How Will Your Rounded Taskbar finally look

With the upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11, you already get more customization features for your taskbar. But you might still not be happy with the aesthetics of it. With this tutorial, you can change your taskbar from this:

to that:

Download the Rounded Taskbar Program

To get a rounded taskbar in Windows 11, you first need to download RoundedTB. Here you can find the latest released version. After opening the release page via the link provided, you have to scroll down till you see the RoundedTB_canaryXXXXXXXX_2.7z file. Just click on it and the download will start automatically. After the download is finished, you need to unzip the file to a location of your choice. Keep in mind that you download the ‘whole’ program and not just a setup. Every file from the zip file must stay in the same location as the exe file as long as you use RoundedTB.

Set up Your Rounded Taskbar in Windows 11

After downloading and unzipping the file, you have to execute the exe file, which is located inside the extracted zip file first. You will then see a welcome window on your screen where you can just press OK to come to the final taskbar customization window.

After clicking OK, you will already see the configuration window, where you can set various settings. The first thing you need to decide is, whether you enable dynamic mode. When disabled the whole taskbar is configured as one element. If the dynamic mode is enabled you can customize the notification area separately. So if you want a clean taskbar with just your programs in the middle you can set the following settings to the taskbar:

For the notification area you should set:

Now only your actual taskbar with your programs will be visible. The notification area will appear as soon as you hover over it with your mouse. Also, don’t forget to disable Widgets for your taskbar, otherwise only one-half of the taskbar will be gone. This can be done via settings -> personalization -> taskbar -> taskbar items.

If you still find your taskbar kind of weird looking, try to open the taskbar settings and change the alignment to left and then back to right. Now everything should look normal.

The last thing you need to do is automatically start the program when booting your computer. For that, you just have to right-click on the program icon in the notification area and check ‘Run at startup’.

Important: If you update from a previous version, you need to delete or rename the old settings file of RoundedTB, since this is not compatible with this new version. It is located in %USERPROFILE%\APPDATA\Local\. The name of the file is rtb.json.

Now you have a rounded taskbar in Windows 11, which should look like the taskbar in the screenshot at the beginning of the tutorial. Should you encounter any questions or challenges, don’t hesitate to reach out. Your feedback, queries, and insights are always valued, and I’m here to assist you. Until next time!

Downloading and Setting Up GitHub Desktop

To start managing your projects with GitHub Desktop you first need to download the setup file. This can be done via the official GitHub Desktop Website. You can click here to open it. After the Website has loaded click the Download button highlighted on the screenshot below.

After downloading the setup executable file you can open and run it. When the setup is started up it looks like in the picture below. Now you have two options. The first is to log in with an already existing account which we will do in this tutorial. The second option is to create a new free account on GitHub. You can also create an account on the github.com website first and then follow the steps described below.

After clicking on Sign in to GitHub.com you are redirected to the GitHub website where you have to authorize GitHub Desktop rights to your account. To do this press ‘Authorize desktop’ on the right. If you don’t see the screen from below you have to log in to your account first.

After authorization, your web browser will ask you for permission to open GitHub Desktop again. This message can vary from browser to browser. In Microsoft Edge, you need to click on Open. If you want to always open GitHub Desktop automatically in the future you can also check the checkbox above the buttons.

After opening GitHub Desktop again your Git configuration will be displayed on your screen. There may be an auto-generated email address in the email field. You can change that back to your default GitHub email address by clicking the arrow next to it. When everything is configured you can hit Finish.

Managing Your Projects with GitHub Desktop

To start managing your projects with GitHub Desktop you need to clone a repository. You can see your existing repositories on the left side of the screen. There you can select one and click on Clone <YourRepositoryName>. If you don’t have a repository yet you can also try the options on the right side of the screen. With ‘Create a New Repository on your hard drive…’ a completely new folder will be created and used as a repository. With the button below you can transform an existing folder to a repository.

After pressing Clone, you will see another dialog popping up. There you can find the GitHub address of the repository and the location where you want to place it on your hard drive. Adjust it to your needs and confirm your choice with a final click on Clone.

You can start committing to the repo after the cloning process. To commit something to a GitHub you first need some changes. The best practice is to create or update the ReadMe.md file. After saving the file, GitHub Desktop automatically detects changes and will display them to you. You can see all the changes made in the currently selected file on the right. On the left side, you can see all modified files. There you can also deselect files that you don’t want to commit. On the bottom of the left side, you will see the field for the commit message, the description and the Commit button.

You can commit your changes to different branches which can be selected at the top of the screen. Since this is just the ReadMe file it will be committed to the main branch. After you have made sure that you have just selected the files you want to commit, selected the correct branch, entered a commit message and optionally added a description you can click Commit.

After pressing commit you have to push the changes to the repository. This can be done either with a click on the Push button in the blue box, with CTRL+P or a press Push at the top of the view. If you don’t see the Push origin at the top you can click on the arrow to switch modes. Now your changes are pushed to the repository.

When there are multiple team members or you have made changes on the GitHub web app you want to have those changes locally as well. This is also done with a click on Pull in the blue box, CTRL+SHIFT+P or with the top menu.

To see the repository history in GitHub Desktop you can press History on the left side. You can see every change with the included files and the exact changes depending on the selected files.

With the top menu, you can switch between repositories and branches to see exactly where what changed. With these features, monitoring and managing your projects with GitHub Desktop can be done by everyone.

Now you should be able to manage your Java, Android and many more projects easily. If you have any problems or questions feel free to leave a comment.

