How to Use Windows 10’s New ‘Feature Experience Pack’

Ready for more Windows 10 features? Microsoft is now testing out a new “feature experience” program that’ll slap tiny little extras into Windows 10 outside of the regular gigantic-update-that-might-break-your-computer cadence. In other words, it’s a way for Microsoft to give you new toys to play with, beyond the twice-a-year updates that it launches for Windows 10.

Microsoft’s first Windows 10 “Feature Experience Pack” is currently available for Windows 10 Insiders. I’m on the “beta channel” track, and I just saw the pack pop up in Windows Update yesterday; I suspect the same is true for those living on the wild side in the Windows Insider “Dev” channel, but those of you minimising risk on the “Release Preview” channel won’t have the pack just yet.

Once you’ve installed the Feature Experience Pack, you’ll reboot Windows 10 to find that absolutely nothing has changed — you won’t get a pop-up or anything else informing you about what’s in said feature pack you just installed. I suppose Microsoft assumes you’ll just know innately, or you will have done your homework before installing the update.

So, here’s what you can do.

First, you’ll can now use Snip & Sketch to take screenshots and more easily dump them into any folder within File Explorer. Use your Windows Key + Shift + S shortcut to take your “snip” as you normally would — or pull up the app directly, your choice — and once you’ve taken your screenshot (copying it to your clipboard in the process), go visit any folder you want in File Explorer. Press CTRL + V to paste your image directly into the folder, and then rename it to something manageable.

The second update in the feature pack is a bit more esoteric. I’ll let Microsoft describe this one:

Using the touch keyboard in a portrait posture on a 2-in-1 touch device now supports split keyboard mode.

I suspect that won’t apply to most people, so no need to worry about it; the copying-and-pasting update is the “big” part of this pack, and it’s actually helpful in that it keeps you from having to always manually save files yourself. Copying-and-pasting into folders is much, much faster; now if only Microsoft also allowed you to do this from my favourite app, the “Snipping Tool,” which Snip & Sketch will ultimately replace. I’ll miss you.