Windows 10: Microsoft promises to give users and apps more control over app defaults and pinning in Windows

Tired of Microsoft Edge placing multiple icons on the Windows desktop, even after you have just removed them? This and other shenanigans are soon a thing of the past according to Microsoft's announcement on the official Windows blog.

In it, Microsoft employees Tali Roth and Aaron Grady state that Microsoft wants to "ensure that people are in control of what gets pinned to their Desktop, their Start Menu and their Taskbar" and that they should also "be able to control their default applications such as their browser through consistent, clear and trustworthy Windows provided system dialogs and settings".

Windows users who have been burned by Microsoft in the past might cry out now "what took you so long", considering that it was Microsoft that made it more difficult to set default apps in Windows 11.

Microsoft's commitment




Microsoft promises to do better and to make that very clear, the company announced three major usability principles going forward:

• Windows users will be in charge and in control of apps that they pinned and their defaults.
• Application developers will have access to a "common supported way" to make their applications the default or pin their applications to the Windows taskbar.
• Microsoft apps will use the same methods that third-party developers have at their disposal when it comes to the pinning of apps and defaults.

Microsoft revealed that it is going to introduce new features in Windows that help users and app developers. Users gain more control and developers get officially supported options regarding pinning and making their apps the defaults for certain file types on the operating system.

A new deep link option to the default apps section of the Windows Settings will become available soon, according to Microsoft. Windows supports a special protocol to launch certain preferences or pages in the Settings.

The URI ms-settings:appsfeatures, for instance, opens the Installed Apps section of the Settings app. There are hundreds of these links, which users may execute from the run box or search.

Soon, a new option is introduced that provides a link directly to an application's "default apps" settings. Users may configure default app behavior there for the app. Microsoft did not reveal if the "set default" option will become available for all apps, or if users need to set file type associations manually for certain apps.



Microsoft plans to launch a new public API soon as well for pinning improvements. This new API enables "apps to pin either primary or secondary tiles to the Taskbar", according to Microsoft. Users receive a prompt when an application tries to pin to the taskbar, and they may allow or decline the operation using the dialog.

Microsoft made no mention of desktop icon or Start Menu pinning, even though it mentioned the Start Menu and the Desktop when stating that it wants to "ensure that people are in control".

The new features will become available in the coming months in the Windows Insider Dev Channel. The next feature update for Windows 11, which Microsoft plans to release in the second half of 2023, may be the first stable version of Windows 11 to include the new functionality.



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Microsoft is purging a lot of low quality apps from the Windows Store

"Microsoft is sending emails to some Windows Store developers informing them that their apps have been removed from the Store for violating its quality standards."

"Neowin reports that app developers have been receiving these emails over the past couple of days:

In its latest review of the Store, Microsoft is evaluating if the published apps are good enough to be listed in the Windows Store. This includes publicly available apps as well as private beta apps. Additionally, Microsoft is also asking developers to delete any promotional campaigns for their apps to prevent advertising charges. Similarly, app name reservations are also being nullified; which means that if your app is unpublished, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to republish it under the same name.

Officially, the policies for the Microsoft Store says that apps must have "distinct and informative metadata" and "provide a valuable and quality user experience". There are also some specific standards that must be in the apps, including having a name that is not similar to another app or device, along with offering a description that is accurate about its features and functions.

There have certainly been many Windows Store users who have complained over the years about the large number of apps published that are clones of other apps or ones that are simply poorly made. Hopefully, this new move by Microsoft will help to curb these issues, at least for now."

Microsoft is purging a lot of low quality apps from the Windows Store

 

Cannot change the default apps by using control panel

Original Title: Cannot change default apps.

As said, I cannot change the default apps by using control panel > ... > Default Apps tab.

I cannot change any of the default programs. I use paint.net to edit/view photos and I cannot set it to the default program even though it is on the list, it does not change and i'm stuck with the default photo viewer. This happens with any other app actually,
I cannot change the default music player there, nor browser or anything.

I followed these steps as suggest by a microsoft engineer, post 2, and later on, no avail.

Redirecting

I refuse to use work arounds, I'd like a proper solution is possible, thank you.

 

Windows 10 forgets default apps

I have noticed like not 5mins ago that Winamp just got kicked out of my default apps list in Windows 10 Pro.
I installed this installation not max 3 weeks ago with fresh downloaded Windows 10 Pro using Microsoft Media Creation Tool, is there a way to fix this bcs I using sfc /scannow don't do a lot for me and I have run it before on this installation.

Before u ask, I have fully updated my Windows 10 with all non-insider/beta updates.

The only thing I have disabled is the uac prompt that popup when u need admin for applications to run bcs it's simply annoying.

I don't remember having all these problems with Windows 8.1 Pro when i was using that and I am really thinking about going back so I can have "fully control" over Windows again with like disabling all the admin crap bcs I feel like it's messing more up and makes things less useful in Windows 10 with all these small problems I have and I read a lot of ppl having problems with various things time and time again where they needed to reinstall Win10 over and over to get it to work fully.

Any advice on how I can get Windows 10 to just work as a "daily driver" without all these small annoying things? *Frown