Why You Should Have One or More Virtual Devices

After developing mobile applications you will ask yourself how to test your app. There are two options: The first option is, to load your program on your smartphone. The benefits are clear. Once uploaded on your phone you can show it to friends and family members but there are also downsides. The phone must be either connected via cable or wirelessly. Additionally, debugging has to be enabled in the developer settings. Furthermore, it always has to be nearby and the uploading process often takes quite a long time.

With a virtual device, you don’t need to have your phone always with you to test your mobile applications. You can press ‘Run’ inside Android Studio and a virtual smartphone will be powered up where your app gets deployed. Also with the virtual device, you can simulate different things like a bad internet connection.

Another big advantage is, that you can have multiple virtual devices with different screen sizes and Android versions, which is extremely useful for developing apps, which have to work for older phones and should also look good on foldable phones or phones with rather small displays.

Add a Powerful Virtual Device in Android Studio

To add a powerful virtual device in Android Studio the first thing you need to do is to check if Hyper-V is enabled. To learn how to enable it, you can click here. After you have enabled it, you need to open the device manager in Android Studio. This can be done with the menu on the very right in Android Studio. There you have to click on the icon with a smartphone and the android logo. You can see the location in the screenshot below. After opening it, you have to click on the plus symbol to add a new powerful virtual device in Android Studio.

After clicking on the plus icon, a new dialog will be displayed on your screen. Now the real process to add a powerful virtual device in Android Studio begins. First of all, you have to decide which device you want to create. You can choose from different categories like phones, tablets, watches, or even TVs. In this tutorial, we are using the Google Pixel 8 since the size is rather common. After choosing the device you can confirm your selection with a click on Next.

In the next dialog window, you can choose your desired Android version for your new virtual device in Android Studio. If you have already downloaded the desired version, you can select it and click on next. Otherwise, you have to click on the small download icon next to the Android version name. In this case, I am choosing the newest version, 14.

After pressing on download another window will appear where you must accept the license agreement. Just select Accept and press Next to start downloading the SDK.

The download will take some time. After it is finished you can press the Finish button in the bottom right corner of the download dialog.

After clicking on Finish you will be back at the window where you can choose the desired Android version. You can now select the downloaded version and confirm the selection by pressing Next on the bottom.

After clicking Next you will see the last dialog to create a virtual device in Android Studio. There you will see a quick overview of your selections and you can also give the device a name. I would recommend that you include the API version (Android version) in the name, so you quickly know what version the device is running on. After you have checked your previous selections and named your device you can finish the process to add a virtual device in Android Studio with a click on the Finish button.

Now your device will show up in the device overview of the device manager. You can start the virtual smartphone directly by launching your app with the play icon on the top or you can start the device without starting your mobile application via the play button next to your device inside the device manager.

Problem: Black Circle on the Screen in Addition to the Camera

Sometimes there might be a problem after you’ve added a powerful virtual device to Android Studio – a black circle is displayed on the screen in addition to the camera punch hole. This is because a display cutout is activated in the developer options of the device. To deactivate it you first have to activate the developer options. You can do this by opening the settings on the smartphone, then clicking on ‘About phone’ and scrolling down to ‘Build number’. You have to click on Build number 7 times to enable the developer options. After clicking on it that many times you will see a message on the screen that the developer options are now enabled.

After the activation, you have to go back to the start of the settings. Now scroll down to ‘System’ and open the ‘Developer options’. You now have to search for ‘Display cutout’. The setting is located approximately two-thirds of the way up the menu. After you have found it you can click on it and select ‘Device default’ so only the normal camera punch hole is visible.

Now everything should be working without any problems. If you have any troubles or questions feel free to leave a comment or visit the official documentation of Google.

Why You Should Format Your Code

Formatting your code is like organizing your room – it makes everything easier to find and understand. Clean, well-formatted code is crucial for readability and maintainability, especially as projects grow. It helps you and others comprehend the logic and structure effortlessly. Consistent indentation, clear naming conventions, and proper spacing enhance code clarity, reducing errors and debugging time. Formatted code is also more professional, fostering collaboration and making it easier for others to contribute or review your work.

Ultimately, investing time in formatting your code pays off in improved efficiency, better collaboration, and smoother project maintenance, creating a solid foundation for your programming journey.

Download the Official Google Code Style

To now add Google Code Style to your programming environment (IntelliJ IDEA) and be able to format your code quickly, you first have to download the necessary file. The file you need is a simple XML file that can be downloaded from a GitHub repository. You can find the correct repository here.

The link provided above will directly open the needed file. To download it the file, you have to click on the download symbol in the top right corner. You can also see it highlighted in the screenshot below.

