Windows 11 has a handy new shortcut for swiftly reducing the size of images you're sharing

No need to head to Paint or Photos, or whatever app you use for making images more compact - you can use a new shortcut with the Share option.

Windows 11 has a handy new shortcut for swiftly reducing the size of images you're sharing
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Tech Reporter
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TL;DR: Windows 11 is testing a new option to quickly reduce image file sizes without changing the resolution. However, the expected catch is a considerable drop in image quality, but if you need a quick fix in a pinch, this image shrinking solution could come in very handy - it'll save you from opening Paint, Photos or similar.

Windows 11 has a new option inbound for quickly reducing the size of an image you're sharing.

Resizing an image the quick and easy way in the Share panel (Image Credit: Windows Latest / Microsoft)
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Resizing an image the quick and easy way in the Share panel (Image Credit: Windows Latest / Microsoft)

This comes via the new Share option, which facilitates swiftly sharing a file via various apps, and it was spotted in testing by Windows Latest.

It works using a toggle that allows you to reduce the size of any given image without changing the resolution, picking from low, medium or high options, all of which offer a considerable reduction in file size.

Windows Latest observed that using the most compact option, which is low, reduced an image from a size of 147MB to 1MB.

Of course, that's going to come with a price attached, and the quality of the image is considerably reduced (to say the least).

However, if you're sharing a file in a quickfire manner and quality doesn't really matter - you're just giving someone a quick glimpse of something - it's quite handy to have this size compression option on tap in the Share menu. It certainly saves you the trouble of opening Paint (or another app) to resize it yourself.

If you're wondering when this functionality will arrive in Windows 11, as mentioned it's just in testing for now, but Windows Latest reckons it'll roll out to everyday users soon enough.

Also in testing with Windows 11 now is Microsoft's big Start menu redesign, which has a feature we've been wanting to see for a long time - a way to ditch the ads from this part of the interface (in other words, the ability to turn off the recommended panel).