling software, animation programs, and much more.  Congratulations to the winner in this category: Sketchable+! Winner in the creativity category Sketchable+ !

Personalization Category

These apps are designed to help you personalize and customize your PC to better suit your needs. This includes changing the appearance and behavior of the UI, enabling more features, creating custom hotkeys and shortcuts, and much more. This year, the community chose Lively Wallpaper! Congratulations! Winner in the personalization category Lively Wallpaper! We feel both thrilled and grateful for the enthusiastic engagement from the community in these awards. We also extend our appreciation for the outstanding nominees.

Microsoft Store Editor's Choice Awards

Apart from the community choice voting, we’ve also handpicked the finest apps in the categories of Creativity, Entertainment, Productivity, and Best Integration with Windows, along with one for special recognition. With a vast collection of top-rated apps, the Microsoft Store on Windows is continuously expanding. These apps were examined and chosen based on their user experience, exceptional design, innovation, creativity, overall quality, as well as the value they bring to its customers.

Creativity Category

In the Creativity Category, the Microsoft Store Editor's Choice Award goes to Descript, a groundbreaking app that simplifies video editing by automatically transcribing recordings so you can easily edit them just like editing a Word doc. With AI-powered features like “Overdub” (personalized text-to-speech voice synthesis, for minor recording fixes), automatic removal of filler words (“uhhs” and “umms”), or its “Studio Sound” audio enhancement, Descript can make almost any recording look and sound great – whether that’s a business presentation, a podcast, or the next viral video sensation. Descript’s ability to streamline complex, multi-track A/V editing in a novel and accessible way makes it our Creativity pick! Congratulations, Descript, for this well-deserved recognition! Winner of the editors choice creativity category Descript!

Entertainment Category

In the Entertainment category, the Amazon Prime Video app has been recognized for its exceptional lineup and app improvements within the last year. With the recent addition of Arm64 support, this app now helps provide uninterrupted streaming with all-day battery life, and with offline download support, users can now enjoy their favorite movies and TV shows on the go, whether it's during airplane rides, train journeys, or any other adventure. Amazon Prime Video brings a diverse range of amazing content, including very popular series like Rings of Power, thrilling series like Jack Ryan, hilarious comedy with Mrs. Maisel, and even live sports coverage such as Thursday Night Football. The Amazon Prime Video app's dedication to enhancing the entertainment experience has rightfully earned it this prestigious recognition. Congratulations, Amazon Prime Video, on winning the well-deserved award in the Entertainment category! Winner of the editors choice entertainment category Prime Video!

Productivity Category

"Windows" and "Productivity" go hand-in-hand. For decades, the robust productivity app ecosystem on Windows has empowered individuals and businesses alike to fuel their ambitions and accomplish extraordinary tasks. Concepts is this year’s clear winner in the Productivity category – though, in many ways, it’s an app that’s about creativity and ideation at its core.  Concepts uniquely combines an incredible pen experience with vector art tools and an infinite canvas; the result is an app that’s equally comfortable for sketching, whiteboarding, mind-mapping, architectural planning, note-taking, or cinematic storyboarding.  And it’s an app experience that keeps getting better – this year, Concepts released a free new watercolor brush, precision tools for scale and measurement, and thoughtful enhancements to keyboard and trackpad functionality for an exceptional user experience on 2-in-1 devices. Concepts is a cross-platform app that also excels in its native integration with Windows, providing full support for Arm64, Surface Pen haptics, and much more. Congratulations, Concepts, for winning well-deserved recognition in the Productivity category. Your commitment to continuous improvement and platform-native excellence is commendable! Winner of the editors choice productivity category Concepts!

Best Integration with Windows

In the Best Integration with Windows category, one app has emerged as a shining example of what is possible on the Windows platform. With its latest version, which is a full rewrite, this app has taken a leap forward, offering a smaller, faster, and more visually appealing experience, coupled with an impressive array of new features, like Picture-in-Picture, native Windows notifications, as well as full support for the new 8-person video calls and 32-person audio calls. Users have been captivated by these enhancements, praising it for its exceptional performance and quality. This app's dedication to seamless integration with Windows has rightfully earned it the well-deserved award in the Best Integration with Windows category. Congratulations to WhatsApp for this remarkable achievement! Winner of the editors choice best integration with Windows category WhatsApp!