If you don’t want to download the file from GitHub, you can also copy the XML content from below and save it inside a new file. Make sure that you save it as a XML file, otherwise you won’t be able to use it inside IntelliJ IDEA.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<code_scheme name="GoogleStyle">
  <option name="OTHER_INDENT_OPTIONS">
    <value>
      <option name="INDENT_SIZE" value="2" />
      <option name="CONTINUATION_INDENT_SIZE" value="4" />
      <option name="TAB_SIZE" value="2" />
      <option name="USE_TAB_CHARACTER" value="false" />
      <option name="SMART_TABS" value="false" />
      <option name="LABEL_INDENT_SIZE" value="0" />
      <option name="LABEL_INDENT_ABSOLUTE" value="false" />
      <option name="USE_RELATIVE_INDENTS" value="false" />
    </value>
  </option>
  <option name="INSERT_INNER_CLASS_IMPORTS" value="true" />
  <option name="CLASS_COUNT_TO_USE_IMPORT_ON_DEMAND" value="999" />
  <option name="NAMES_COUNT_TO_USE_IMPORT_ON_DEMAND" value="999" />
  <option name="PACKAGES_TO_USE_IMPORT_ON_DEMAND">
    <value />
  </option>
  <option name="IMPORT_LAYOUT_TABLE">
    <value>
      <package name="" withSubpackages="true" static="true" />
      <emptyLine />
      <package name="" withSubpackages="true" static="false" />
    </value>
  </option>
  <option name="RIGHT_MARGIN" value="100" />
  <option name="JD_ALIGN_PARAM_COMMENTS" value="false" />
  <option name="JD_ALIGN_EXCEPTION_COMMENTS" value="false" />
  <option name="JD_P_AT_EMPTY_LINES" value="false" />
  <option name="JD_KEEP_EMPTY_PARAMETER" value="false" />
  <option name="JD_KEEP_EMPTY_EXCEPTION" value="false" />
  <option name="JD_KEEP_EMPTY_RETURN" value="false" />
  <option name="KEEP_CONTROL_STATEMENT_IN_ONE_LINE" value="false" />
  <option name="KEEP_BLANK_LINES_BEFORE_RBRACE" value="0" />
  <option name="KEEP_BLANK_LINES_IN_CODE" value="1" />
  <option name="BLANK_LINES_AFTER_CLASS_HEADER" value="0" />
  <option name="ALIGN_MULTILINE_PARAMETERS" value="false" />
  <option name="ALIGN_MULTILINE_FOR" value="false" />
  <option name="CALL_PARAMETERS_WRAP" value="1" />
  <option name="METHOD_PARAMETERS_WRAP" value="1" />
  <option name="EXTENDS_LIST_WRAP" value="1" />
  <option name="THROWS_KEYWORD_WRAP" value="1" />
  <option name="METHOD_CALL_CHAIN_WRAP" value="1" />
  <option name="BINARY_OPERATION_WRAP" value="1" />
  <option name="BINARY_OPERATION_SIGN_ON_NEXT_LINE" value="true" />
  <option name="TERNARY_OPERATION_WRAP" value="1" />
  <option name="TERNARY_OPERATION_SIGNS_ON_NEXT_LINE" value="true" />
  <option name="FOR_STATEMENT_WRAP" value="1" />
  <option name="ARRAY_INITIALIZER_WRAP" value="1" />
  <option name="WRAP_COMMENTS" value="true" />
  <option name="IF_BRACE_FORCE" value="3" />
  <option name="DOWHILE_BRACE_FORCE" value="3" />
  <option name="WHILE_BRACE_FORCE" value="3" />
  <option name="FOR_BRACE_FORCE" value="3" />
  <option name="SPACE_BEFORE_ARRAY_INITIALIZER_LBRACE" value="true" />
  <AndroidXmlCodeStyleSettings>
    <option name="USE_CUSTOM_SETTINGS" value="true" />
    <option name="LAYOUT_SETTINGS">
      <value>
        <option name="INSERT_BLANK_LINE_BEFORE_TAG" value="false" />
      </value>
    </option>
  </AndroidXmlCodeStyleSettings>
  <JSCodeStyleSettings>
    <option name="INDENT_CHAINED_CALLS" value="false" />
  </JSCodeStyleSettings>
  <Python>
    <option name="USE_CONTINUATION_INDENT_FOR_ARGUMENTS" value="true" />
  </Python>
  <TypeScriptCodeStyleSettings>
    <option name="INDENT_CHAINED_CALLS" value="false" />
  </TypeScriptCodeStyleSettings>
  <XML>
    <option name="XML_ALIGN_ATTRIBUTES" value="false" />
    <option name="XML_LEGACY_SETTINGS_IMPORTED" value="true" />
  </XML>
  <codeStyleSettings language="CSS">
    <indentOptions>
      <option name="INDENT_SIZE" value="2" />
      <option name="CONTINUATION_INDENT_SIZE" value="4" />
      <option name="TAB_SIZE" value="2" />
    </indentOptions>
  </codeStyleSettings>
  <codeStyleSettings language="ECMA Script Level 4">
    <option name="KEEP_BLANK_LINES_IN_CODE" value="1" />
    <option name="ALIGN_MULTILINE_PARAMETERS" value="false" />
    <option name="ALIGN_MULTILINE_FOR" value="false" />
    <option name="CALL_PARAMETERS_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="METHOD_PARAMETERS_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="EXTENDS_LIST_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="BINARY_OPERATION_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="BINARY_OPERATION_SIGN_ON_NEXT_LINE" value="true" />
    <option name="TERNARY_OPERATION_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="TERNARY_OPERATION_SIGNS_ON_NEXT_LINE" value="true" />
    <option name="FOR_STATEMENT_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="ARRAY_INITIALIZER_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="IF_BRACE_FORCE" value="3" />
    <option name="DOWHILE_BRACE_FORCE" value="3" />
    <option name="WHILE_BRACE_FORCE" value="3" />
    <option name="FOR_BRACE_FORCE" value="3" />
    <option name="PARENT_SETTINGS_INSTALLED" value="true" />
  </codeStyleSettings>
  <codeStyleSettings language="HTML">
    <indentOptions>
      <option name="INDENT_SIZE" value="2" />
      <option name="CONTINUATION_INDENT_SIZE" value="4" />
      <option name="TAB_SIZE" value="2" />
    </indentOptions>
  </codeStyleSettings>
  <codeStyleSettings language="JAVA">
    <option name="KEEP_CONTROL_STATEMENT_IN_ONE_LINE" value="false" />
    <option name="KEEP_BLANK_LINES_IN_CODE" value="1" />
    <option name="BLANK_LINES_AFTER_CLASS_HEADER" value="1" />
    <option name="ALIGN_MULTILINE_PARAMETERS" value="false" />
