Microsoft to move the Windows 10 Taskbar out of the Explorer process

Over the years, the overall architecture of the front-end interface of the Microsoft operating system has not changed much, although the styles are changeable, the entire front-end interface is still a whole.

But to say that the changes are not completely absent, for example, Microsoft is now fine-tuning the Windows 10 interface through the feature experience package without relying on version updates.

It seems that what Microsoft wants to change is not just the functional experience package. Now in the Windows 10 Insider Preview version, Microsoft is trying to separate the taskbar from the Explorer.exe process.

The taskbar is being moved from Explorer.exe into Taskbar.dll. Surreal to see this get relocated after decades. Right now Explorer still contains the code, but it's possible to switch to the DLL implementation. There's still some odd bugs such as semi-broken search box UI. pic.twitter.com/2gNqcDNTzp

— Albacore ☁️ (@thebookisclosed) March 25, 2021

A Twitter user discovered that Microsoft seems to have added a separate process named Taskbar.dll to the taskbar. Originally, this process was directly included in Explorer.exe.

It’s just that this change is not currently effective, so although there is an independent process, the taskbar is still included in the Explorer.exe process in the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview version.

Users can successfully run this independent process through a certain switch, but there are some strange problems, such as an abnormal display of the taskbar search box.

Therefore, Microsoft may continue to carry out this work in the follow-up, and after the completion of the work, the taskbar can be separated and no longer used to control the Explorer.exe process.

Although it does not seem to make much difference whether the taskbar is separated from the Explorer, it actually makes a lot of sense because it shows that Microsoft is trying to modularize.

We know that Microsoft can directly modify the start menu style through the feature experience package, and the overall style of the taskbar search box can be directly controlled through the backend server.

The separation of the taskbar is actually a modular work, which means that after separation, Microsoft can provide updates for the taskbar separately without relying on system updates.

Especially now that Microsoft has made many changes to the taskbar. For example, Microsoft recently added a news interest module on the right side of the taskbar to facilitate users to follow news trends.

When the taskbar is separated, such functions can naturally be updated independently, and Microsoft’s goal may be to modularize it to make quick updates more convenient in the future.

Via: WindowsArea