Special Recognition

In this year's Special Recognition award, an app has stood out for its exceptional contributions to accessibility. This app has demonstrated an unwavering dedication to empowering individuals who are Deaf or hard of hearing (HoH) and ensuring their inclusion with its super user-friendly features and intuitive interface. It is with great pleasure that we announce Ava Accessibility as the deserving recipient of the prestigious Special Recognition Award. Congratulations to Ava Accessibility for its outstanding achievements and commitment to accessibility for all! Winner of the editors choice special recognition category Ava Accessibility! We are honored to showcase these apps in the Microsoft Store on Windows and would like to congratulate all the winners, as well as all the nominated apps, of the 2023 Microsoft Store App Awards. Windows would not be the same without our amazingly strong and thriving ecosystem! To learn more about what’s new in the Microsoft Store, visit this blog post.]]> Unlocking the end-to-end Windows AI developer experience using ONNX runtime and Olive https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2023/05/23/unlocking-the-end-to-end-windows-ai-developer-experience-using-onnx-runtime-and-olive/ Tue, 23 May 2023 15:00:20 +0000 https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/?p=56722 At the Microsoft 2023 Build conference, Panos Panay announced ONNX Runtime as the gateway to Windows AI

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]]> At the Microsoft 2023 Build conference, Panos Panay announced ONNX Runtime as the gateway to Windows AI.  Using ONNX Runtime gives third party developers the same tools we use internally to run AI models on any Windows or other devices across CPU, GPU, NPU, or hybrid with Azure. We are also introducing Olive, a toolchain we created to ease the burden on developers to optimize models for varied Windows and other devices.  Both ONNX Runtime and Olive contribute to the velocity of getting your AI models deployed into apps.

What is ONNX Runtime?

ONNX Runtime is a cross-platform, cross-IHV inferencing engine that allows developers to inference across platforms (e.g. iOS, Windows, Android, Linux), across client and cloud devices (CPU/GPU/NPU) or hybrid inferencing between client and Cloud (Azure EP).  EPs are Execution Providers which allow targeting of specific hardware devices on specific IHV hardware (i.e. Qualcomm QNN EP for the Windows on Arm Surface Pro 9 5G) or using DML EP on Windows devices to abstract away which IHV or device is being used.   ONNX Runtime makes it easier for you to create amazing AI experiences on Windows and other platforms with less engineering effort and better performance. Olive simplifies the optimization process and eliminates the need for deep hardware knowledge.  ONNX Runtime is the future of AI development on Windows.

What is Olive?

Olive is an extensible hardware-aware model optimization tool that composes cutting-edge techniques across model compression, optimization, and compilation. Olive takes a PyTorch or ONNX model and a configuration file and runs optimization tools to create the most optimal model for a specified hardware device. Olive then produces a package that contains the optimized models, ONNX Runtime, the right ONNX Runtime EP, configuration files, and sample code for that EP. This package can be easily integrated into your app.  

Hybrid inferencing and lighting up NPUs with new EPs in ONNX Runtime 

ONNX Runtime now supports the same API for running models on the device or in the cloud, enabling hybrid inferencing scenarios where your app can use local resources when possible and switch to the cloud when needed. With the new Azure EP preview, you can connect to models deployed in AzureML or even to the Azure OpenAI service, starting with the Whisper model. You just need a few lines of code to specify the cloud endpoint and add your own criteria for when to use the cloud. This gives you more control over costs and user experience, as Azure EP gives you the flexibility to choose between using the larger model in the cloud or the local model at runtime. Neural Processing Units (NPUs) are the latest silicon that were built from the ground up to support AI workloads and are incredibly energy efficient while offloading workloads from the CPU.   We also support inferencing in browsers with ORT Web and are working with partners on incorporating WebNN. We hope you are excited about these new capabilities in ONNX Runtime and Olive. We encourage you to try them out and share your feedback with us. We are always looking for ways to improve our tools and support more scenarios for our users. If you want to learn more about ONNX Runtime and Olive and how they can help you build amazing Windows AI applications with ONNX Runtime, visit https://onnxruntime.ai for more information and documentation.]]> Bringing the power of AI to Windows 11 – unlocking a new era of productivity for customers and developers with Windows Copilot and Dev Home https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2023/05/23/bringing-the-power-of-ai-to-windows-11-unlocking-a-new-era-of-productivity-for-customers-and-developers-with-windows-copilot-and-dev-home/ Tue, 23 May 2023 15:00:08 +0000 https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/?p=56688 The team and I are pumped to be back at Build with the developer community this year.

