Microsoft this week pushed cumulative update KB5064071 to both Dev and Beta channels of the Windows Insider Program, delivering a set of refined features and fixes that include new selection modes for Click to Do, window-only recording in Snipping Tool, and a handful of UI touch-ups. Insiders on the Dev channel will move to build 26200.5751 on the 25H2 track, while Beta channel users receive build 26120.5751 on the 24H2 track. The payload is functionally identical, but the different build strings matter: they reflect distinct servicing branches that Microsoft maintains as it prepares Windows 11 for the coming release cycle.
The update, while not a major feature drop, sharpens several Copilot+ and accessibility experiences and quietly fixes a collection of niggling bugs that had Insiders grumbling. It is a classic example of Microsoft’s current Insider strategy: smaller, iterative changes that reduce friction for everyday tasks and test the waters for broader AI-assisted interactions.
Click to Do gains Freeform, Rectangle and Ctrl+Click selection
Click to Do – the pop-up task surface that ties Copilot+ quick actions to on-screen content – now supports three new selection mechanisms. Freeform Selection lets you draw a loose shape around objects with a pen or finger. Rectangle Selection snaps a precise box around mixed entities. And Ctrl+Click multi-select lets you pick separate items with keyboard-and-mouse precision, similar to selecting files in a list.
These aren’t just cosmetic tweaks. Freeform mode is a natural fit for tablets and Surface devices, where sliding a stylus around a region is far more ergonomic than tapping tiny handles. Rectangle mode suits keyboard-and-mouse workflows when you need to capture an exact block of text, images, and UI elements together. And Ctrl+Click unblocks scatter‑select scenarios where the useful bits are scattered across the screen and you want to apply a single action – describe, summarize, extract, or convert – to everything at once.
Microsoft is positioning these as productivity upgrades for mixed‑content workflows. A support engineer gathering information from a dashboard could circle multiple charts and a block of text, then ask Click to Do to extract the numbers and summarize the prose in one go. A designer might capture several UI elements from a mockup and immediately generate alt‑text descriptions for accessibility audits. The real gain is that the selection step no longer forces you into rigid shapes or a single entity type.
Accessibility, too, gets a nod. More flexible selection means assistive technologies can target content more precisely for narration or transformation. That matters when screen readers need to skip decorative elements and zero in on actionable content. It also means the “describe image” function, which runs locally on select Copilot+ devices, can be aimed at exactly the image you want, not the entire screen.
Caveats apply. The new modes are part of a controlled feature rollout, so not every Insider will see them immediately. You may need to toggle “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” in Windows Update. Click to Do also leans on Copilot+ hardware for some tasks, and behavior can vary by region and language. Microsoft explicitly patched several crash and action‑failure bugs that plagued recent flights, so the experience should be more stable now. File feedback if text‑action or image‑description calls fall over.
Taskbar and File Explorer get small but welcome polish
Taskbar app groups now play a new animation when you hover over them. The motion, while subtle, smooths the preview of grouped windows and reduces the visual stutter that Insiders flagged in earlier builds. The Taskbar remains the most‑clicked piece of Windows chrome, so reducing jank here is a real‑world improvement.
File Explorer’s “Open with” submenu sheds the accent‑colored backplate behind packaged app icons. Those icons (think Snipping Tool, Photos, third‑party apps) now appear larger and clearer. Removing the backplate cuts visual noise and helps you pick the right app without squinting. It’s a tiny change, but for anyone who regularly juggles image editors, PDF readers, or developer tools, the quicker recognition adds up.
Snipping Tool gets window‑mode screen recording
Snipping Tool version 11.2507.14.0 and later, currently rolling out to Canary and Dev channels, introduces a long‑requested feature: window‑mode screen recording. When you choose “Record,” the tool can now lock to a specific application window. The recording region is sized to that window and stays fixed throughout the capture. This simplifies quick demos, software tutorials, and bug reports where only one app matters.
But there’s a catch. Once recording begins, the region does not follow the window if you move or resize it. You’ll need to stop, reposition, and start a new clip. That design choice avoids the complexity of dynamic tracking but means you must plan your recording ahead of time. For static demos – a settings pane walkthrough, a code editor display – it works well. For anything that involves dragging windows around, it’s the wrong tool.
Organizations with screen‑recording policies should note the feature creates local video files, not cloud assets. IT admins will want to update endpoint documentation to reflect the new capability and decide whether to allow or restrict it via policy.
