An early look at the new People app in Windows 10

Earlier this week, Microsoft released a new build of Windows 10, 10061, and with it comes an updated People app. If you try to open it right now, the app will crash immediately but by removing a few simple lines of text, you can enable the app to open.

First, the app is still very much a work in progress and is not complete by any means. The features and functions do not work well, the app crashes frequently, and it's clear that this is app is far from complete. With that being said, if you want to enable the app, follow the steps below.

Open File Explorer
Make sure you have checked 'show hidden items'
Go to C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.People_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState
Open the contacts.txt file with any text editor - Notepad works well
Remove all the lines after the first line of text but keep the last line so it looks like this - Your first line may look slightly different

False|24,5,5|24,8,8|24,9,9

END_OF_FILE

Save the file and exit the text editor

After making the above changes, the app will open and you will see that it is a basic contact manager. By looking at the screenshots in this post, you will better understand the workflow for adding new contacts to your accounts. Unfortunately, the app crashes if you try to add more than one contact or edit an existing contact.

While Microsoft works to polish this app up and get it ready for RTM that will occur this summer, these screenshots are the best look yet at the direction the company is taking for its contact manager.

Thanks for the tip Greg J!