Over the last year, Windows has continued to see incredible growth fueled by Windows 11 adoption. In fact, one of the mo

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]]> Build with the developer community this year. Over the last year, Windows has continued to see incredible growth fueled by Windows 11 adoption. In fact, one of the most exciting areas driving that growth for Windows has been developers themselves, with a 24% YoY increase in monthly devices used for development. AI is the defining technology of our time and developers are at the forefront of this transformation. With the right tools we can empower developers and our shared customers to shape the future and leave their mark on the world. We are just starting to see the incredible impact AI is having across industries and in our own daily lives. Today, the team and I are excited to share the next steps we are taking on our journey with Windows 11, to meet this new age of AI.
  • We are introducing Windows Copilot, making Windows 11 the first PC platform to announce centralized AI assistance to help people easily take action and get things done.
  • We are extending Bing Chat plugins to Windows, enabling developers to integrate their apps within Windows Copilot to better serve their customers and increase engagement on native Windows applications.
  • We are introducing new Hybrid AI loop to support AI development across platform, and across Azure to client with new silicon support from AMD, Intel, Nvidia and Qualcomm.
  • We are introducing Dev Home designed to help every developer become more productive on Windows.
  • We are introducing new AI features and experiences in the Microsoft Store on Windows.
We can’t wait to share more with you tomorrow during our Windows keynote, be sure to register for Build and tune in!

Introducing Windows Copilot for Windows 11

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCfwc-NNo30[/embed] We’re thrilled to introduce Windows Copilot. Windows is the first PC platform to provide centralized AI assistance for customers. Together, with Bing Chat and first- and third-party plugins, you can focus on bringing your ideas to life, completing complex projects and collaborating instead of spending energy finding, launching and working across multiple applications. Invoking Windows Copilot is familiar and easy – the button is front and center on your taskbar – simple to find and use. Once open, the Windows Copilot side bar stays consistent across your apps, programs and windows, always available to act as your personal assistant. It makes every user a power user, helping you take action, customize your settings and seamlessly connect across your favorite apps. The things you love about Windows – copy/paste, Snap Assist, Snipping Tool, personalization – they are all right there for you, along with every other feature on the platform, and they only get better with Windows Copilot. For example, you can not only copy and paste, but also ask Windows Copilot to rewrite, summarize or explain your content. Just like you would with Bing Chat, you can ask Windows Copilot a range of questions from simple to complex. If I want to call my family in Cyprus, I can quickly check the local time to make sure I’m not waking them up in the middle of the night. If I want to plan a trip to visit them in Cyprus, I can ask Windows Copilot to find my family flights and accommodations for mid-winter break. With Bing and ChatGPT plugins in Windows Copilot, people will not only have access to augmented AI capabilities and experiences, but you as developers will also have new ways to reach and innovate for our shared customers. We welcome you to be part of the Windows Copilot journey by continuing to invest in Bing and ChatGPT plugins so your investments will carry forward to Windows Copilot. Windows Copilot will start to become available in preview for Windows 11 in June, stay tuned and sign up here to get updates from the team.

Empowering every Windows 11 developer to be an AI developer  

This is an incredible time to be a developer on Windows. The possibilities across industries - healthcare, finance, education, tech, and others - are endless. We continue to invest in important tools to democratize how apps will be built for the new era of AI; whether you’re developing on x86/x64 or Arm64 we want to make it easy for you to bring AI powered experiences in Windows apps across cloud and edge. If you are just getting started with AI or if you are wondering where to start, Microsoft and Windows are here to help you on that journey. Today, we are announcing the Windows AI Library, which will house a curated collection of ready to use machine learning models and APIs that will help jumpstart your AI development.  We will share more details on the availability and preview dates in the coming weeks. Last year at Build, we announced Hybrid Loop, a new development pattern that enables hybrid AI scenarios across Azure and client devices. Today, we are excited to share that our vision has become a reality using ONNX Runtime as the gateway to Windows AI and Olive, a toolchain we created to ease the burden on you when optimizing models for varied Windows and other devices. With ONNX Runtime, third-party developers have access to the same tools we use internally to run AI models on Windows or other devices across CPU, GPU, NPU, or hybrid with Azure. ONNX Runtime now supports the same API for running models on the device or in the cloud, enabling hybrid inferencing scenarios where your app can use local resources when possible and switch to the cloud when needed. With the new Azure EP preview, you can connect to models deployed in AzureML or even to the Azure OpenAI service. With just a few lines of code you can specify the cloud endpoint and define your criteria for when to use the cloud. This gives you more control over costs and user experience, as Azure EP gives you the flexibility to choose between using the larger model in the cloud or the smaller local model at runtime. You can also optimize your models for different hardware targets with Olive, an extensible toolchain that combines cutting edge techniques for model compression, optimization and compilation. And you can use ONNX Runtime across platforms like Windows, iOS, Android and Linux, so your Windows AI investment can extend to all your app platforms. Both ONNX Runtime and Olive contribute to the velocity of getting your AI models deployed into apps. ONNX Runtime makes it easier for you to create amazing AI experiences on Windows and other platforms, with less engineering effort and better performance. Extending our vision for an AI powered future in collaboration with our partners Windows 11 has the largest and most powerful ecosystem of GPUs in the world with more than 200M+ AI capable discrete GPUs. Windows PCs like Surface Studio 2+, and PCs built by partners such as Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung are powered by NVIDIA GPUs. Developers can leverage these GPUs today to run cutting-edge transformer models like Dolly 2.0, Stable Diffusion and NVIDIA’s NeMo that are pre-optimized for Windows. NPUs (Neural Processing Units) are purpose-built accelerators to run AI models efficiently. Our partners are continuing to innovate and deliver – like Qualcomm with the Snapdragon 8cx Gen3 Compute Platform which today enables Windows devices including the Surface Pro 9 5G and the Windows Dev Kit 2023. With Olive & ONNX Runtime you can target Qualcomm AI Engine Direct SDK to run AI models on the 8cx Gen 3 compute platform NPU. We are excited to see all our silicon partners bring more Windows devices with NPUs to the market later this year.  AMD recently made early access of Ryzen™ AI software available to developers to run AI models on AMD Ryzen™ 7040 Series processors with Ryzen™ AI. Intel previewed their new Meteor Lake product, an all-new chiplet SoC architecture that will feature Intel's first integrated AI engine which will scale across the Windows ecosystem starting later this year and will also make available developer tools, including ONNX Runtime support enabled through OpenVino-EP and DirectML-EP. Partners such as WhatsApp, Luminar Neo and Camo are achieving incredible leaps in performance and unlocking new end-user experiences by leveraging NPUs to run their AI models.  Bring your apps to the Windows platform and leverage ONNX Runtime to deliver AI experiences like Camo.  We can’t wait to see what the Windows developer community will create with these new AI toolchains and NPU hardware advancements.

