Microsoft will redesign the Run menu for the first time in 30 years

In the Windows 11 test collections, we noticed an updated Run dialog box – one of the oldest system elements, which for the first time since Windows 95 has acquired a modern look. After redesigning the Start menu, Microsoft took up this tool, which is still used by millions of experienced users through the Win+R combination to quickly launch commands and system utilities.

The updated interface is called Modern Run. It can be manually enabled or disabled in the settings if you need to return to the classic version. By the way, the old Run window has not been left out: it recently received dark mode support.

The new design is made in the Fluent Design style and is consistent with the general visual language of Windows 11. The window has become larger, the developers have expanded the input field and added a list of recent commands above it. If the system finds a suitable application, its icon appears next to it – a detail that users have been waiting for a long time.

Although the updated interface is already in the current test builds, Microsoft has not officially announced it. It is not possible to enable it yet – the function is hidden, but the fact of its appearance indicates that the company is moving towards a public release, probably within the next year.

Microsoft has recently been increasingly actively modernizing classic Windows components. The company is expanding support for dark mode in older sections of the system, updating the appearance of the file manager, and in Notepad it has added the ability to work with tables. These changes show that attention to ancient interface elements has once again become part of the Windows development strategy.