With Windows 10 Creators Update build 15025, Microsoft is preparing for their second Creators Update Bug Bash which will be kicked off this Friday. The bug-hunting event is a last big community effort ahead of the Windows 10 Creators update release, relying on Windows Insiders that report issues via the Feedback Hub.
Due to some bugs, the download of Windows 10 build 15025 will only work on x64-based systems. For the rest of Windows Insiders, the update will not show up. But Microsoft plans to offer x86 ISOs at the end of this week, enabling also the rest of Windows 10 Insiders to participate in the coming bug bash.
Apart from a longer list of bug-fixes (see here), braille support for Narrator is the main feature addition of this release. The feature, which is still in beta, enables visually impaired users to connect their braille display/table with Windows 10 and use it with the built in Windows 10 Narrator. Microsoft has shared the necessary steps to activate braille support in Windows 10 Narrator in the release announcement:
- “Ensure Narrator is running. Then go to Settings > Ease of Access (WIN + U) and under the Narrator settings, activate the “Download Braille” button. You will be prompted to install braille support.
- Under Settings > Ease of Access, activate the “Enable braille” button and add a braille display. Note that USB and serial connections for the display are supported.
- Under Settings > Ease of Access, choose the language and braille table you want to use.”
Using the new Windows 10 braille feature together with third party screen readers might cause issues, so it is recommended to deactivate them before turning on braille support for Narrator.
Microsoft promises to offer a more detailed documentation about Windows 10 braille display key mappings in the Narrator User Guide once the Creators Update gets released.
Also aimed at visually impaired users is a new mono audio option in Ease of Access settings, so they might just one earbud so the other ear is free to hear conversations and sounds around them.
Another improvement in Windows 10 Build 15025 are Collections in the Feedback Hub, that according to Microsoft, group “together feedback for similar problems and suggestions into single items that bring together all the voices who expressed that sentiment in one place.” As in the case of individual feedback, Insiders will “be able to upvote Collections, upload screenshots to show the engineering team a problem [they]’re seeing or a suggestion [they] have, and comment on the feedback with others.”
Finally, Microsoft has improved the night light option in the settings app, extending the color temperature range to very red (1200 K) and fixing some issues with the range slider.
You can consult the rest of the fixes and changes for Windows 10 Creators Update Build 15025 on the official blog post, as well as the list of known issues that Microsoft is already working on.