New experiences designed to help every developer become more productive on Windows 11

Life as a developer involves constantly juggling manual dev machine set up with too many clicks, multiple tool sign-ins, navigating sub-optimal filesystem performance and context switching, and we know that these disruptions can significantly impact your productivity. Today, we’re excited to announce new features and improvements across all stages of the development cycle on Windows. Introducing Dev Home: Your new productivity companion [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC-60KNgLuE[/embed] With a renewed focus on your productivity, we are announcing a new home for developers on Windows  – Dev Home. Dev Home is a new experience in Windows 11, now available in preview, that gets you back in the zone and streamlines your workflow with features such as WinGet configuration for easier and faster setup, Dev Drive for enhanced filesystem performance and a new customizable dashboard to track all your workflows and tasks in one place. Dev Home makes it easy to connect to GitHub and set up your machine to code for the repos you care about, easily installing the tools and packages you need. Dev Home can also configure your coding environments in the cloud using Microsoft Dev Box and GitHub Codespaces. With Dev Home, designed by and for developers, you now have your ultimate productivity companion so you can focus on what you do best – writing code. Download the preview of the Dev Home in the Microsoft Store today. Learn more about Dev Home Unattended and reliable dev machine setup: Reducing set up time from days to hours Get ready-to-code in just a few clicks with the new WinGet configuration. This unattended, reliable and repeatable mechanism allows you to skip the manual effort of setting up a new machine or onboarding a new project and removes the worry of searching for the right version of software, packages, tools and frameworks to download or settings to apply. WinGet configuration reduces this manual and error-prone process down to a single command with a WinGet configuration file. Just run `winget configure ` in the command prompt and when it’s done, you are ready to code! Learn more about WinGet configuration Introducing Dev Drive: A new storage volume tailor-made for developers: supercharged for performance and security We know you often deal with repositories containing many thousands of files and directories, and historically this has presented a challenge for heavy I/O operations such as builds. Today, we are announcing Dev Drive – a new type of storage volume, tailor-made for developers, with a file system that delivers both performance and security. Dev Drive is based on the Resilient File System, which, combined with a new performance mode capability in Microsoft Defender for Antivirus, offers up to 30% file system improvement in build times for file I/O scenarios. The new performance mode is more secure for your workloads than folder or process exclusions, providing an ultimate solution to balance security with performance. Dev Home makes it effortless to set up Dev Drive as part of the environment setup process. It is supercharged to host project source code, working folders and package caches. Dev Drive is available in preview later this week. Create a Dev Drive now. Efficiently track your workflows on a new customizable dashboard in Dev Home Dev Home also helps you manage any type of project you’re working on – Windows, cloud, web, mobile or AI – providing all the information you need, right at your fingertips, in one customizable dashboard.  You can enhance the Dev Home experience by adding GitHub widgets to efficiently track all coding tasks or pull requests and projects from one central location, and system widgets to track CPU and GPU performance.  We are collaborating with Team Xbox to bring the GDK to Dev Home to make it easy to get started with game creation. Looking to add your own custom-built extensions? You can do this on Dev Home. Dev home is open source. We value community input on the experience, and we want to build this with you. Contribute and engage with us at the GitHub repository Dev Home is in preview starting today, you can install Dev Home from the Microsoft Store today. Your favorite tool, Windows Terminal is getting smarter with GitHub Copilot X                          Users of GitHub Copilot will be able to take advantage of natural language AI both inline and in an experimental chat experience to recommend commands, explain errors and take actions within the Terminal application.  We are also experimenting with GitHub Copilot powered AI in other developer tools like WinDBG to help you complete your tasks with less toil. Join the GitHub Copilot Chat waitlist to gain access to these features as they become available. Reducing toil and unlocking the fun and joy of development on Windows with new features and improvements The team has listened closely to what improvements are top of mind for you, including improvements to the Taskbar:
  1. You can now quickly identify and access any instance of each app housed in the taskbar with just one click. All instances of the app are ungrouped with labels on the taskbar.
  2. You can now hide your Time and Date with a setting on the taskbar. With this setting, users will be able to hide the time to remain focused, capture screen recordings without having to edit to hide time and date. The feature is located in the time and date settings page in Windows Settings.
  3. Quickly and easily shut down applications with a simple right click on the app directly from the taskbar without opening the Task Manager.
In addition...
  • We have added native support for additional archive formats, including tar, 7-zip, rar, gz and many others using the libarchive open-source project. You now can get improved performance of archive functionality during compression on Windows.
  • We are adding tab tear-out to Windows Terminal so that you can easily organize your different shells into windows according to your needs.

