Windows 11 is ditching its decades-old Run dialog for a modern WinUI 3 counterpart that opens faster and drops an obscure button used by barely anyone.
The 94 Millisecond Run Box
Microsoft is rolling out the redesigned Run dialog to the Release Preview channel with builds 26200.10066 for version 25H2 and 26300.10066 for version 26H2, as Windows Latest reported. The updated utility opens in a median of 94 milliseconds, shaving time off the 103-millisecond speed of the legacy Windows 95-era box while introducing dark mode and a home folder shortcut.
“The Run dialog has been updated with a more modern design and improved usability,” Microsoft said in release notes for the November 13 builds.
Under the hood, the panel is written in C# with WinUI 3 and compiled with .NET Ahead-of-Time, shipping as native code that requires no compilation upon pressing Win+R.
Why the Browse Button Disappeared
Before rewriting the interface, the command line team measured usage statistics on the legacy dialog.
“0.0038% of users have clicked that button with a sample of 35 million,” said Clint Rutkas, Principal Product Manager at Microsoft, noting that roughly 1,330 people ever used the Browse option to open a file picker.
Because the utility serves users who already know what text to type, Microsoft dropped the seldom-touched button from the new layout. Users who prefer the classic interface can keep it.
“Use the modern Run dialog when pressing Win+R” can be enabled by opening Settings, selecting System and Advanced, and turning on the option under Taskbar settings.
Modernizing Windows 11 Dialogs
Even though Windows 11 has been around for over five years, it still packs plenty of legacy system utilities and dialog boxes tracing their roots back to Windows 95 and earlier editions. Microsoft has now reaffirmed its plans to modernize these aging interfaces, while its newly released November update is already introducing several noticeable UI improvements.
Users will still find that countless Control Panel applets, Task Scheduler, Event Viewer, Disk Management, Device Manager, and System Properties retain layouts that would immediately look familiar to people who used Windows decades ago.
Back in May, March Rogers, Partner Director of Design at Microsoft, confirmed that the company was progressively rewriting older dialogs using WinUI 3. In July, Pavan Davuluri, who leads Windows, disclosed that Microsoft had already integrated WinUI 3 into further Windows elements, such as the revamped Run dialog, alongside plans for subsequent enhancements.
Microsoft rolled out some of these modernization initiatives as part of its November 10 cumulative update, designated KB5132061. The release advances Windows 11 versions 26H2 and 25H2 to Builds 26300.9974 and 26200.9974 respectively, bundling in the enhancements previously debuted through October’s optional preview. A faster-loading File Explorer context menu with more personalization choices is a primary visual update.
Microsoft is not launching Windows 12, instead focusing on modernizing aging interfaces and delivering UI improvements to Windows 11.
Windows 11 Preview Builds Add Search and File Explorer Updates
Microsoft has also released five new Windows 11 Preview builds for Insiders on the Experimental, Beta, and Release Preview Channels. This operating system version receives the identical KB5132057 update for Release Preview Insiders utilizing editions 26H2 and 25H2.
The update brings a new Windows Search experience with inline actions, allowing users to complete common tasks such as changing Windows settings right from the Windows Search window while displaying richer results with file previews.
Additional updates include File Explorer improvements where searching from This PC is now indexer-based and matches the speed of searching from File Explorer Home. Windows Hello improvements bring a new option in Facial recognition settings that can temporarily brighten the screen to help users in dark environments sign in.
Xbox mode improvements now offer Quick settings from the Gaming Task View bar. A new accessibility pointer indicator makes it easier for people with low vision to locate and use the mouse pointer. Windows 11 will now show a notification when a new widget becomes available after installing an app.
Insiders on the Release Preview ring running Windows 11 version 26H1 are also getting a new build, bringing features from the Patch Tuesday update such as the new Cloud Rebuild recovery option, the updated context menu in File Explorer, and message previews in the Phone Link section of the Start Menu. The new Cloud Rebuild feature is also coming to the Experimental (Future Platforms) Channel.