    <option name="ALIGN_MULTILINE_RESOURCES" value="false" />
    <option name="ALIGN_MULTILINE_FOR" value="false" />
    <option name="CALL_PARAMETERS_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="METHOD_PARAMETERS_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="EXTENDS_LIST_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="THROWS_KEYWORD_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="METHOD_CALL_CHAIN_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="BINARY_OPERATION_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="BINARY_OPERATION_SIGN_ON_NEXT_LINE" value="true" />
    <option name="TERNARY_OPERATION_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="TERNARY_OPERATION_SIGNS_ON_NEXT_LINE" value="true" />
    <option name="FOR_STATEMENT_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="ARRAY_INITIALIZER_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="WRAP_COMMENTS" value="true" />
    <option name="IF_BRACE_FORCE" value="3" />
    <option name="DOWHILE_BRACE_FORCE" value="3" />
    <option name="WHILE_BRACE_FORCE" value="3" />
    <option name="FOR_BRACE_FORCE" value="3" />
    <option name="PARENT_SETTINGS_INSTALLED" value="true" />
    <indentOptions>
      <option name="INDENT_SIZE" value="2" />
      <option name="CONTINUATION_INDENT_SIZE" value="4" />
      <option name="TAB_SIZE" value="2" />
    </indentOptions>
  </codeStyleSettings>
  <codeStyleSettings language="JSON">
    <indentOptions>
      <option name="CONTINUATION_INDENT_SIZE" value="4" />
      <option name="TAB_SIZE" value="2" />
    </indentOptions>
  </codeStyleSettings>
  <codeStyleSettings language="JavaScript">
    <option name="RIGHT_MARGIN" value="80" />
    <option name="KEEP_BLANK_LINES_IN_CODE" value="1" />
    <option name="ALIGN_MULTILINE_PARAMETERS" value="false" />
    <option name="ALIGN_MULTILINE_FOR" value="false" />
    <option name="CALL_PARAMETERS_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="METHOD_PARAMETERS_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="BINARY_OPERATION_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="BINARY_OPERATION_SIGN_ON_NEXT_LINE" value="true" />
    <option name="TERNARY_OPERATION_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="TERNARY_OPERATION_SIGNS_ON_NEXT_LINE" value="true" />
    <option name="FOR_STATEMENT_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="ARRAY_INITIALIZER_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="IF_BRACE_FORCE" value="3" />
    <option name="DOWHILE_BRACE_FORCE" value="3" />
    <option name="WHILE_BRACE_FORCE" value="3" />
    <option name="FOR_BRACE_FORCE" value="3" />
    <option name="PARENT_SETTINGS_INSTALLED" value="true" />
    <indentOptions>
      <option name="INDENT_SIZE" value="2" />
      <option name="TAB_SIZE" value="2" />
    </indentOptions>
  </codeStyleSettings>
  <codeStyleSettings language="PROTO">
    <option name="RIGHT_MARGIN" value="80" />
    <indentOptions>
      <option name="INDENT_SIZE" value="2" />
      <option name="CONTINUATION_INDENT_SIZE" value="2" />
      <option name="TAB_SIZE" value="2" />
    </indentOptions>
  </codeStyleSettings>
  <codeStyleSettings language="protobuf">
    <option name="RIGHT_MARGIN" value="80" />
    <indentOptions>
      <option name="INDENT_SIZE" value="2" />
      <option name="CONTINUATION_INDENT_SIZE" value="2" />
      <option name="TAB_SIZE" value="2" />
    </indentOptions>
  </codeStyleSettings>
  <codeStyleSettings language="Python">
    <option name="KEEP_BLANK_LINES_IN_CODE" value="1" />
    <option name="RIGHT_MARGIN" value="80" />
    <option name="ALIGN_MULTILINE_PARAMETERS" value="false" />
    <option name="PARENT_SETTINGS_INSTALLED" value="true" />
    <indentOptions>
      <option name="INDENT_SIZE" value="2" />
      <option name="CONTINUATION_INDENT_SIZE" value="4" />
      <option name="TAB_SIZE" value="2" />
    </indentOptions>
  </codeStyleSettings>
  <codeStyleSettings language="SASS">
    <indentOptions>
      <option name="CONTINUATION_INDENT_SIZE" value="4" />
      <option name="TAB_SIZE" value="2" />
    </indentOptions>
  </codeStyleSettings>
  <codeStyleSettings language="SCSS">
    <indentOptions>
      <option name="CONTINUATION_INDENT_SIZE" value="4" />
      <option name="TAB_SIZE" value="2" />
    </indentOptions>
  </codeStyleSettings>
  <codeStyleSettings language="TypeScript">
    <indentOptions>
      <option name="INDENT_SIZE" value="2" />
      <option name="TAB_SIZE" value="2" />
    </indentOptions>
  </codeStyleSettings>
  <codeStyleSettings language="XML">
    <indentOptions>
      <option name="INDENT_SIZE" value="2" />
      <option name="CONTINUATION_INDENT_SIZE" value="2" />
      <option name="TAB_SIZE" value="2" />
    </indentOptions>
    <arrangement>
      <rules>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>xmlns:android</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>^$</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>xmlns:.*</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>^$</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
            <order>BY_NAME</order>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:id</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>style</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>^$</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>^$</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
            <order>BY_NAME</order>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:.*Style</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
