Enlarge / Microsoft is testing a search bar for Windows 11’s new Task Manager. (credit: Microsoft)
One of the Windows 11 22H2 update’s improvements was a redesigned Task Manager with a reorganized user interface, an updated Windows 11-style look, and other features. Laying that foundation has apparently given Microsoft the latitude to work on other Task Manager improvements, some of which cropped up in this week’s preview build for Windows Insiders in the Beta channel.
The most significant of these changes is a new search bar for running processes, so you can more easily bring up specific processes you’re looking for while excluding the rest. This is useful for organizational and aesthetic purposes—it can find needles in haystacks while also clearing away the hay so that you don’t drop the needle and lose it again.
The new Task Manager’s dark mode support can also be toggled independently of the theme setting you’re using for Windows. Those themes will be applied Task Manager as well as the pop-ups within it. And the toggle for Efficiency mode now includes a “don’t ask me again” checkbox if you regularly switch individual processes into and out of Efficiency mode and you don’t want to be asked for confirmation every time.
