Microsoft Windows 10 April 2019 Update Makes Error Messages Actually Useful
Fortunately, it looks as though Microsoft is looking to make things a bit more informative for us mere humans with the Windows 10 19H1 Update (which will reportedly be called the Windows 10 April 2019 Update). In the last Windows Insider webcast, Microsoft showed off how it will make things much simpler.
As you can see in the image below, this is the message that users would currently see when trying to perform a major Windows 10 upgrade:
As you can see, the user is presented with a message telling them that an installed program is incompatible with the newest version of Windows 10, but there's a reference to a Knowledge Base article that the average user wouldn't understand or even know how to look up. In addition, the KB document isn't hyperlinked, leaving many to likely scratch their head.
On top of that, the only actions that the user can do is go Back or hit Refresh – and hitting Refresh is just a fruitless endeavor. There's no option to quickly and easily address the underlying problem: the need to uninstall the program.
With the Windows 10 April 2019 Update, the KB article tied to the error message will be accessible with a "Learn More" hyperlink. That way, users will be able to read up more on what's causing the problem. Secondly, Microsoft is providing additional actions that the user can perform. Now, the user will be given the option to uninstall the app straight from the error dialog box, or upgrade the software to a newer, compatible version [if available].
It's a small change, but one that provides a much cleaner interface for the user while being informative at the same time. According to Microsoft, it will also allow app providers to directly contribute details regarding what options/updates are available to consumers, which will be displayed in the dialog box.
Microsoft is far along in development of the Windows 10 April 2019 Update and has been pushing out new builds at a steady clip to Windows Insiders. In fact, the company just recently opened up its Skip Ahead feature for Windows Insiders which will allow them to start testing the Windows 10 19H2 Update.
