PowerToys For Windows 10 & How To Use Them
16 toys that will take your PC to the next level
Besides having the coolest name for system utilities ever, PowerToys have a long history with Windows. PowerToys for Windows made their debut back in Windows 95 to aid in the optimization and customization of your Windows operating system (OS).
Back then, these features were high-tech wizardry. You may have used TweakUI to help you customize the Windows XP interfaceor FlexiCD to let you play a music CD from the taskbar. Now, the traditional PowerToys from the 90s are pretty much all baked into Windows or easily added through different apps.
Yet, Microsoft has resurrected PowerToys for Windows 10. They’ve also embraced their new open-source stance andgetting the most out of their acquisition of GitHub. Being open-source, you can add your own functionality to PowerToys. More likely, there will be developers who add new features that Microsoft might never have thought to make.
Downloading & Installing PowerToys For Windows 10
Head over tothis link.There will be a few releases listed, the top one is the most recent one. Look forPowerToysSetup.msiand click on that to download the installer. If you’re interested in working with the source code, click on eitherSource code (zip)orSource code (tar.gz).
OncePowerToysSetup.msiis downloaded, double-click to install it like any other program. There are options about where to install it, create a desktop shortcut, and run when Windows starts. The default options should be good for most people.
When installed and running, PowerToys will run in the system tray by the clock. Click on the icon to open the PowerToys General Settings.
The first settings you’ll see allow you to turn on or off the individual PowerToys. On the left side of the general settings window, you can access PowerToy specific settings.
PowerToy Fancy Zones
Fancy Zones is billed as a way to “create window layouts to help make multi-tasking easy.” If you’re working in a few programs you need to jump back and forth between, it could make your life a little easier.
PowerRename
By adding a feature to your right-click menu, PowerRename gives you a way to rename files or folders in bulk. You can do this through simple find-and-replace or even more powerful regular expressions.
In the image below, you can see how simple it would be to rename all the files in a series of chapters of a book.
Shortcut Guide
Of the three PowerTools for Windows, Shortcut Guide is the one that should definitely be made a regular part of Windows. It’s an instantcheat sheet to the most common Windows shortcuts. When activated, all you have to do is hold down the Windows key for about a second. A transparent overlay will appear on your screen showing you Windows shortcuts.
Pay close attention to the bottom of the Shortcut Guide. See how the numbers line up with the programs that are currently open? It’s showing you that you can jump between these programs by using the Windows key plus the corresponding number key.
In the example below, 1 opens the Edge web browser, 2 opens File Explorer, 3 opens Windows Store, and so on.
More PowerToys?
Right now, there are only three PowerToys. However, the much older versions had over 20 tools. Plus, this is an open-source project, so expect to see more PowerToys added by Microsoft and by independent developers.
There are three more currently in development;Maximize to New Desktop, Process Terminate Tool, andAnimated GIF Screen Recorder.
Maximize to New Desktop will allow you to create a new desktop and send that app to the new desktop, fully maximized in size. There’s no preview for what that may look like right now.
Process Terminate Tool (PTT) will provide a shortcut to quickly terminate a running program. Using the key combinationAlt + F4can already do this for whatever program currently has the focus, so what’s the point of PTT?
It will work when the program is not responding and cannot be closed by regular means or through Task Manager. It’ll be much easier thankilling a process from the command line, too.
The proposal is that the user will access PTT using theAlt + Shift + Xkey combo. In the PTT window, the user clicks and holds the left mouse button and drags it over the program they wish to kill.
AnAre you sure you want to kill this program?prompt will open and the user can chooseYesorNo. The image below shows a prototype from theProcess Terminate Tool page on GitHub.
The Animated GIF Screen Recorder does what you think it will. The tool will be used to capture any area of the screen and generate an animated GIF of what is happening there.
Aside from easier meme creation, making animated GIFs are a good way to show people how to do things on a computer, without having to write a lot. The image below shows a prototype of what the screen recorder might look like. This is from theAnimated GIF Maker spec page on GitHub.
Is That All?
Considering Microsoft is kind of new to the open-source philosophy, they’re really embracing it. In addition to the three tools already released and the three in the pipeline, there are an additional ten tools sitting in their backlog.
So 16 free PowerToys for Windows is really something to be appreciated, and anything that makes your work easier is always welcomed.
Guy has been published online and in print newspapers, nominated for writing awards, and cited in scholarly papers due to his ability to speak tech to anyone, but still prefers analog watches.Read Guy’s Full Bio
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