Windows 10 October 2018 Update - Here is everything you need to know - OUT NOW!

[GoodBytes]

Version 1809, code named Redstone 5, Windows 10 October 2018 Update does not contain any number of major changes, but instead focuses on smaller things, with only a very few big ones. The focus is on polishing the experience instead of bringing new things. So this time, it will be on the short side of things.

 

Download:

• It will start coming out through Windows 10 Update. It should be coming to you soon.
• If you want to get it now:
  • You can use Microsoft Download Assistance: (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 - Pick "Update Now")
  • You can use Media Creation Tool: (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 - Pick "Download tool now")

 

 

Here is everything that is new

 

The Exciting Stuff:

• Dark Theme File Explorer
  File Explorer now support Dark theme. If you set your color option from Light to Dark, File Explorer will now be dark. Not every panel will change to Dark theme yet, so if you open some panels and they show white, then it’s not broken. It is coming later.
  
   
• Your Phone
  A new app that allows you to connect to your Android and iOS phone and allows you to view your phone stored pictures, and allows you send and receive and view SMS (Android only due to iOS limitation)
  
  In addition: App Mirroring! - Just announced!
  You can use any Android app on your PC (phone needs to be next to your system)
  
  (Picture from The Verge, from the Microsoft Surface event - https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/2/17929908/microsoft-app-mirroring-android-windows-10-desktop)

 

• DirectX 12 - Raytracing
  DirectX 12 has been updated with a new set of API that allows developers to have easier time to implement Ray tracing support. Nvidia GeForce RTX series graphics card support this new DirectX 12 version. The coming up battlefield demoed by Nvidia GeForce RTX 20xx series reveal, uses it. - Thanks @pas008
   
• Clipboard History
  Windows can now store multiple clipboards copy/cut content, and allows you to select which one you want to paste, by doing Win+V when you want to paste, instead of Ctrl+V. This option is disabled by default. Go to Settings > System > Clipboard to enable it. And yes, you can individually remove an item from the clipboard list history and clear everything.
  
   
• Clipboard sync across your Windows devices
  Copy something on your desktop, and paste it on your laptop? Yes, sir, you can! Disabled by default, once enabled under Settings > System > Clipboard, you can copy text and small images, and have it sync to your other devices. On the other device you just do Win+V and pick the content you want to paste.
   
• Updated Game Bar with System Performance
  The Game Bar has a new look yet again, and now includes system performance that you can track in games.

The Cool Stuff:

• Onscreen keyboard now supports swiping
  Powered by SwiftKey, you can now swipe to type with the virtual keyboard, like you can on your phone.
  
   
• Snip & Sketch
  Snipping Tools is now deprecated (still there, but not supported and no new features coming). Its replacement: Snip & Sketch. It will eventually replace it in the future. But for now, it is the one supported by Microsoft. It is near feature parity to Snipping Tools, but being a UWP app now, it allows music improved pen and finger drawing, roller support to draw straight lines, verity of pen tools. Snip and Sketch now saves all images as PNG for the best image quality.
  
   
• Diagnostic Data Viewer
  Diagnostic Data Viewer is a new app downloadable from the Store app which allows you to view the collected telemetry data by Windows 10.
   
• Storage Sense Improvements
  Storage Sense has been updated. Can now auto clean your drive if you are low in disk space, and includes a number of new options, including (configurable) removed old OneDrive not access for a certain number of days. (Settings > System > Storage > “Change how we free up space automatically”)
  
   
• Auto-Correct for Physical keyboard
  Auto-correct now works with the physical keyboard in your desktop or laptop device. As you type, on supported apps, you have Windows presenting a selection of words on top that you can select, and predict the next one, like on your phone. It also supports multiple languages (language needs to be installed on the system). This option is disabled by default.
   
• Typing Insights
  Typing Insights is Microsoft new auto-correct AI system which learns from your over time (Can be enabled and Disabled under: Settings > Device > Typing >Typing Insights. Stats on its corrections are available at the same locations under the Settings panel.
  
   
• Start Menu Search Experience Improvements
  Start Menu search now gives you application specific contextual options and recent files opened with the application. It also gives you information on files being search such as when it was last modified and its location for example.
  

