Widgets

Owned by Fleshman-Cooper, Ian, created
Last updated: Apr 11, 2024
3 min read

Overview

Widgets are a feature in Windows 11 which displays personalized content such as news, weather updates, calendar events, and more. Users can customize their widget feed to show the information most relevant to them.

Accessing Widgets:

Widget Icon:

  1. Click on the Widgets icon located on the taskbar to access widgets.

    • The icon is recognizable as a series of rectangles.

    • Alternatively, you can click on the weather icon on the far left of the taskbar, or press Win + W for a quick access shortcut.

taskbar-widgets.png
weather_icon1.png

Customizing the Widget panel:

1. Adding and Removing Widgets:

Adding Widgets:

  1. Navigate to the Widgets panel.

  2. Click on the + button at the top.

  3. Select Pin for the widgets you wish to add.

To view more options, select Find more widgets which will lead you to the Microsoft store.

 

 

Removing Widgets:

  1. Click on the more options icon (…).

  2. Select Unpin widget to remove the widget from the pinned widget’s section.

2. Resizing Widgets:

Adjusting Size:

  1. Click on the more options icon (…).

  2. Select an option:

    1. Small

    2. Medium

    3. Large

3. Interacting with Widgets:

Some widgets may be interactive, offering additional features. For example, the weather widget may allow you to view more details or change locations.

Interactive Widgets:

  1. Click on the more options icon (…).

  2. Select Customize widget.

Explore each widget to discover its interactive capabilities.

 

4. Organizing Widgets:

Drag-and-Drop:

  1. Click and hold a widget you wish to move

  2. Drag the widget to a different position up or down the widgets panel.

Please note, your Widgets panel only consists of the left column labeled as Widgets. You cannot place and mix your widgets within the Discover panel located to the right.

News Feed:

Discover:

This section contains news articles collected based off of your interests. Your interests can be selected by adding a channel in the Following section. Click on a news article to read the full story.

To hide a news article, hover over the article and select the X button that appears. This will tell the algorithm to stop feeding similar articles.

Some apps or services that power your widgets might tailor content based on your location estimation to provide you with the most contextually relevant experience.

Following:

This is where you are able to add news channels based on your interests. To add channels, select Add Channel.

Watch:

This section contains videos based on your followed channels.

Play:

This section contains a variety of games.

 

Notifications:

Widget Notifications:

Certain widgets may generate notifications. Access these notifications conveniently through the Notification Center on the taskbar.

Turn off Notifications:

  1. Select on your user settings in the right hand corner.

  2. Toggle Show Notification Badges to off to disable notifications on your taskbar.

  3. Toggle Show announcements to off to disable widget updates on your taskbar.

 

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