On the project's GitHub releases page, build v0.102.2933.0 is now tagged as the latest release. In the days before, Microsoft had pushed a series of 0.102 preview builds. One of them, published October 19, carried the label "preview-channel build for the PowerToys 0.102 release train, produced from the stable branch." If you tried a preview, the final build is what to install now.
What Mouse Button Lock actually does
Microsoft's release notes explain the feature like this: "Holding a mouse button down during a long drag or selection can be tiring. With Mouse Button Lock, press and hold a button for a moment, then let go. Windows keeps treating it as held, so you can continue dragging or selecting until you click any button."
BleepingComputer's coverage, which quoted Microsoft senior product manager Niels Laute, described the tool as locking a mouse button "while you hold down a key." The official wording doesn't match that. According to Microsoft's notes, you hold the mouse button itself for a moment and then release it. No keyboard modifier is mentioned. The lock ends when you click any mouse button.
The full changelog lists more detail:
- It's opt-in. Microsoft describes it as opt-in Mouse Button Lock for left, right, and middle buttons so dragging and selection can continue after a long press without continuously holding a button.
- It covers three buttons. Left, right and middle all work, not just the primary button.
- Intended uses. Microsoft says the tool is especially useful for gaming, working in professional applications that require extensive dragging and selection, and improving accessibility for users who find it difficult to hold down a mouse button for extended periods.
How it compares with Windows' built-in ClickLock
Long-time Windows users may remember ClickLock. It's an old Windows mouse setting (in the classic Mouse Properties dialog) that latches the primary button after a long press. NT Compatible draws the same comparison, saying Mouse Button Lock extends Windows' old ClickLock behavior to your left, right, and middle buttons. The practical difference, based on general Windows knowledge, is that ClickLock only works with the primary button. PowerToys adds the right and middle buttons, which matter for orbiting in 3D tools, panning in CAD apps, and some game controls.
Microsoft hasn't published a compatibility list for games or professional apps. Some games read raw input or use anti-cheat systems that may not like a simulated button state. Test it in your own apps before you rely on it during a ranked match or a client deadline.
Section summary: Mouse Button Lock latches the left, right or middle button after a long press and releases it on your next click. It's off by default and aimed at long drags, gaming and accessibility.
CursorHide: newly promoted, not newly built
CursorHide is the second new mouse utility in 0.102. It isn't brand-new code. It's a renamed and expanded version of a feature that appeared earlier in the 0.102 preview builds. The full release notes say Microsoft first added opt-in Auto Hide Cursor under Mouse Utilities to hide the pointer while typing or after inactivity and restore it on mouse input. A later change renamed it to CursorHide in Settings and refreshed its icon, behavior controls and new-feature indicators.
Microsoft's summary of the finished tool: CursorHide hides the mouse pointer while typing, after a period of inactivity, or both, and shows it again when you move the mouse. You can choose either trigger or both.
There's one fix worth knowing about if you use a laptop. The changelog notes that Microsoft restored hidden cursors when affected touchpads or simulated mouse input move the pointer, instead of leaving the cursor invisible. A cursor that won't come back from hiding is exactly the kind of bug that makes people uninstall a utility, so it's good to see it fixed before the stable release.
Section summary: CursorHide is the former Auto Hide Cursor under a new name. It hides the pointer while you type, after idle time, or both, and it now handles touchpad input properly.
Command Palette gets a quick-access shelf
Command Palette is PowerToys' keyboard launcher, the successor to PowerToys Run. It gets a pinned-commands shelf in this release. According to the release notes, you turn it on in Settings > Appearance > Compact mode. Your pinned commands then appear below the search box while the palette is collapsed.
To use the shelf:
- Turn on the quick-access shelf in Command Palette's Settings under Appearance > Compact mode.
- Pin the commands you use most.
- Press Alt+1 through Alt+9 to launch a pinned item.
- Press Alt+Shift+number to select an item without running it.
- Drag items to reorder them, and right-click for more actions. You can also show recent commands and apps next to your pins.
The rest of the Command Palette update includes:
- Fuzzy search inside its settings
- A keyboard-focusable dock (Win+Alt+J)
- Support for the Copilot key: choose Command Palette as the Copilot key app in Windows Settings, then press the key again to toggle the palette
- Multiple dock clocks with different time zones
- A per-app language choice
The Copilot key option is the one many people will want. That key has been looking for a job since it appeared on keyboards.