            <order>BY_NAME</order>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:layout_width</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:layout_height</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:layout_weight</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:layout_margin</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:layout_marginTop</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:layout_marginBottom</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:layout_marginStart</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:layout_marginEnd</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:layout_marginLeft</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:layout_marginRight</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:layout_.*</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
            <order>BY_NAME</order>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:padding</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:paddingTop</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:paddingBottom</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:paddingStart</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:paddingEnd</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:paddingLeft</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*:paddingRight</NAME>
                <XML_ATTRIBUTE />
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*</NAME>
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
            <order>BY_NAME</order>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*</NAME>
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
            <order>BY_NAME</order>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*</NAME>
                <XML_NAMESPACE>http://schemas.android.com/tools</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
            <order>BY_NAME</order>
          </rule>
        </section>
        <section>
          <rule>
            <match>
              <AND>
                <NAME>.*</NAME>
                <XML_NAMESPACE>.*</XML_NAMESPACE>
              </AND>
            </match>
            <order>BY_NAME</order>
          </rule>
        </section>
      </rules>
    </arrangement>
  </codeStyleSettings>
  <Objective-C>
    <option name="INDENT_NAMESPACE_MEMBERS" value="0" />
    <option name="INDENT_C_STRUCT_MEMBERS" value="2" />
    <option name="INDENT_CLASS_MEMBERS" value="2" />
    <option name="INDENT_VISIBILITY_KEYWORDS" value="1" />
    <option name="INDENT_INSIDE_CODE_BLOCK" value="2" />
    <option name="KEEP_STRUCTURES_IN_ONE_LINE" value="true" />
    <option name="FUNCTION_PARAMETERS_WRAP" value="5" />
    <option name="FUNCTION_CALL_ARGUMENTS_WRAP" value="5" />
    <option name="TEMPLATE_CALL_ARGUMENTS_WRAP" value="5" />
    <option name="TEMPLATE_CALL_ARGUMENTS_ALIGN_MULTILINE" value="true" />
    <option name="ALIGN_INIT_LIST_IN_COLUMNS" value="false" />
    <option name="SPACE_BEFORE_SUPERCLASS_COLON" value="false" />
  </Objective-C>
  <Objective-C-extensions>
    <option name="GENERATE_INSTANCE_VARIABLES_FOR_PROPERTIES" value="ASK" />
    <option name="RELEASE_STYLE" value="IVAR" />
    <option name="TYPE_QUALIFIERS_PLACEMENT" value="BEFORE" />
    <file>
      <option name="com.jetbrains.cidr.lang.util.OCDeclarationKind" value="Import" />
      <option name="com.jetbrains.cidr.lang.util.OCDeclarationKind" value="Macro" />
      <option name="com.jetbrains.cidr.lang.util.OCDeclarationKind" value="Typedef" />
      <option name="com.jetbrains.cidr.lang.util.OCDeclarationKind" value="Enum" />
      <option name="com.jetbrains.cidr.lang.util.OCDeclarationKind" value="Constant" />
      <option name="com.jetbrains.cidr.lang.util.OCDeclarationKind" value="Global" />
      <option name="com.jetbrains.cidr.lang.util.OCDeclarationKind" value="Struct" />
      <option name="com.jetbrains.cidr.lang.util.OCDeclarationKind" value="FunctionPredecl" />
      <option name="com.jetbrains.cidr.lang.util.OCDeclarationKind" value="Function" />
    </file>
    <class>
      <option name="com.jetbrains.cidr.lang.util.OCDeclarationKind" value="Property" />
      <option name="com.jetbrains.cidr.lang.util.OCDeclarationKind" value="Synthesize" />
      <option name="com.jetbrains.cidr.lang.util.OCDeclarationKind" value="InitMethod" />
      <option name="com.jetbrains.cidr.lang.util.OCDeclarationKind" value="StaticMethod" />
      <option name="com.jetbrains.cidr.lang.util.OCDeclarationKind" value="InstanceMethod" />
      <option name="com.jetbrains.cidr.lang.util.OCDeclarationKind" value="DeallocMethod" />
    </class>
    <extensions>
      <pair source="cc" header="h" />
      <pair source="c" header="h" />
    </extensions>
  </Objective-C-extensions>
  <codeStyleSettings language="ObjectiveC">
    <option name="RIGHT_MARGIN" value="80" />
    <option name="KEEP_BLANK_LINES_BEFORE_RBRACE" value="1" />
    <option name="BLANK_LINES_BEFORE_IMPORTS" value="0" />
    <option name="BLANK_LINES_AFTER_IMPORTS" value="0" />
    <option name="BLANK_LINES_AROUND_CLASS" value="0" />
    <option name="BLANK_LINES_AROUND_METHOD" value="0" />
    <option name="BLANK_LINES_AROUND_METHOD_IN_INTERFACE" value="0" />
    <option name="ALIGN_MULTILINE_BINARY_OPERATION" value="false" />
    <option name="BINARY_OPERATION_SIGN_ON_NEXT_LINE" value="true" />
    <option name="FOR_STATEMENT_WRAP" value="1" />
    <option name="ASSIGNMENT_WRAP" value="1" />
    <indentOptions>
      <option name="INDENT_SIZE" value="2" />
      <option name="CONTINUATION_INDENT_SIZE" value="4" />
    </indentOptions>
  </codeStyleSettings>
</code_scheme>

