Windows 11 may soon get a new feature in the taskbar

The taskbar in Windows 11 is where users get quick access to important apps running in the background, network indicators and many other things. Soon there may be a new VPN indicator on the Windows 11 taskbar to make it easier for you to see if you are connected to a VPN connection.

When connected to a VPN, a shield overlay is displayed on the network. It also respects your accent color and has a design consistent with Windows 11. However, it is currently a hidden feature in Windows 11 Dev build 25247. In other words, you cannot view it even if you have a VPN installation and are running the latest Dev build.

However, the new VPN indicator, in its current form, is far from perfect. It only works if you connect to a VPN via the quick setting or the Network > Internet vpn page in Settings. The indicator also does not appear on the taskbar for WiFi connections. But these drawbacks are justified because Microsoft may be testing it internally, which may also explain why it remained hidden from Windows 11 Insiders. It will not be wrong to expect Microsoft to make it better once they release it to all Insiders and eventually to the general public.

Microsoft is also testing another taskbar feature. As we reported earlier, the company is also working on “Never combine taskbar buttons.” for Windows 11. Unlike the VPN indicator, “Never combine taskbar buttons” is one of the most requested features in Windows 11 and you cannot enable it through the ViveTool.

The good news is that if you are using the latest Dev build and have a VPN, you can definitely enable the VPN indicator with ViveTool. Twitter user PhantomOcean3 described how to enable this using the ViveTool.

Another neat hidden change in 25247, a minor one – when you are connected using a VPN, there will soon be a small 'shield' overlay on the network icon to indicate that. (also, it respects your accent color!)

Left: enabled
Right: disabled

vivetool /enable /id:38113452 pic.twitter.com/smYqizgUOy

— PhantomOcean3☃️💙💛 (@PhantomOfEarth) November 20, 2022

ViVeTool GUI

ViveTool GUI is available for users to download on GitHub. After installing the app, simply search for feature ID 38113452 and enable it.

If you’ve ever wanted to enable a hidden Windows 11 feature but don’t like using command-line-based tools, ViVeTool GUI may be a tool that interests you. As the name suggests, ViVeTool GUI provides a graphical version of ViVeTool, the most popular tool for enabling hidden Windows functions. ViVeTool usually requires you to open the command prompt or Windows Terminal, but this new app lets you enable those hidden features with a much more user-friendly interface.

Source: mspoweruser