Microsoft PowerToys is not a program as such, but is made up of a set of utilities. The main objective of this project is resurrect all the classic applications from the Windows 95 erasomething that Microsoft is doing little by little.
The list of applications is increasing from time to time with new tools. In December 2022, the programs included in this pack are:
always in the foreground
The Always in the foreground function allows us to place in the foreground, that is, on top of all the application windows that we have open, the application that we have open at the moment in which we use the Win + Control T key combination.
By activating this function, the border of the application or window will show a different border to the application so that we know at all times that it is a docked window. To deactivate this function, we must use the same key combination.
Awake: prevents the PC from going to sleep
This is one of the most recent tools that we can find within this toolkit. Awake, as its name suggests, aims to prevent our computer from going into sleep when we’re not using it.
The program generates a series of false interactions that ensure that the PC is always active. We can choose if we want the screen to be able to turn off, or not, in the same way, and also if we want Awake to only work in a certain range of hours.
Color picker: select any color
We can launch this tool, like any of the others, with a simple keyboard shortcut (which we can customize to our liking) and it will show us a color selector on the mouse cursor. Where we place the mouse we can see the real color that is under it. If we have to make a precise selection, we can also open a zoom window to improve precision when selecting colors.
This tool will show us the color in hexadecimal and in RGB. Thus, we can replicate the exact color in any other project or document. In addition, we can choose the color format in which we want the image capture to be displayed.
FancyZones, to work better with several windows at the same time
FancyZones comes as a window manager to help us work more efficiently and improve workflow when working with multiple windows at the same time when we don’t have a second monitor at hand.
This program allows us to configure different locations for windows on a desktop so that when a window is directly dragged to that area, it automatically adjusts to it. We can customize the behavior of each zone, each window and the selector. Windows 11 will bring a similar native feature, but for Windows 10, on especially large screens, it’s perfect.
File locker, unlock locked files
This tool allows us to enable, within the contextual menu, a simple complement thanks to which we will be able to control the processes that are using a specific file or directory. Thus, if we see an error when trying to delete, rename or move a file or a skin, we will know whose fault it is.
File Explorer Plugins: Previews and More
The lack of a preview function for Windows files has been one of the aspects most criticized by users. Finally, thanks to PowerToys, it is possible to enable this function within Windows 10.
Thanks to this MS PT add-on we will be able to make Windows Explorer show a preview of formats that, by default, are not compatible. For example, we will be able to add a preview panel on the side for SVG and MD (markdown) files, in addition to creating a preview of the file in the icon itself.
Host File Editor, a domain editor
The Host file allows us to manually configure the DNS resolutions of our computer. It is very useful to block web pages that we do not want to open in the system. The problem is that it is a file that is hidden, and it is not very intuitive, so almost nobody uses it. Thanks to this Toy we will be able to use it without any problem.
Image resizer, easily resize many photos in seconds
This tool also integrates into the Windows 10 explorer context menu, similar to how PowerRename does. Image Resizer will allow us to change the size of all kinds of images very quickly and in batches simply by right-clicking on them.
We can establish a series of default sizes, and the conversion options that we want to apply. A tool with which, without a doubt, we will save a lot of time.
Keyboard manager, to map keys and create keyboard shortcuts
A good computer keyboard configuration can help us to be much more productive. However, the possibilities that Windows offers to create custom keyboard shortcuts or key mapping are very limited. Thanks to Keyboard Manager, from now on we will be able to create our own keyboard shortcuts very easily, in addition to mapping the keyboard keys as we want.
mouse utility
If we usually work with white backgrounds, like the color of the Windows cursor, we use large monitors or with a high resolution, it is likely that on more than one occasion we have lost sight of the pointer.
The solution to this problem is to use the PowerToys Mouse Utility function. This function allows us to quickly find the mouse by clicking twice on the left Control button (we can change it to any other). At this time, the entire screen will be darkened and a circle will be displayed around the pointer.
Paste as plain text
When we copy a text, for example, from a website, it is copied with formatting, and when pasting it, it can look bad. Thanks to this PowerToy we will be able to paste any text, in any program, without any type of format, all as plain text.
PowerRename, rename many files at once easily
As we can deduce from its name, this PowerToy is a program designed to facilitate the task of renaming files and folders on the computer. Windows allows us to change the name of any file individually by default, but when it comes to changing the name in bulk, things change.
This PowerToy is inserted into the Windows 10 contextual panel and allows us to display a window from which we can choose whether we want to easily rename files or have access to more advanced functions to rename them.
PowerToys Run, the launcher that Windows 10 needs
Although Windows 10 allows us to find and run programs from the search engine and from Cortana, this is not the best way to do it. Therefore, Microsoft has finally decided to bring one of the best features of macOS to Windows within its PowerToys. That’s Run.
Run is a minimalist program search engine and launcher that will allow us to search and run programs instantly simply by using the Alt + Space keyboard shortcut. This program launcher is modular, so its operation can be easily customized. Window Walker, which was previously an independent “Toy”, is now part of Run.
The latest version of Run made this plugin modular. That is, it allows us to choose the elements that we want to appear or not appear when performing a search. For example, we can remove the results of the Windows indexer, or web searches. Of course, the best program launcher that we can have in Windows 10.
Quick Accent
This function allows us to write with accents when we use keyboards that have that option, in a very similar way to how we write on mobile devices, where if we want to accent a word, we must hold down the vowel until all possible accent options appear. In this case, to select between the different available options, we must move with the right and left arrows.
screen ruler
As we can well deduce from the name of this function, Screen Ruler allows us to measure pixels on the screen, an interesting function that will allow us to quickly identify the size of objects in images or videos, as long as we are viewing the content at 100% its original resolution, since, otherwise, the measurements will never be real and we will not be able to use them in other applications if it is our intention unless we reduce the size or maximize it, this being the worst option when the image loses resolution .
Shortcuts guide, to always have the Windows keyboard shortcuts at hand
Keyboard shortcuts allow us to work faster with our computer, but if we don’t have a good memory it’s very easy for us to forget about them. Shortcut seeks to become a simple guide to the keyboard shortcuts for the Win key so that we can consult it whenever we want.
To do this, all we have to do is hold down the Win key for a second so that this list of keyboard shortcuts appears and we can choose the one we want to execute.
TextExtractor
One of the most interesting functions that PowerToys offers us and that is also available on some mobile devices is the possibility of copying any text that is displayed on the screen of our equipment to the clipboard. We just have to activate the function and create a text box around the text that we want to copy to the clipboard. This feature works great when dealing with text in a document or web page, but not so well when dealing with text embedded in an image.
mute video conference
When making videoconferences, on many occasions, we are always more aware of the noise in our environment than of the video call itself, preventing any type of noise from sneaking into the conversation. The solution to this problem is to use the Silence video conference function. This function allows us to activate and deactivate both the microphone and the web together or independently, without having to access the configuration options of the application that we are using.
Setting
Although the PowerToys are a program kit, this pack has a configuration panel from which we will be able to control both the general operation of the tool and each of the Toys in the pack.
The first thing we will see will be, within the “General” tab, the possibility of opening the program pack as administrator, changing the theme, running it at startup and even the possibility of checking for new versions and activating automatic updates.
We will also find the configuration options for each of the Microsoft PowerToys. Within each one we can see a small description of it, how it works and customize both its keyboard shortcut to launch it and its theme and options. We will also be able to activate or deactivate some of the PowerToys depending on whether we want to use them and have them enabled or not.
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