Add Google Code Style to IntelliJ IDEA

After downloading the file or creating one with the provided content above, you can now start IntelliJ IDEA. After starting you first have to select File on the top menu and click on Settings. Alternatively you can press CTRL+ALT+S to open the settings of IntelliJ.

After the settings windows is opened, you have to open the Editor entry on the left-hand side of the window and then find Code Style and click on it. At the top of the window, you should now see a Scheme label with a drop-down menu and a settings wheel next to it. To now import your XML file you have to click on the settings wheel, select the last menu entry, Import Scheme, and last but not least click on IntelliJ IDEA code style XML.

Now a popup will be displayed to you, where you have to select your Google Code Style XML file. So find it on the presented explorer and click on it once. To confirm your choice you have to press OK on the bottom of the dialog.

After confirming your choice, you have now the option to give your code style a name. Just give it a name you like and you remember that this is the Google Code Style. In this example, I named it GoogleStyle.

Lastly, you may need to select the just-created style as your default IntelliJ IDEA code style. To do so you have to select the new entry from the drop-down menu next to the settings wheel where you have just imported the settings. After doing so you can click on Apply or OK to apply the newly made settings.

To now format your code you have to select the area where you want to apply the Google Code Style or select the whole class with CTRL+A and then format it with CTRL+ALT+L. Now your code is formatted according to the code style inside the imported XML file.

Hyper-V to Simulate a Virtual Smartphone

The first thing you need to do before you can set up your Android development environment is to enable Hyper-V. This is necessary to run a simulator for a virtual smartphone on your computer. This simulator is used later for testing the Apps you are going to develop. If you do not want to do that, you always have to use a real smartphone to run your developed Apps. So a smartphone simulator will make your developer’s life a lot easier.

To activate Hyper-V you can read our guide on how to Enable Hyper-V on Windows 11 Pro and Unlock Powerful Virtualization.

Android Studio as Android Development Environment

There are many platforms out there, where you can develop Android apps. But the best development environment will be Android Studio. It is built and distributed directly by Google, which also developed Android.

Android Studio has two major benefits:

• It is specifically designed for developing Android apps. So everything necessary is already integrated including the simulated smartphones – so there is no Plugin installation needed.
• Android Studio is built on JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA – so if you are already familiar with IntelliJ you will love Android Studio because the user interface is almost the same.

Downloading and Installing Android Studio

To download Android Studio, you first need to visit the official download site. There you should already see a Download Android Studio button in the middle of the page. When you click on that, a popup for the terms and conditions will pop up. To start the download you have to scroll down on the page, check the checkbox that you have read and agree with the terms and conditions and press Download Android Studio again. Now the download of the setup .exe file will start

After the download is complete, you can open the setup file to start the installation process. The first page you will see looks like the screenshot below. You just have to press Next.

The next window will ask you what components you want to install. There you can already define if you want to install the Android Virtual Device component as well as the Android development environment itself. If you want to use a simulated smartphone make sure that the checkbox next to the Android Virtual Device is checked and confirm your choice by pressing Next.

On the following device, you can choose your installation path. To speed up your program, I would recommend installing it on an SSD.

The next page asks you if you want to put your Android Studio application in a new Start Menu Folder or if you want to add it to an already existing one. You can choose whatever you like, change the name of the new folder, or also mark the checkbox at the bottom to not create a shortcut at all. After you have decided what you want to do, you can click on Install to start the installation process of your Android development environment.

After pressing Install, the setup will start the installation of Android Studio. When the progress bar is full and the text above it states Completed, you can press the Next button on the bottom to open the final setup window.

If you want to setup and start Android Studio right now, you have to mark the checkbox. Otherwise, you can deselect it. Either way, you need to click on Finish to complete the installation process.

Setting up Android Studio

After starting up Android Studio, you will be confronted with the importing of Android Studio settings. If you do not have exported settings from another computer or you have already installed Android Studio previously, you just have to select ‘Do not import settings’ and click on OK.

After pressing OK you will see the dialog from the screenshot below. It is asking you to send usage statistics to Google to help them improve Android Studio in the future. You can decide if you want to do that or not. In this case, I am pressing Don’t send.

On the following Welcome screen of the Android Studio Setup Wizard, you just need to click Next.

The next window asks you for the Installation Type. There you can just select Standard and start the final installation of all necessary things for your Android development environment with a click on Next.

On the following screen, you see a short overview of the things that get installed. If you want to change your installation type you can do that by pressing previous. If you want to continue with the installation click on Next.

After pressing Next the installation of all required components for your Android development environment will start. After finishing you can click Finish to get to the next page.

On this page, you just have to agree to the licenses of your downloaded components. You have to accept each license separately by clicking on it in the left column and selecting Accept in the bottom right corner. After accepting all, you can click Finish.

Now you will see the starting screen of Android Studio your new Android development environment. If you are using already IntelliJ IDEA you will recognize this page already.

If you have any questions regarding the setup process or the installation feel free to reach out to me via the comments or the contact form!

What is Hyper-V?

Hyper-V is a virtualization platform developed by Microsoft that enables users to create and manage virtual machines (VMs) on their Windows systems. For beginners, think of it as a tool that allows you to run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single physical machine.

This is incredibly useful for various scenarios such as software testing, running multiple applications that require different environments, or simply isolating workloads for security purposes. With Hyper-V enabled on Windows 11, users can harness the power of virtualization, maximizing their system’s potential by efficiently utilizing hardware resources and expanding the capabilities of their PC. Whether you’re a developer, IT professional, or simply an enthusiast looking to explore different operating systems, enabling Hyper-V on Windows 11 opens up a world of possibilities for seamless multitasking and experimentation.

If you want to find out more, you can read the official Microsoft article about Hyper-V.

