How to Turn On or Off Hover Behavior to Open the Search Box in Windows 11

Windows 11 background monitor with search box

This article explains how to enable or disable the new hover behavior for the search box, and search highlights gleam in Windows 11.

Starting with Windows 11 build 23440, Microsoft is testing a new search behavior that invokes the search flyout when you hover over the search box, and the search highlights gleam.

As of now, the feature isn’t available to all users. Those enrolled in the Microsoft Insider Preview program may not see it. It’s part of Microsoft A/B testing as of now.

This may eventually become available to all. Once open, use the steps below to learn how to enable or disable it.

Enable or disable the new search hover experience in Windows 11

As described above, you may receive a new feature allowing you to open the search flyout simply by hovering over the search box.

Here’s how to enable or disable it.

First, open the Windows Settings app.

You can do that by clicking on the Start menu and selecting Settings. Or press the keyboard shortcut (Windows key + I) to launch the Settings app.

When the Setting app opens, click the Personalization button on the left.

Windows 11 Settings Personalization

On the right, select the Taskbar tile to expand it.

Windows 11 Personalization Taskbar

On the Personalization -> Taskbar settings pane, click on the Search tile to expand it. Then toggle the switch button to the On position for Open search on hover (when available) to enable.

To disable it, toggle the button back to the Off position.

Windows 11 open search by hover Windows Settings

Turn on or off open search on hover via Windows Registry

Another way users can turn on or off the new search experience in Windows 11 to launch the search flyout on hover in Windows is to use the Windows Registry Editor.

First, open the Windows Registry, and navigate to the folder key path below.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Feeds\DSB

If you don’t see the BSD folder key, right-click on the Feeds key, then create the subkey (BSD) folders.

Windows 11 open search by hover registry

Right-click the BSD folder key’s right pane and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value. Next, type a new key named OpenOnHover.

Double-click the new key item name (OpenOnHover) and make sure the Base option is Decimal, and then update the Value data:

  • Type 1 to enable this feature.
  • Type 0 to disable this feature.
Windows 11 open search by hover

Save your changes and restart your computer.

That should do it!

Conclusion:

This post showed you how to enable or disable Window’s new feature that allows you to open the search flyout by hovering. If you find any errors above or have something to add, please use the comments form below.

Posted by
Richard W

I love computers; maybe way too much. What I learned I try to share at geekrewind.com.

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