Notepad Improvements:

• Notepad now supports Linux, Unix and MacOS line termination. No more opening files in Notepad and seeing everything on the same line.
• Notepad can now wrap around search when you do a search.
• Notepad can now Zoom in and out of text. No need to change the font option of Notepad
• Notepad can now search for a word online. You can select a text right-click and pick “Search with Bing…”
   

Edge Improvements:

• Edge continue to have improvement on the back, as usual.
• Edge now has better main menu, with icons and keyboard shortcut being displayed for the supported menu item, and improvements to its History/Favorites/Download/Books panels, and Settings
• Edge now blocks video playing automatically.
• Windows Defender is now called Windows Security
• You can now make the “Print Screen” key to, instead of taking a full screen shot and store it on your clipboard, to instead allow you to select an area. (Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard > Print Screen Shortcut)

The Small Stuff

• Further improvement and implementation of the Fluent Design langues in the OS. This is still not done, Microsoft is continuing to work on this.
• Sound panel has moved further in the Settings panel.
• With the above, you can also now rename input and output sourced of the system: Ability to rename Sound inputs and outputs (Settings > Devices > Sound > Device Properties)
• [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [right-click] on a folder “Open Linux shell here” option on the right-click menu.
• You can now install Font without administrator privileges. The font will only be installed for the local user. When you right-click on a don’t file, you’ll have 2 options “Install for all user” (Administrator privileges needed”), and “Install” (will install for the current user only)
• Battery status on supported Bluetooth devices displayed in “Bluetooth & other devices” section under the Settings panel.
• Ability to name and rename folders in the live tile section of the Start Menu.
• Option to automatically hide scroll bars on select panels in the OS (Settings > Ease of Access > Display > “Automatically hide scroll bar in Windows”.
• Make text only display larger on the system (Settings > Ease of Access > Display > Make text bigger).
• Improved HEIC image file format on File Explorer. You can now edit meta data of these files, and right-click on them and pick a Rotate option to rotate them the way you want.
• Emoji11 standard support. Now supports more Emoji's.
• Improved Magnification feature (Win+[+] / Win+[-] / Win+[Esc]). You can now fine tune the increment value of the zoom by 5%.
• Settings panel shows suggestions on the right side pane. Can be disabled in Settings > Privacy > General.
• Banner will now show at the top of the screen when you are projecting to a screen from your device to another and gives you options to manage your projection.
• Setup a computer as a Kiosk device is one easier. You can now create a Kiosk account under (Settings > Accounts > Family & Other Users > Set up a kiosk).
• Ink support improvement with UWP apps. If you tap a text box with your pen, a ink panel will show over the text box giving you room to ink your entry and have it convert into text.
• Registry Editor (Regedit) now has auto-complete option for its address bar to help you go to a location
• Windows 10 time is now more accurate with Leap second support.

 

 

Reminder

I recommend the following before upgrading the latest version:

• Backup your data before upgrading, if you are forcing it, as if it is not released yet for you, you are not part of the wave or your system configuration has been reported to have issue that needs to be resolved first by Microsoft.
• Uninstall your A/V and security software (beside Windows Defender), and restart your PC, before upgrading. Install them back once the update is complete. Normally it should be no problem if you ensure your security software are fully updated before starting the process, but just in case, as they are always reported issues since ever when it comes to these big updates (from Service Packs updates from the old days, to Windows 10 update builds)
• If you used a registry cleaner at some point, you increased your chances of having a broken experience after upgrade
• If you have had a virus or malware on your system that executed, as your A/V didn't catch it in time, then remember that your A/V doesn't fix registry changes or system file changes, and that can lead to broken Windows or failed update.
• Ensure that ALL your drivers are FULLY updated before starting the upgrade process (Keyboard (if any), Mouse (if any), Motherboard chipset,s Audio, Graphics card, peripherals, and any other cards installed)

 

 

What's After?

• No information on the code name yet.
• It is expected to further push the Fluent Design
• It is expected that Dark theme File Explorer is propagated more on the OS and polished further.
• Tabs everywhere, called Sets. You can create groups of apps Win32 and UWP, including mixing them, and folders, which you can switch between, save/restore. It was believed to be coming in this build, but decided that it was not ready yet and removed.

 

What was Before?

 

Spoiler

 

 

Source: https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-skips-over-release-preview-and-drops-the-windows-10-october-2018-update

 

Windows Central made a video, as they always do, showcasing the new features in action:

 

[Crunchy Dragon]

Dark theme is nice, I enjoy having as much stuff as I possibly can using it.

[Arika]

There's a lot of things in this update that I can see myself using still waiting for those file Explorer tabs

[Salv8 (sam)]

4 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

You can now install Font without administrator privileges. The font will only be installed for the local user. When you right-click on a don’t file, you’ll have 2 options “Install for all user” (Administrator privileges needed”), and “Install” (will install for the current user only)

Microsoft is going to regret allowing this

in windows versions of yore this was possible but an exploit allowed access the the system to a hidden virus within the font

i hope Microsoft fixed it as some of these exploits are still possible with modern versions of windows

[Nowak]

9 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

Clipboard History
Windows can now store multiple clipboards copy/cut content, and allows you to select which one you want to paste, by doing Win+V when you want to paste, instead of Ctrl+V. This option is disabled by default. Go to Settings > System > Clipboard to enable it. And yes, you can individually remove an item from the clipboard list history and clear everything.

About time this was built into Windows by default.

