Has Windows 11 changed any of your workflows?

Now that Windows 11 has been out for a little bit, have any of the new features had an impact on any of your workflows?

For me, I can’t think of any changes, good or bad.

Conversation 15 comments

  • lwetzel

    Premium Member
    21 October, 2021 - 11:49 am

    <p>Nope.</p>

  • rob_segal

    Premium Member
    21 October, 2021 - 12:28 pm

    <p>It changed my workflow in that I switched to Mac. ?</p>

    • thejoefin

      Premium Member
      21 October, 2021 - 3:09 pm

      <p>I recently bought a refurbed Mac to help my friend with his iOS app, and I still prefer Windows… but honestly they are not that different. </p>

    • wright_is

      Premium Member
      22 October, 2021 - 12:22 pm

      <p>I switched to Linux at home, looking at a Mac for Christmas. At work we will be on Windows 10 for the foreseeable future.</p>

      • j5

        Premium Member
        24 October, 2021 - 10:36 am

        <p>One of my friends runs Ubuntu at home, another friend of mine runs Windows at home, I run Mac OS at home, they both use Android and I use iPhone, but we all use Windows at work…so makes for some great tech conversations!</p>

        • jimchamplin

          Premium Member
          25 October, 2021 - 12:57 pm

          <p>I run Commodore BASIC. </p>

  • SWCetacean

    Premium Member
    21 October, 2021 - 12:46 pm

    <p>For my personal use, not really. I use search more often due to less space in the start menu (many of the lesser-used apps that were on the Win10 start menu are no longer pinned). I had to use an app called ElevenClock to add a clock to the taskbar on my secondary monitor because the Win11 default taskbar doesn’t include that for some reason.</p><p><br></p><p>But for work, I’m not going to upgrade until they add the ability to uncombine taskbar icons. At work, I usually have 2 or 3 VS Code windows open, each with a different repository. Having all 3 combined into one entry in the taskbar which I need to hover over before selecting is going to affect my productivity. It’s not a big deal for my personal use computers as I rarely have multiples of the same program open, but it’s non-negotiable for work.</p>

    • thejoefin

      Premium Member
      21 October, 2021 - 1:33 pm

      <p>The Taskbar changes in Win11 were not done well in my opinion. It seems like they removed many power-user settings and added the ability to center the icons… Not the kind of trade off I like.</p>

    • manzo

      21 October, 2021 - 5:28 pm

      <p>Having only recently started using Virtual Desktops (one for home stuff, one for work), does Windows 11 still have separate Taskbars per desktop? Could putting each repo in a separate VD work for you?</p><p><br></p><p>Funnily enough, I haven’t installed 11 yet because I thought that the Taskbar didn’t combine the icons!</p>

      • SWCetacean

        Premium Member
        22 October, 2021 - 11:21 pm

        <p>Unfortunately, that VD workaround seems like even more of a hassle. I usually have those 3 windows open (because I’m cross-referencing information between those windows), plus a web browser, plus a Windows Terminal window. If I moved the VS Code windows into other desktops, I would have to make sure that every other window I use shows up on all desktops, then use a keyboard shortcut to switch between desktops, which then also removes my ability to view 2 VS Code windows at a time.</p><p><br></p><p>Having multiple windows usually isn’t a problem, because I usually place them on non-overlapping parts of the desktop, so I don’t need to switch through them via the taskbar often, but if my monitor gets disconnected from my laptop (odd issue between my monitor and the ThinkPad I use for work), all of the windows end up on top of each other (something that Windows 11 should fix, funnily enough) and I need to sort through them again.</p>

  • waethorn

    21 October, 2021 - 3:59 pm

    <p>Yes and no. There is no way to see only the "All apps" screen when clicking only once on the Start button, unlike Windows 10 where you could just unpin all Live Tiles. You have to click a second time on the All apps button to see them. But I run it in Parallels Desktop’s Coherence Mode, so I just pin the icons that I use most in the Mac dock. I hate the lack of customization in Windows 11 though, and there are lots of IT clients of mine that do too.</p>

  • hrlngrv

    Premium Member
    21 October, 2021 - 7:46 pm

    <p>Define <em>workflows</em>.</p><p><br></p><p>Every piece of 3rd party application software I use runs the same Windows 11 as Windows 10.</p><p><br></p><p>OTOH, I’ve been using taskbar toolbars for documentation files which I need from time to time but not daily going back to 2K. Easy access. Windows 11 fubarred that. In response, I’ve taken to using Nexus Dock, which, unlike the freeware ObjectDock, provides a fly-out for the system tray. That lets me add directories as menus to the dock (same functionality as toolbars), and I can also put the Recycle Bin in the dock for an added bonus. Another potential bonus which I don’t use is that it can be docked to any of the 4 sides of the screen.</p><p><br></p><p>In that sense, my workflow <strong><em>hasn’t changed</em></strong>, but I now have to use 3rd party software to keep my workflow the same as it was.</p>

    • hrlngrv

      Premium Member
      22 October, 2021 - 2:06 pm

      <p>At the risk of hijacking this thread, those of you who’ve used taskbar toolbars, what are you using now?</p>

      • navarac

        23 October, 2021 - 5:42 am

        <p>Gone to Linux except for gaming which remains W10.</p>

  • yb

    Premium Member
    22 October, 2021 - 9:04 am

    <p>I installed Win11 on an older backup machine a couple of weeks ago- as an update to Win10; </p><p>when Win11 appeared on the screen, most of my Win10 settings were kept – incl wallpaper, text size, and defaults. I did not get the bloatware such as games and software offers.</p><p><br></p><p>My normal workflows include plenty of updates/creating new Word or Excel files, and editing photos. That required some extensive file management, so I use file explorer quite a lot. from time to time, I need to call an app from the app list. that takes longer than in Win1- an extra click. </p><p><br></p><p>Every one of my apps works well in Win11. </p><p>Thanks to the ‘menu simplification’ of Windows 11, I found out that in most cases, I need an extra ‘click’ on various menus to perform the same routine tasks I was doing before. I can not move the taskbar sideways, so I need to scroll down more often to read documents or see what I am I was typing.</p><p>In other words, my workload increased thanks to Windows 11; I need to perform more tedious tasks [those extra clicks!] taking longer to complete. It is really annoying. </p><p><br></p><p>Viewing/reading content or browsing in Win11 is fine- as long as I do not need to do anything else. </p><p>I did not notice any difference in performance between Win10 or Win11 on the same laptop, and I did not see any ‘killer aspect’ of Win11 that would cause me to prefer Win11 despite the slowing down of my routine work.</p><p><br></p><p>There is some third-party software I can use to reduce the number of ‘clicks’ on windows explorer, maybe with time there would be solutions for the start menu, taskbar, file explorer, and default options- but we are not there yet.</p><p>Till then, I will be using Win10 machines. </p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

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