Continuing to innovate and accelerate development for Windows on Arm

In the past year, we launched the Windows Dev Kit 2023, and Arm native versions of Visual Studio and .NET to help accelerate development on Arm. Windows is continuing this momentum and welcoming more third-party Windows apps, middleware partners and Open-Source Software natively to Arm. Learn how to add Arm support for your apps.
  • Visual Studio 17.6 now ships with MAUI support for Arm.
  • Visual Studio 17.71 Preview 1 now ships with support for Linux development with C++.
  • LLVM v12.0 and onwards for cross compile and native compile options for Arm.
  • Node 20.0.0 is available from April with native Arm support.
  • WiX installer v4.0 is available to create native installers for Arm.
  • New middleware projects that have released in the last 12 months: Qt 6.2, CMake 3.24, Bazel, 5.1, OpenSSL 3.0, OpenBLAS, 0.3.21, Python 3.11.
  • Unity Player: Unity Player is now generally available for Windows on Arm natively. Developers using the game engine will be able to easily target Windows on Arm devices to get native performance on current and future titles.
  • Additional solutions are coming soon to Arm64 For example GNU GCC, Flutter & Dart, PyTorch, GIMP.
Beyond Microsoft’s investment in the Arm platform there are many developers that see the value of Arm native support and have released Arm64 native versions of their experiences to give their customers the best experience. Here are just a few of the recent products launched: And many more with plans to release in the near future: New features to keep your users engaged Lighted accessories have been on the rise and can add energy and emotion to your PC experience. Today, many of these accessories rely on third-party apps and integrations that are highly fragmented. With Dynamic Lighting, Windows users will be able to effortlessly set up and customize their devices with RGB lights directly from Windows Settings. It has never been easier to help all your RGB accessories seamlessly work together for Windows apps. This month, we are making the Dynamic Lighting preview available to Windows Insiders so that developers and hardware partners alike can experiment with new integrations for RGB accessories and components.

New features and experiences in the Microsoft Store on Windows

We are committed to not only providing you with the best tools to build great apps, but we are also enhancing the Microsoft Store, an open platform on Windows that provides the reach and growth that you seek. Today, we’re pleased to announce new AI-powered features, expanded Microsoft Store Ads and new tools to help you reach your customers:
  • Microsoft Store AI Hub: Coming soon, we are introducing a dedicated section in the Microsoft Store on Windows that will curate the best AI experiences built by the developer community and Microsoft.
  • Microsoft Store AI-Generated keywords: To help optimize app discovery, we are introducing a new tool in Partner Center that leverages AI to generate and suggest search tags for apps to improve discoverability.
  • AI-Generated review summary: We are making it faster and easier for customers to scan reviews for apps by using the power of AI to compile thousands of reviews into a simple summary, enabling customers to discover new content with ease.
  • Microsoft Store Ads: Beginning in June, Microsoft Store Ads will expand its footprint beyond the U.S., to more than 150 regions worldwide. You will also have more options to reach customers with a new premium, high-traffic spotlight placement in the Store and Bing.com search results.
  • Backup and Restore Apps: To help you retain your customers when they switch devices, we are enhancing the backup and restore experience for apps. This update is in preview and is available to Windows Insiders today.
To learn more about what we announced in the Microsoft Store on Windows today, including new AI-powered experiences and developer tools, visit this blog post.

