If you’re curious about your current Windows 11 version, you can add that information to the desktop. Then you’ll always be able to check OS version details directly from the desktop. This is how you can add Windows 11 build version info to Windows 11’s desktop.
How to Add Your Windows 11 Build Version to Desktop With a Registry Tweak
There isn’t any built-in setting for adding build info to the desktop available in Windows 11. Nevertheless, we can still add such info to the desktop by modifying a PaintDesktopVersion DWORD within the registry. This is how you can modify that DWORD.
Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R keyboard key combination. To bring up the Registry Editor app, input regedit within the text box in Run and click OK. Next, open the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop registry key by inputting that path in the address bar. Or you can click all the keys in that registry path on the left of the window. Then double-click the PaintDesktopVersion DWORD for the Desktop key. Erase the 0 value in the data box. Then input 1 in that box to replace it. Click OK in the Edit DWORD window. Restart Windows 11 to apply this registry tweak.
Then you’ll see a new Windows 11 version info in the bottom right corner of your desktop as in the snapshot directly below. The first line tells you what your Windows 11 edition (Home, Professional, or Enterprise) is. That info won’t ever change unless you install a new edition of the platform.
The second line includes your PC’s Windows 11 build tag info, consisting of two parts. The left number is the major build part, which will currently be 22000 (version 21H2) for all users until Microsoft releases its first major Windows 11 version update in 2022. The number on the right is for a more specific minor build update.
The Desktop registry key should already include the PaintDesktopVersion DWORD. If you can’t find PaintDesktopVersion there, however, right-click the Desktop key and select New > DWORD. Then input PaintDesktopVersion in the text box to add that DWORD and modify its value as outlined above.
You can always remove the Windows 11 build info from the desktop. To do so, return to the Desktop key specified above. Then restore the PaintDesktopVersion DWORD’s value to 1, and restart your PC.
How to Add Your Windows 11 Build Version to the Desktop With Winaero Tweaker
Winaero Tweaker is third-party software that provides many customization settings that aren’t available within Windows 11. That software includes an option you can select to add build version info to the desktop without manually tweaking the registry yourself. This is how you can add Windows 11 build details to the desktop with Winaero Tweaker.
Open the download page for the Winaero Tweaker software. Click Download Winaero Tweaker from that webpage. Then launch Windows 11’s file manager app with the Windows + E hotkey. Open the folder in File Explorer that contains your downloaded Winaero Tweaker ZIP package. Click Winaero Tweaker’s ZIP with the right mouse button to select its Extract All context menu option. Select Show extracted files when complete, and press the Extract button to view Winaero Tweaker’s unzipped folder. Click Next two times, and select I accept the agreement for the terms outlined. Select Next again, and click Browse if you would prefer to change the directory for the installation. Then you can choose a different folder and click OK. Keep on selecting Next to reach the Install option for Winaero Tweaker. Select that option to proceed with the installation. Select the checkbox for the Run Winaero Tweaker option, and click Finish to exit the setup. Double-click the Desktop and Taskbar category in Winaero Tweaker. Select the Windows Version on Desktop option in that category. Then click the Show Windows version on Desktop checkbox to select that setting. Press the Sign out button that appears within Winaero Tweaker.
After signing back in, you’ll see Windows 11 build info on the desktop. To remove that info, you can deselect the Show Windows version on Desktop option in Winaero Tweaker. Or click Reset this page to defaults on Winaero Tweaker’s toolbar.
Download: Winaero Tweaker (Free)
Now You Can Always See Your PC’s Windows 11 Build Version
Adding Windows 11 build information to the desktop will ensure you can always see at a desktop glance what your current platform version is. That will save you from rummaging through the System Information or Settings apps to check what platform version you’ve got whenever you need to.
