Its multimedia was also expanded, and screensavers were introduced, alongside new software such as Windows Media Player and Sound Recorder.

The advertisements, developed by Ogilvy & Mather, were designed to introduce a broader audience to Windows.

[4][6][7]: 3  After the introduction of Windows 1.0, Microsoft had worked on gaining support from companies to expand its operating environment on different types of PCs.

[4][10] Windows 3.1 introduced Arial, Courier New, and Times New Roman fonts, in regular, bold, italic, and bold-italic versions, which could be scaled to any size and rotated, depending on the application.

[11][12] To improve user interaction, Microsoft initiated warning and event sounds, and introduced computer command shortcuts for copy, cut, and paste.

[4] These features were already present on the Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions version, although they were only available to users with newly bought PCs.

[19][20] The introduction of Windows Registry, a centralized database that could store configuration information and settings for various operating systems components and applications, also occurred in this version.

[28][29] The operating environment was also given limited compatibility with the then-new 32-bit Windows API, by introducing Win32s, an enabling technology.

[30] Microsoft also provided WinG, an application program interface, to entice developers to move from DOS to Windows.

[31] It also provided a device-independent interface to graphics and printer hardware, and allowed programs to have both read and write capabilities to the WinGDC.

[32] Unlike all previous versions, Windows 3.1 could not run in real mode and it insisted on the use of 80286 processors or above.

[39] Similarly, Microsoft also released Windows 3.1J with support for Japanese, which shipped 1.46 million copies in its first year on the market (1993) in Japan.

[40] Modular Windows was built for real-time consumer electronics, and was designed to be controlled via television.

[43][44] It also contained a software development kit (SDK) for programmers to write applications that would run on devices that have Modular Windows.

[58][59] Windows for Workgroups could also be accessed from an OS/2 client that uses the Server Message Block (SMB), a protocol used for sharing files and printers over local networks.

[65][66] It was codenamed Snowball, and it introduced support for 32-bit file access, drive sharing, and group calendaring.

[70][71][72] Its connectivity with NetWare networks was increased, while it also introduced support for Open Data-Link Interface cards and Internetwork Packet Exchange drivers.

[33] It has been shown as an improvement, and it possesses more features in comparison with its rival IBM OS/2 2.0, which launched a month earlier than Windows 3.1.

[76] Windows for Workgroups received lukewarm reception; it has been praised for its technical design, but it has been also noted as a "business disappointment" due to its small amount of sold copies.

[86] It was known as AARD code, and Microsoft disabled it before the final release of Windows 3.1, though without removing it altogether.

[87] Digital Research, who owned DR-DOS, released a patch within weeks to allow the installer to continue.

[90][91] Windows 3.1 found a niche market as an embedded operating system after becoming obsolete in the PC world.

[93] In November 2015, the failure of a Windows 3.1 system in Orly Airport in Paris, which was responsible for communicating visual range information in foggy weather to pilots, made operations temporarily cease.

[94][95] In 2016, the Internet Archive organization released Windows 3.1 as an emulated environment in a web browser.