Building on and for the future of Windows, together

It's an exciting time to be a developer, even more so on Windows, and we're thrilled to be on this journey with our you. From the moment you open your device, you’ll have the ultimate productivity tools at your fingertips, empowering you to do your best work. With the incredible momentum that’s building around this new era of AI, we can’t wait to see what you will create next. We want to empower you to focus your time on creating and building – writing code that only you can write. With our renewed focus on supercharging developer productivity, we believe Windows now provides the best platform for you to create cutting edge experiences for your customers and is also the best platform for you to reach those customers, all with minimal cost and effort. We are humbled to be on this journey with you. To learn more about these incredible new features, explore our new Windows Developer Center bringing our news and resources all into one location for you. For our Windows Insiders, you’ll be able to start accessing a set of these new features later this week in an Insider Preview Build. And be sure to check out our various sessions throughout Microsoft Build to learn more about everything we announced. Update, May 24, 2023: This blog post was updated to add additional detail on the AI library]]> Welcoming AI to the Microsoft Store on Windows https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2023/05/23/welcoming-ai-to-the-microsoft-store-on-windows/ Tue, 23 May 2023 15:00:05 +0000 https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/?p=56689 We wouldn’t be where we are today without the developer community. Together, we’ve been on a journey to reim

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]]> journey to reimagine an open app store and provide a better experience for Windows customers. It’s because of this partnership that the Microsoft Store on Windows is now used by over one billion customers with more than 50% of new Windows 11 customers engaging with the Microsoft Store in the first 30 days. The momentum of Windows customers is a testament to the growth in quality content from our passionate community of developers, who have more than doubled the number of Win32 and PWA apps since last year. Engaging PWAs like Snapchat and ESPN, sophisticated native apps like Spark Mail, Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, Capture One, Bilibili and WhatsApp, along with Android apps like Epic Seven, Best Fiends, and Blink, are truly what makes the Microsoft Store the best place to find the right content, whether for productivity, entertainment or creativity. There are many more apps to recognize, including the winners of the Microsoft Store Awards 2023 which can be found here. Today, we are proud to share the next phase of our journey for the Microsoft Store on Windows and announce new experiences, features and tools. We are focused on building an open store that is ready for the new AI era, and to provide developers with new tools like Microsoft Store Ads to reach even more customers.

Microsoft Store opens the doors to AI

The world around us is changing every day. As AI disrupts existing workflows and creates exciting new opportunities for customers, we see an opportunity to evolve and think differently about the role of the Microsoft Store on Windows. It’s not just a place to download an app or a game, but rather, it should serve as a resource to educate customers about how they can be more productive, achieve their tasks, and discover new content. Introducing the AI Hub, a new curated section in the Microsoft Store where we will promote the best AI experiences built by the developer community and Microsoft. This is a space where we will educate customers on how to start and expand their AI journey, inspiring them to use AI in everyday ways to boost productivity, spark creativity and so much more. For example, you will be able to use AI to express your creativity through Luminar Neo and Lensa, master your video and audio with Descript, Krisp and Podcastle, present your ideas with Gamma and Copy.ai, build your resume with Kickresume, generate your voice with Play.ht, or even plan your trip with Tripnotes. All the content will be tested for security, family safety, and device compatibility – so you are always in control. This feature will soon be available in the Microsoft Store. If you are an AI developer and interested in being featured in the AI Hub, let us know here. [embed]https://youtu.be/E-AAigo0BFk[/embed] Customers can take advantage of AI-Generated review summary. This new feature summarizes customer reviews and provides a concise summary highlighting the topline details. We know customers use the Microsoft Store to view and gather community feedback when considering and choosing new apps and games. However, especially with popular apps that have thousands of reviews, sifting through each one can take time. Supported by AI, this feature is designed to make the customer experience even more seamless. AI-Generated review summaries will soon be available in the Microsoft Store. [embed]https://youtu.be/xtoRys9mEjA[/embed] Microsoft Store AI-Generated keywords: Coming soon to preview, we will introduce a new developer tool in Partner Center that leverages AI to generate and suggest Search Tags for apps. We are using AI to consume your metadata, as well as other signals, and help you improve the discoverability of your app in the Microsoft Store search results. Based on popular demand, we are also introducing the ability to select multiple categories per app, which will further improve discoverability and help you reach more customers. Learn more here. [embed]https://youtu.be/JTWdfDu8P1w[/embed]