Hyper-V vs VMware

Hyper-V and VMware are two leading virtualization platforms, each with its strengths and considerations:

Hyper-V

• Developed by Microsoft, tightly integrated with Windows operating systems
• Included with Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise editions
• Excellent choice for users deeply entrenched in the Microsoft ecosystem
• Seamless integration with other Microsoft technologies like Active Directory
• Relatively straightforward setup and management for Windows-centric environments

VMware

• Renowned for its robust features, flexibility, and cross-platform compatibility
• Offers VMware Workstation Player and Workstation for desktop virtualization
• Widely adopted in enterprises and environments with heterogeneous infrastructure
• Extensive third-party support and a vast ecosystem of add-ons and plugins
• Requires separate installation and licensing; VMware Workstation Player is available for free, while VMware Workstation Pro is a paid version

Ultimately, the choice between Hyper-V and VMware depends on factors such as specific requirements, existing infrastructure, and personal preference. Both platforms excel in enabling users to create and manage virtual machines efficiently, catering to a diverse range of use cases and environments.

You can learn how to install and set up a virtual machine with VMWare Workstation Player or Pro here.

Enable Hyper-V on Windows 11

To enable Hyper-V on Windows 11 you first have to visit your control panel. You can do that by pressing the Windows key on your keyboard and entering Control Panel.

After opening the panel you now either see many icons or categories. If you see just categories, you have to click on the Programs category in the bottom left corner. If you see many icons you have to search for the label Programs and Features and click on it. Both options can be seen in the screenshots below.

If your view was set to categories and you clicked on Programs, you can now see the screen from below. There you have to click on the red marked area with the text ‘Turn Windows features on or off’.

When you have set your view to icons your windows will look like the screenshot provided below. There you also have to click on the red marked area with the text ‘Turn Windows features on or off’.

Whether your view was showing categories or items, you will now see a small window that popped up, where you can see all available Windows features that can be activated or deactivated. In that list, you need to search for the entry which says Hyper-V. It should be located at the very beginning.

If you have found it, you just need to click on the checkbox next to Hyper-V so that it is highlighted and confirm your choice by pressing OK in the bottom right corner.

After pressing the OK button and confirming your choice, Windows will now enable Hyper-V. To complete the activation a restart of your computer is mandatory.

After restarting everything necessary is done. You have now completed all the steps to enable Hyper-V on Windows 11!

Integrated Development Environment – IDE

To start programming, you need to install what is known as an IDE, short for Integrated Development Environment. This handy tool allows you to write, compile and debug code – all in one place. It’s like a programming helper and offers features such as syntax highlighting and code completion to make your programming easier.
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced developer, an IDE is an essential companion in your programming adventures.

Downloading IntelliJ IDEA

To set up a powerful Java development environment we use IntelliJ IDEA. IntelliJ is the leading Java IDE on the market. It is extremely feature-rich, has many plugins that can be very helpful for development, has great community support because of its popularity and has also a sleek design. Moreover, IntelliJ does not just provide all this for Java but also supports many other languages and provides language-specific features.

Before you can begin to set up a powerful Java development environment with IntelliJ IDEA, you first have to download the setup. To get that you just have to visit the JetBrains Download Website. There you can download two different versions. The Ultimate Edition and the Community Edition. The key difference between these two is, that the Ultimate Version is paid, whilst the Community Version is free. For the beginning, the free version is enough, however, the paid version has some nice features like creating a Spring project directly in your IDE and many other helpful features.

Good to know is that if you are a student or teacher you can apply for an educational license. With that, you get IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate and their other Premium products for free. If you are interested you can click here.

In this tutorial, we are covering the installation of the Community Edition, but the process is quite similar to the Ultimate Edition.
To download the setup you have to visit the website, which is mentioned already above. To download the Community Edition setup, you may have to scroll a bit to see the download link since the first link on this Website is for the Ultimate Edition. You can also select your operating system at the top of the page.

Set up a powerful Java Development Environment

After the download is finished you can execute the setup. Now the process to set up a powerful Java development environment begins. On the welcome page of the IntelliJ IDEA installer, you can just press Next.

The following slide will ask you, to to select the installation folder. There you can choose any location you want. As usual, it is recommended to install such programs if possible on an SSD to improve the speed of the program. Keep also an eye on the required space in the bottom left corner and the space left on the directory you selected. Confirm your choice by pressing Next.

After pressing Next, you should see the Installation Options window. If you want to create a Desktop Shortcut you can check the checkbox. We recommend to select the checkboxes as shown in the screenshot below. Especially the option “Add ‘Open Folder as Project'” to the context menu is quite handy because you can open every folder on your computer as a project. With that, you can also open existing projects, that are not recognized as projects. But also the associations are helpful to open your programming files in IntelliJ by default. If you have set all checks you can press Next.

On the next screen, you can select your preferred start menu folder. You can choose whatever folder you like, but you can also just leave the preentered folder name, so a new start menu folder will be created. If you are done with that you can press Install to start the installation. If you want to go back a step to change a setting or cancel the setup you can still do this.

After the installation is done, you will see the last window of the setup. There you can select “Run IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition” to start the program after finishing the setup. To complete the setup simply press Finish.

You now have successfully set up a powerful Java development environment. If you now start IntelliJ you will first see a screen to agree to their Terms. To continue you have to confirm that you read and accept them and confirm that by pressing Continue.

The next window now shows you options to create a new project or open one. You will see this screen every time you open IntelliJ IDEA when no project is loaded. If you have a project opened and you close IntelliJ, it will automatically reload the project when restarting your new IDE.

Requirements

• VMware Workstation Player or Workstation Pro
• Virtual Machine

Speed up your virtual machine and unlock helpful perks

After creating a virtual machine, you might have noticed some performance problems. If you have already tried to upgrade your assigned RAM and your CPU-Cores, but your virtual machine is still lagging and responding slowly to your input, then you should try to install VMware Tools. This will not just improve the overall performance and input speed of your virtual machine, but it will also unlock some other additional benefits. What exactly VMware Tools is adding will be covered in the last point of this post. Now let us start with the installation!

