Microsoft Corp. has pushed out a new release of its work in-progress Windows 10 operating system. Called Build 9879, the latest edition includes an improved OneDrive file management system, new gesture controls, new icons and the ability to hide taskbar buttons.

The release is only available to those who have signed up for Microsoft’s “Fast” preview track, and is said to be a little more buggy than previous releases.

“Selective Sync”

Microsoft’s OneDrive gets the biggest revamp with a new “selective sync” feature. In current editions of Windows, OneDrive only saves copies of certain files on your computer, a feature that’s caused confusion for some users.

“In Windows 8.1, we use placeholders on your PC to represent files you have stored in OneDrive,” wrote Microsoft’s Gabe Aul in a blog post. “People had to learn the difference between what files were ‘available online’ (placeholders) versus what was ‘available offline’ and physically on your PC.” The confusion caused some people to think files were available to them offline that really weren’t there.

Microsoft has introduced Selective Sync to remedy this problem, allowing users to choose exactly which files should be saved to the PC for offline access. To simplify things further, OneDrive can now only be accessed via File Explorer, which means no more OneDrive app.

Other highlights

Another cool new feature is three-finger gestures for those who like using touchpads. Users can perform a three-finger swipe up on their touchpad to pull up Task View, and from there flick between the various open Windows, or open a new one. Flicking down brings you to the desktop, while left and right switches between various apps, and a three-finger tap brings up Bing search.

Microsoft has also tinkered with its charms menu again. Aul noted feedback from previous builds said it was difficult to find the charms menu in some modern apps, so Microsoft has created a new hamburger-style icon of three horizontal lines to replace the old ‘three dots’

One final feature is the ability to hide two previously mandatory taskbar icons – Task View and Search. Simply right click on the icons to bring up the option to get rid of them – a sensible addition in light of the new three-finger swipe feature.

photo credit: Worldleaks via photopin cc