The known‑issue ledger: rollbacks, Recall, and Xbox drivers
Every Insider build brings a list of gremlins, and KB5064071 is no different. Microsoft has flagged several known problems alongside the fixes.
Some Insiders report a flat rollback when installing the update, with Windows Update error 0x80070005. The suggested workaround – Settings > System > Recovery > Fix issues using Windows Update – may let the installation complete on a retry. It’s not a guaranteed fix, but it’s the first thing to attempt before restoring from a backup.
On machines in the European Economic Area (EEA), Recall may fail after the flight. Microsoft provides a reset path via Settings > Privacy & security > Recall & snapshots > Advanced settings > Reset Recall. That will wipe existing snapshots but should bring the feature back to life.
Developers on Arm64 hardware may see Visual Studio crash in WPF scenarios after certain 26200‑series builds. The Visual Studio team is aware and investigating, but for now, Arm64 WPF work on these Insider builds is risky.
A Bluetooth bugcheck linked to the Xbox controller driver has also surfaced. Microsoft instructs Insiders to uninstall the driver via Device Manager as a workaround until a proper fix ships.
The takeaway is standard Insider fare: these builds are for testing, not production. Snap a system image before installing, and have a rollback plan ready.
Enterprise and IT checklist: what to test and watch
For IT teams evaluating KB5064071 in lab environments, here’s a concrete action plan.
- Confirm the preview channel. Dev channel gets 26200.5751 and brings platform‑level volatility. Beta channel’s 26120.5751 is more conservative and mirrors what will likely land in 24H2 stable. Use separate test hardware for each.
- Turn on the “Get the latest updates” toggle to accelerate feature rollouts, then document which experiences depend on the toggle.
- Test Click to Do’s new modes on both pen‑touch and keyboard‑and‑mouse inputs. Exercise describe‑image and text‑action commands, noting any that fail silently.
- Experiment with Snipping Tool window‑mode recording on common LOB apps, Edge, and Office. Confirm recordings land in the expected folder and playback correctly.
- Right‑click multiple file types and inspect the “Open with” list. Verify that enterprise shell extensions and third‑party context‑menu handlers still display without layout glitches.
- Monitor Taskbar pinned‑app behavior after the update; a recent fix targeted unexpected unpinning, so confirm that your corporate taskbar layout survives the update.
- Arm64 test rigs running Visual Studio WPF workloads should be excluded from this flight until Microsoft delivers a fix.
- If a machine hits the 0x80070005 rollback, try the Recovery workaround and file a Feedback Hub report with logs if it fails.
- For EEA‑based test devices, walk through the Recall reset steps proactively to avoid surprises.
Why these small changes matter
The build is explicitly incremental, but incremental wins compound. New selection modes make Click to Do feel less like a prototype and more like a polished utility that might actually get used. Window‑mode recording fills an obvious gap in Snipping Tool and will—once the region‑locking behavior is better understood—save minutes every time someone makes a quick how‑to clip. Even the icon backplate removal, as minor as it sounds, chips away at a long‑standing UI roughness that dates back to Windows 11’s original context‑menu redesign.
Accessibility continues to be woven into the fabric rather than bolted on. The combination of richer selection, local image descriptions, and ongoing Live Captions and Narrator fixes suggests Microsoft is serious about making Copilot+ features useful for more than just the keyboard‑and‑mouse power user.
That said, the fragmentation risk is real. Running near‑identical features across two distinct branches with separate build numbers can trip up admins who assume a bug in Dev exists the same way in Beta. Internal documentation must capture channel‑specific repro steps. And the known issues—particularly the 0x80070005 rollback and the Visual Studio crashes—will irritate less technical Insiders, potentially driving down participation rates just when feedback is most needed.
The bottom line: KB5064071’s twin flights don’t reinvent Windows, but they sharpen the tools that power users and accessibility advocates rely on. They also signal Microsoft’s immediate priorities—refining AI‑assisted workflows, polishing pen‑and‑touch ergonomics, and squashing the reliability bugs that make Insider builds feel like a gamble. If you’re managing a fleet, treat these builds as an early warning system for what’s coming in 24H2 and 25H2, not as candidates for broad deployment. Install them on dedicated lab hardware, exercise the new features methodically, and file crisp Feedback Hub reports. The data you feed back will shape the next dozen cumulative updates, and ultimately, the Windows 11 that lands on everyone’s desk.