Reach more customers with new developer tools and expanded services

Earlier this year, we announced the availability of Microsoft Store Ads in search results and shared plans to expand the experience to premium ad placements in search. In just two months, we have seen more developers adopt this new channel and receive positive results. Miracle Games experienced a 25% increase in app installs compared to before at a CPI that is 90% lower than on other advertising channels. Learn more about Miracle Games story here. Today, we are excited to release new services that will help developers connect to more customers and address some of the most popular developer feedback: Microsoft Store Ads is expanding in more ways than one Starting next month, Microsoft Store Ads will be discoverable in Bing.com search results, along with Microsoft Store search results. To take advantage of these capabilities, create a Store Ads Campaign in Microsoft Advertising. We are also making available a new Attribution SDK for MSIX apps and coming soon for Win32 and PWAs. Learn more here. Developers now have the option to display rich advertising in the spotlight section in the Microsoft Store. This provides a new large and high-traffic surface for advertisers and supports video ad formats. If you are interested in participating in the pilot program, please submit a request here. [embed]https://youtu.be/QlJ5ROpTe6M[/embed] Starting in June, Microsoft Store Ads will expand beyond the U.S. market, supported by Microsoft Advertising, to more than 150 regions worldwide. Advertisers with a presence in other countries will soon be able to leverage this channel to achieve their acquisition goals. Keeping customers engaged across devices has just gotten easier Retention is another key challenge for developers. Last year, we announced a feature that allows customers to easily transition apps from one device to another. Today, we are introducing a new backup and restore capability on Windows that helps keep customers engaged across devices. When customers transition from a Windows 10 or 11 device to their new Windows 11 device, the icons for Store apps will automatically get restored right where they had them – on the Start menu and Taskbar. This new feature is in preview and available to Windows Insiders today. To learn more about how to ensure the best experience when restoring apps, learn more here. [embed]https://youtu.be/wVo1A9kfABs[/embed] Over the last two years, we continue to see a growth of developers publishing PWAs or Win32 apps. We are excited to bring new capabilities for PWAs, faster certification for Win32 apps and opening Android app submissions to all developers:
  • PWAs remain a top priority in the Microsoft Store, and we continue to invest in open-source tools to help developers. New capabilities are available to help expand your audience through Windows Widgets and Edge Sidebar PWAs. In addition, the Digital Goods API will soon be available enabling PWAs published to the Microsoft Store to accept in-app purchases and streamline the checkout process. To learn more and leverage the new capabilities, visit pwabuilder.com.
  • Due to popular demand, today we are making available a suite of certification tests for Win32 app developers that can be run offline and will provide guidance on how to address potential certification issues. This will create more predictability in your submission and reduce the certification turnaround time by up to 50%. Learn more here.
  • Any developer with an Amazon Appstore Developer account can now submit their apps for distribution on Windows 11 devices. To best prepare your app for a smooth testing and publishing experience, review thedeveloper resources for handling window resizing and implementing native mapping in the new form factor. The Windows Subsystem for Android continue to get better, with support for Android 13, launch and runtime performance improvements, and new features like Picture in Picture and memory management. Learn more here.
Today's AI announcements ventured the Microsoft Store on Windows into a new and unexplored era. Developers and customers continue to be at the core of everything we do. We look forward to listening to your feedback in the months ahead, so we can continue to build a better experience for all.]]> Microsoft Store App Awards 2023 nominations are now open! https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2023/03/15/microsoft-store-app-awards-2023-nominations-are-now-open/ Wed, 15 Mar 2023 17:47:47 +0000 https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/?p=56685 Microsoft Store App Awards is back this year! Nominations are now closed. For more information, keep reading.

Attention Windows users, developers, and app enthusiasts! We are excited to announce the upcoming Microsoft Stor

The post Microsoft Store App Awards 2023 nominations are now open! appeared first on Windows Developer Blog.

]]> Microsoft Store App Awards is back this year! Nominations are now closed. For more information, keep reading. Attention Windows users, developers, and app enthusiasts! We are excited to announce the upcoming Microsoft Store App Awards 2023, the most anticipated event for the Microsoft Store community! After the incredible success of last year's awards, we are eager to celebrate the achievements of the brightest and most innovative minds in the industry. The 2022 award recipients brought forward an impressive lineup of apps that showcased the limitless possibilities of the Windows platform. From productivity to entertainment, from creativity to social networks, the array of apps  demonstrated excellence in their user experience, design, app quality, and most of all, customer value. Check out last year’s award-winning apps from the Microsoft Store App Awards here. This is just the beginning! We know that there are countless more outstanding apps in the Microsoft Store on Windows that deserve recognition, and that is where you come in. We want to hear from you, the users and enthusiasts, about your favorite apps that you believe should be recognized for the Microsoft Store App Awards 2023. So, we invite you to nominate your favorite apps in the Microsoft Store for the upcoming awards. This is your chance to recognize and showcase the apps that have made your Windows experience unforgettable, and to support the developers who have poured their hearts and souls into making them. We also encourage developers to spread the word about the awards and to invite their users to nominate their apps. We know that your passion and creativity are the driving force behind the Microsoft Store on Windows’ success, and we want to recognize and reward that! Together, let's make the Microsoft Store App Awards 2023 an unforgettable and thrilling celebration for Windows Developers. We cannot wait to see what the community has in store for us and to celebrate the best apps in the Microsoft Store. Let's keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible with Windows, and let's keep making amazing apps together! The nomination period is now closed.]]> Developers, meet Microsoft Store Ads https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2023/02/02/developers-meet-microsoft-store-ads/ Thu, 02 Feb 2023 15:40:13 +0000 https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/?p=56675 Reach the right customers at the right time with your games and apps

