Windows 10: Is there a way to get the Widgets in Windows 11 toward the left side while having the Start...

Is there a way to get the Widgets in Windows 11 toward the left side while having the Start Button on the left side?The September 2024 Windows update placed the Widgets on the right side. Is it possible to move it back to the left where it always was before when the Start Button is at the extreme left?

:)

 

Hello, can we please move the Widget button Windows 11 back to the left.

Some don't view the widget app as the bees knees for CONVENIENCE. In fact many like myself view it as somewhat of an annoyance given that so many of the widgets are USofA centric.

I've left it there for weather only since being forced to upgrade to Windows 11 after my previous Windows 7 box suddenly passed away.

Microsoft Windows Version 23H2 (OS Build 22631.4112): It has remained there nicely on the LEFT until just five minutes ago when Microsoft in their infinite wisdom updated things ...

• August 27, 2024—KB5041587 (OS Builds 22621.4112 and 22631.4112) Preview
  
• [Widgets Board] We are rolling out an update to the Widgets Board to improve security and the APIs for creating widgets and feeds for users in EEA regions. As part of this update, the Microsoft Start Experiences app will power the Microsoft Start widget and feed experiences. Also, as part of this update, some existing widgets will be removed and others will be modified, temporarily affecting their functionality. This update sets the foundation for new widgets and other features in development, set to roll out soon.
  

Now widgets are over on the right and no way I can find to move them back to the left.

I can't work with them there on the right, my natural inclination is to work left-to-right, look left-to-right - it's too damned uncomfortable to be looking right working with widgets there on the right when EVERYTHING ELSE I click to work with is displayed there on the left.

So, I too am disabling the app - only ever used it to display the weather for my local area and I can easily set up a short-cut to my task bar for that.

Why those hidden away in rooms with no windows go changing things like this with no recourse to set them how we feel I'll never know.

 

Windows 11 Widgets - how can you enable the service but only have the weather widget?

Thanks for that John J.D. I did do that some months ago but I gather the process is slow or that they may not see a desire to control the widgets you do or don't get easily. Personally starting with none and adding is preferable to getting hundreds of news feeds and then having to block them each individually.

In fact I've turned it off and am using the widget app the have in the Microsoft store instead.

I'll ping Microsoft again with the suggestion to change the way Windows 11 Widgets work. Again thank you.

 

IS there any way to turn off "Money Insight" notifications in the Windows 11 Widget?

This seems to be an evolving idea within the Widgets development team. The first time I saw these market trending announcements was as a breaking news banner at the top of the Widgets panel. It was typically accompanied by a "badge" on the Widget taskbar button - that's the red circle in the upper right of the button's image. One had to hover (or click) on the button to open the panel before the market trending message was visible.

More recently, within the last few weeks, they began showing up as the Widget taskbar button's image, replacing whatever had been there before, and staying visible for many minutes, no matter how I interacted with the Widget panel. To me, this is the most annoying property of this "feature". It also applies to the "Breaking News" image that replaces the usual image whenever a breaking news item surfaces.

I believe I have found a way to eliminate these. It involves most of the suggestions that have already been given in this message thread, but there is one additional step that seems to clinch matters. I have had a full week blissfully free of any of these usurpations of the taskbar button's image.

Here is what I have done.

Click on the taskbar button, click on the account icon, be sure that "Show notification badges" and "Show announcements" are OFF.

With the above panel still active, click on the "Manage Interests" link at the lower left. This brings up the "Feed settings" panel. Just below the "Discover Interests" icons, click on "See more". This will launch Microsoft Edge and take you to your Microsoft Start personalize page. (You will need to be logged in to your Microsoft account first.)

In the search box type "watchlist idea" which should bring up "Watchlist Idea from Microsoft Start - Source" as the only match. Click the '+' icon to add it. Then click the '...' menu and select Block. Apparently, it is only possible to block a source or publisher, not a list of topics. It should show up on the "Blocked list" entry on the left of the page if you expand it by clicking on the right-pointing triangle icon. Feel free to experiment with any of the "Discover interests" boxes. This seems to mostly affect the right side of the Widgets panel, which contains what I will call "tiles" for the various stories, links, videos, etc. which will be launched, again with Microsoft Edge, if one clicks on them.

Finally, the crucial step! The actual "widgets" are displayed on the left side of the Widgets panel. You may have noticed that the order of the widgets, top to bottom, changes from time to time. This seems to be the mechanism that allows a different widget to control the image seen on the taskbar button. For me, the information I want left on the button comes from the "Weather" widget. For this to work, it needs to be the topmost widget on the left side of the panel. (If you want some other widget to drive the taskbar button, make sure it is the topmost widget.) Finally, click the '...' menu then select "Pin widget". This ensures that it stays in its current position in the column of widgets.

When I select "Pin widget" for the "Weather" widget its display expands to include more information, but it also prevents other widgets, or pseudo-widgets such as the market trends or breaking news feeds, from taking control of the taskbar button's image. I don't know if this is a bug or a feature, but for the moment, I am free of unwanted "trending" notifications. Yay!

If anyone is still following this thread I hope some of you will try this and comment on your experiences, good or bad. Good luck to all!