 

9 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

Auto-Correct for Physical keyboard
Auto-correct now works with the physical keyboard in your desktop or laptop device. As you type, on supported apps, you have Windows presenting a selection of words on top that you can select, and predict the next one, like on your phone. It also supports multiple languages (language needs to be installed on the system)

...oh no.

[GoodBytes]

3 minutes ago, NowakVulpix said:

...oh no.

Forgot to mention, it is disabled by default. But I have been trying it, and causing no problem so far, at least for me.

[AHaskin14]

sooooo excited for dark explorer

 

[Nowak]

1 minute ago, GoodBytes said:

Forgot to mention, it is disabled by default. But I have been trying it, and causing no problem so far, at least for me.

Okay good, I'd actually switch to Linux (again) if it was enabled by default. Fuuuuuuuuuuck that.

 

Installing on my laptop now.

[Levent]

looks like I am waking up to more issues tomorrow morning 

[ScratchCat]

Quote

Snipping tool will be replaced by a UWP app

 

First they take our calculators, then snipping tools! What next? The Control Panel to be replaced with the abomination they call "The Settings App"?

 

39 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

Notepad can now search for a word online. You can select a text right-click and pick “Search with Bing…”

Where do I sign up? /s

 

The small stuff on this update seems quite worthwhile and thought through for once.

[Orangeator]

Dark theme, finally!!!

[rcmaehl]

Holy shit. Phone/App mirroring. Start menu improvements. Hype

[Dabombinable]

Edge will still only be best for downloading an alternative browser.

[DrMacintosh]

Its great that Windows is getting better. It still has got a long way to go though. Also wish I could opt out of updates. 

[Speed Weed]

Any hidden privacy harvest features? 

[captain_to_fire]

1 hour ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Dark theme is nice, I enjoy having as much stuff as I possibly can using it.

I finally learned how to embrace the dark theme Crunchy senpai

[EPENEX]

Just now, captain_to_fire said:

I finally learned how to embrace the dark theme Crunch senpai

On Windows I use a custom third party theme (this one: https://www.deviantart.com/scope10/art/Penumbra-10-Windows-10-visual-style-568740374) So I can embrace the darkness. Nice to see the official dark theme being updated though, although it just looks ugly.

[Hellion]

Where's the part where they mention increased spyware, increased data harvesting, complete lack of all privacy, increased removal of user control, changing of all settings to default, breaking functionality of other programs installed on the machine and a continually increasing install size due to adding a laundry list of useless "features" only a tiny percentage of users will actually utilize?

[Tech Enthusiast]

Just now, Hellion said:

Where's the part where they mention increased spyware, increased data harvesting, complete lack of all privacy, increased removal of user control, changing of all settings to default, breaking functionality of other programs installed on the machine and a continually increasing install size due to adding a laundry list of useless "features" only a tiny percentage of users will actually utilize?

This is a Windows update, not a Linux Distro. Guess you got that mixed up!

[Rune]

Sure wish windows update wasn't broken and I could get any updates past 3 months ago.

[GoodBytes]

38 minutes ago, DaPhuc said:

Any hidden privacy harvest features? 

Nope. Just separations of some items and clarifications. All accessible from the Privacy Panel.

Keep in mind that if you use the Clipboard share between device features, your clipboard reaches Microsoft servers to make that feature available. This is disabled by default. This does not affect the multiple item clipboard feature. (which I also think it is disabled by default.. I don't recall)

[Arika]

37 minutes ago, DaPhuc said:

Any hidden privacy harvest features? 

 

4 minutes ago, Hellion said:

Where's the part where they mention increased spyware, increased data harvesting, complete lack of all privacy, increased removal of user control, changing of all settings to default, breaking functionality of other programs installed on the machine and a continually increasing install size due to adding a laundry list of useless "features" only a tiny percentage of users will actually utilize?

 

[Orangeator]

Update: Can't seem to figure out how to do the phone mirroring feature. I've got the text messaging working which is SUPER great... But I don't see mirroring as an option with my S8. Any ideas?

[Drak3]

Just now, Orangeator said:

Update: Can't seem to figure out how to do the phone mirroring feature. I've got the text messaging working which is SUPER great... But I don't see mirroring as an option with my S8. Any ideas?

Download whatever Samsung is calling the latest version of SideSync.

[Delicieuxz]

2 hours ago, GoodBytes said:

• Diagnostic Data Viewer
  Diagnostic Data Viewer is a new app downloadable from the Store app which allows you to view the collected telemetry data by Windows 10.

I think this has been available since at least 1803.

 

The Microsoft Store page for it is dated December 2017.

 

 

 

One thing to be aware of is that Microsoft's online documentation for which personal data they harvest from you is evidently incomplete, as the DDV reports data containers (each containing many data fields) that aren't mentioned in Microsoft's online documentation as being harvested and sent to Microsoft.