To install VMware Tools to speed up your virtual machine and unlock helpful perks, you first have to start your VM. After it is boot up, you can start with the installation.
If you are using VMware Workstation Player, you have to click on Player in the top left corner of the window, select Manage in the opened drop-down menu and finally click on Install VMware Tools.

If you are using VMware Workstation Pro you have to click on VM in the top menu and click on Install VMware Tools.

This was the only step of the installation process that does differ between the VMware Workstation Player and the Pro one.

After pressing the Install VMware Tools menu entry, you can now see a DVD drive popping up in your Windows Explorer inside your virtual machine. If you click on that, you can now see two setup files. Depending on what virtual machine you have set up, you should either open the normal setup file for 32-bit systems or the setup64 file for 64-bit systems.

Now the installation process should start by displaying the first window of the setup. There you just have to press Next.

The window after pressing Next on the setup asks for the installation type. For nearly everyone the first and already preselected type is the correct type. To be sure you can also select the second type which is for the Complete installation, but this is not necessary except you want to use your virtual machine with different VMware products. If you want to do a custom installation, you have to select Custom. In this tutorial, we will use the preselected type, Typical, since this is suitable for most of the users. To confirm your selection and continue with the next window, click on Next.

On the next and also last page of the setup, you just have to press Install, to begin installing VMware tools to speed up your virtual machine and unlock helpful perks. You can also change your installation type or cancel the setup on this window.

Now the VMware Tools are getting installed. When this process is complete, you will notice it immediately, as the virtual machine screen will automatically adapt to your screen. Also, a final dialog will appear on your screen, which asks you to restart your virtual machine to complete the installation. You can either press Yes to restart immediately or No so that your VM keeps running. The installation will then be complete after you restart your machine manually.

Benefits of VMware Tools

• Speeding up your virtual machine
• Better graphics performance
• Synchronization of Guest and Host Time
• Provides the ability to take quiesced snapshots of the guest OS
• Eliminates or improves the following issues
  • Low video resolution
  • Inadequate color depth
  • Incorrect display of network speed
  • Restricted movement of the mouse
  • Inability to copy and paste and drag-and-drop files
  • Missing sound
• Unlocking many more helpful perks

If you want to find out more about VMware Tools you can visit the official documentation.

Requirements for creating a virtual Windows 11 machine on VMware

• Windows 11 ISO file
• VMware Workstation Player or Workstation Pro

Windows 11 ISO file

To create a virtual Windows 11 machine on VMware, you need to have a Windows 11 ISO file.

To get that you have to visit the official download center of Microsoft.
On that page, you will find the section “Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices”.
Select in the drop-down menu beneath “Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO for x64 devices).
Then press Download Now.
Now the website is presenting you another section with a drop-down menu to choose the language for the Windows 11 ISO file. You can choose whatever language you like, even though English will be the best option for the majority.
After confirming your language you can press 64-Bit Download to start downloading your ISO file.

VMware Workstation Player or Workstation Pro

VMware offers two different products. The Workstation Player and the Workstation Pro. Both options are quite similar, so it doesn’t matter which one you choose. The only problem is, that the Workstation Player can be used forever for free, whereas the Workstation Pro can only be tested for 30 days. After that period, a license is mandatory.

You can download the Workstation Player here and the Workstation Pro here.

Creating the virtual Windows 11 machine on VMware

When opening up the VMware software regardless if you have downloaded the Workstation Player or the Pro you can instantly see the “Create a New Virtual Machine” Button, which you have to click to create your virtual Windows 11 machine on VMware.

After clicking on that Button, a Popup will be shown. If you are using VMware Workstation Pro you will first have to choose, which configuration you want to do. You can just leave the preselected option (Typical) and click next. After that, you will see the first window of the New Virtual Machine Wizard. If you are using the Workstation Player, you will instantly see this window.

After clicking on next, you can choose the name of your virtual machine and the location. Keep in mind that the virtual machine will take up a lot of space, so choose a location wisely. After confirming the name and the location, you have to add encryption Information. Enter a password that you would like to use to encrypt your virtual machine and confirm it in the box below.

Confirm your password and selections by pressing next. On the next page, you can choose how much space should be used for your virtual machine. For Windows 11 it is recommended to have at least 64 GB of space. Also, you can choose between storing your virtual machine’s hard disk as a single file or multiple files. We recommend using the first option, “Store virtual disk as a single file”.

After confirming your input by pressing Next, you’ll see the last step of creating a virtual Windows 11 machine on VMware. There you have a quick overview of your settings and the specified hardware. By clicking on Customize Hardware, you can change some hardware settings. If your computer does have 16 or more GB of RAM and you are not planning to do heavy work when your virtual machine is running in the background, you can increase the RAM of the virtual machine to 8 GB for better performance. Otherwise, you can leave the default setting of 4 GB.

Good to know: You can change your hardware settings later as well, so if you decide to upgrade the RAM there is no problem in doing that.

The virtual Windows 11 machine on VMware is completed with a click on Finish. If you have checked the checkbox below Customize Hardware, the virtual machine will power on automatically. If not you can select your machine in the list you see on the starting screen and press the green play button to start it.

Now the default Windows installation should show up. Set up your Windows OS as you like and your virtual Windows 11 machine on VMware is good to go!

To improve the overall performance of your virtual machine, get some useful features and automatically scale your VM to fit your screen perfectly, you can read How to Speed Up your Virtual Machine and unlock helpful Perks.