Content is at the heart of the Windows PC experience. Consumers typically visit the Microsoft Store to learn more about a wide variety of PC apps or games, from productivit

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]]> Reach the right customers at the right time with your games and apps Content is at the heart of the Windows PC experience. Consumers typically visit the Microsoft Store to learn more about a wide variety of PC apps or games, from productivity apps that accelerate work to creativity apps that empower innovation, games that incentivize connection, and more. Because most consumers live a multi-screen life—moving from smartphones to PCs and back again—the lines between “mobile” and “desktop” have blurred. In turn, the behaviors consumers are accustomed to on mobile are transferable to the way people expect apps on PCs to look, feel, and function. Developers know that apps are central to how we work, play, and connect. And the great news is PC apps are having their moment. From the pandemic accelerating PC use to app-savvy millennial and Gen-Z audiences growing up creating and using apps—a wide audience is looking for app-centric experiences, not only on mobile, but on PCs, too.

Reach a wider app audience with Microsoft Store Ads

Our passion for helping developers more easily bring their apps to customers inspired us to redesign the Microsoft Store on Windows—which now features a new desktop app distribution experience that looks and feels more like mobile. Now, when customers visit the Microsoft Store, they can download apps for either mobile or PC. With Microsoft Store Ads, developers now have new app discoverability opportunities on Windows. Microsoft Store Ads is all desktop traffic, with mission-driven users that have a high intent to download a desktop app. The opportunity is vast; 2022 was a record year, with over 900 million unique users worldwide utilizing the Microsoft Store, and a 122% year-over-year increase in developer submissions of new apps and games. Microsoft Store Ads was designed to help developers grow their business by getting their apps or games in front of the right customers at the right time, and to inspire Microsoft Store customers with great content. A developer of a music-making app, for example, will be able to create an ad campaign to get their app in front of an audience that likes music or likes to create music. Whether you're about to launch a brand-new app or have a 2.0 bug update for an app currently on the Windows Store, developers can now advertise right on the Microsoft Store, to incentivize people to install or update.

All developers are welcome

We are now offering a new set of Open App Store Principles that welcome all developers to bring the best apps and games to Windows 11 devices, from apps using their own commerce to third-party storefronts. And last year, we announced a waitlist program for Win32 apps in Microsoft Store and welcomed hundreds of developers. Today, we are pleased to share that the program is now open to all Win32 developers (.NET, C++, Electron, Flutter, Qt, Rust, and more). If your app or game is not in the Microsoft Store yet, begin by publishing your Windows app. All developers have access to Microsoft Store Ads, where they can create ad campaigns in the Microsoft Store, using Microsoft Advertising, reaching customers on Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices. However, only developers with published content on the Store will be able to run ad campaigns, which ensures ads are contextual for customers.

Get started today

Microsoft Store Ads is built for apps already on Windows—and for your latest release. Now is the time to promote and invest in your desktop app. Having just announced ads on the Microsoft StoreOpens in new window, the costs per click (CPC) are very competitive, which can bring your overall cost per action (CPA) down. We recommend developers reach out to their marketing team to create a strategic app marketing plan leveraging Microsoft Store Ads. Let the team know that with Microsoft Store Ads you promote your desktop app to customers on Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices by creating ads on the Microsoft Advertising platform. Once created, developers will see their app advertised live right on the Microsoft Store. Customers will click the ad, download or update the app to their PC, and let the writing, playing, or gaming come to life. Choose your way to get started:
  • Ask your marketing team to reach out to their Microsoft Advertising account manager or Microsoft Store representative.
  • If your marketing team does not have a Microsoft Advertising account manager or Microsoft Store representative, Contact Us.
  • If your app or game is not in the Microsoft Store yet, begin by publishing your Windows app.
To learn how Microsoft Store Ads can help consumers discover your app and for product updates and channel information, visit the Microsoft Store Ads page.]]>