ZoomIt learns to listen
ZoomIt, the presentation and screen-annotation tool from Sysinternals, gets snip dictation. Per Microsoft, you turn on Snip with dictation in ZoomIt's settings, then press Space while dragging out a snip and describe what you're capturing. Microsoft says the speech is transcribed on your device, and one paste delivers both the screenshot and your text. Dictation uses whichever microphone is selected under ZoomIt's Record settings.
That's handy for bug reports, documentation and tutorials. You capture the screenshot and its caption in one go. ZoomIt also gets smoother zoom transitions and a fix for silent recordings on multichannel and spatial-audio devices.
New command-line tools for scripters and admins
This part matters most for IT admins. The release adds command-line tools for Advanced Paste, Light Switch, Settings, and Peek, brings tap-alone remaps and easier editing to Keyboard Manager, and moves Color Picker and Text Extractor to WinUI 3.
Highlights from the release notes:
| Tool | New CLI capability |
|---|---|
| Advanced Paste | Run built-in and custom actions without the UI, using files, stdin/stdout or the clipboard. AI actions use your configured providers and policies. |
| Light Switch | Check status, set or toggle the theme, and manage schedules, with JSON output |
| Settings | See which utilities are enabled and turn them on or off, even while PowerToys isn't running |
| Peek | Preview multiple files and folders from the command line |
| PowerDisplay | JSON Lines output for script-friendly results and errors |
FancyZones, Image Resizer, File Locksmith and PowerDisplay commands are also now on your PATH, so they work from any terminal folder.
For managed environments, the Settings CLI is the important one. Being able to enable or disable modules while PowerToys is closed makes it easier to set up a standard configuration during provisioning. Keyboard Manager adds to this: Microsoft says IT admins can deploy or export remapping profiles with DSC v3.
Keyboard Manager: tap-alone remaps
Keyboard Manager now supports tap-alone remaps. Tapping a key alone triggers a different action while it still works normally in shortcuts and mouse combinations. The classic example is turning Caps Lock into Escape on a tap while keeping it available as a modifier.
The new editor adds a searchable key picker that includes media keys and keys your keyboard doesn't physically have. Large remap lists get search, modifier and app filters, and bulk deletion. Microsoft also fixed key recording so it only listens while the editor window has focus.
Other notable changes
- Color Picker and Text Extractor move to WinUI 3. Microsoft says your existing shortcuts and settings carry over.
- FancyZones: scroll the mouse wheel while dragging a window to switch layouts.
- Peek: read-only SQLite previews and Alt+Left/Alt+Right navigation between files.
- Screen Ruler: measures in device-independent pixels, which helps on mixed-DPI setups.
- Environment Variables: a "Remove duplicates" action cleans up PATH while keeping the original order.
- Workspaces: now asks for confirmation before launching an unverified app configured to run as administrator. That's a sensible security change.
- Awake: Windows can now turn off the display while the PC is locked without ending your keep-awake session.
Installing and verifying 0.102
The GitHub release offers four installers: per-user and machine-wide builds, each for x64 and ARM64, with SHA256 hashes listed. NT Compatible reports that the stable build is available through the Microsoft Store, WinGet, and GitHub, requiring Windows 10 build 19041 or newer with x64 or ARM64 support.
A few practical tips:
- Already running PowerToys? The built-in updater should offer 0.102. Otherwise, update through the Microsoft Store or WinGet.
- Admins: pick the machine-wide installer for shared PCs and the per-user installer when users lack admin rights. Check the published hash before deploying.
- After updating: Mouse Button Lock and CursorHide are both opt-in, so nothing will change until you turn them on in PowerToys Settings.
The bigger picture
PowerToys keeps adding mouse tools. BleepingComputer notes that version 0.97 in January added CursorWrap, which wraps the pointer to the opposite edge of your monitors in multi-monitor setups. In August, PowerToys added Window Hopper for switching between an app's windows. The suite dates back to the Windows 95 era and was relaunched as an open-source project in 2019. Today it's where Microsoft tries out features that Windows itself arguably should have.
The interesting part of 0.102 isn't one feature. It's that accessibility tools, admin scripting and DSC-based deployment all ship together. If you've been keeping PowerToys off managed machines because you couldn't configure it from a script, this release removes a good part of that reason.