powertoys

Windows is the invisible workhorse in millions of workflows — but beneath the familiar desktop lies a toolkit that can turn a good user into a true power user. This feature walks through ten practical, tested hacks that accelerate common tasks, reduce friction, and give you more control over how...

Microsoft’s PowerToys is about to make one of its most visible utilities — the Command Palette — significantly more personal, and the wider toolkit is quietly expanding with two new experimental utilities that aim to control displays and even improve how users look on video calls. Background /...

Microsoft’s PowerToys is getting a fresh round of polish and personality work that goes beyond bug-fixes — the next feature update promises first-class customization for the Command Palette plus two bold new utilities that expand PowerToys’ remit into display control and video-call lighting. The...

If Windows search has ever left you staring at a blank Start menu while the clock ticks, there are three practical, battle-tested replacements that restore speed, control, and reliability: Everything, PowerToys Run / Command Palette, and Flow Launcher. Each solves a specific pain point—instant...

When a MakeUseOf writer described Windows Search as “painfully slow and cluttered” and swore by a trio of third‑party launchers—Fluent Search, PowerToys Run, and Command Palette—their setup crystallized a practical truth for many Windows 11 power users: a small set of focused tools can...

Microsoft's PowerToys team is preparing a practical new utility called PowerDisplay that promises to solve one of the most persistent pain points for power users: controlling external monitor settings from Windows without wrestling with vendor on‑screen menus or third‑party hacks. The module...

Microsoft’s PowerToys is preparing a practical fix for one of Windows 11’s most persistent everyday annoyances: a new utility — shown in early teasers as PowerDisplay (also discussed as Power Monitor) — that promises per‑monitor brightness, contrast, color temperature and even speaker volume...

Microsoft is rolling out what may be the most practical, long‑overdue quality‑of‑life upgrade for multi‑monitor users: a PowerToys module (internally referred to as Power Monitor or PowerDisplay) that promises to put per‑monitor brightness, contrast, color temperature, and even speaker volume...

I installed Microsoft PowerToys on my main Windows 11 PC and three small utilities—FancyZones, Peek, and Advanced Paste—immediately removed a disproportionate amount of daily friction: custom window layouts that behaved how I wanted, a fast file preview without opening heavyweight apps, and...

PowerToys Workspaces delivers on a simple but powerful promise: save an entire desktop state — the apps you use, the order you open them in, and where each window sits — then restore that state with a single click or shortcut. For anyone who docks and undocks a laptop, juggles multiple monitors...

Microsoft has quietly shipped PowerToys v0.96.1 — a compact, stability-focused patch that doesn’t introduce new modules but does deliver a welcome fix for Windows 10 users and a handful of targeted repairs across the suite’s AI and utility components. Background PowerToys has evolved from a...

Microsoft has quietly issued a small but meaningful patch — PowerToys version 0.96.1 — that restores the beloved Image Resizer to Windows 10 users and irons out several critical stability and AI-integration wrinkles introduced in the preceding 0.96 milestone. Background / Overview PowerToys has...

Microsoft has quietly issued a small but meaningful patch to PowerToys — moving the app from 0.96.0 to v0.96.1 — that primarily restores a broken shell integration on Windows 10 and applies a handful of targeted fixes to Advanced Paste, Foundry Local model support, and the Awake utility. The...

Microsoft’s PowerToys team has quietly teased what may be the most practical single addition to the suite in years: a native monitor-control utility — shown as PowerDisplay (also referred to in community threads as Power Monitor) — that promises per‑monitor brightness, contrast, color...

Microsoft’s PowerToys is preparing what may be the most practical single addition to the suite in years: a native monitor-control module (variously called PowerDisplay or Power Monitor) that promises per‑monitor brightness, contrast, color‑temperature and even volume controls from a system‑tray...

Microsoft’s PowerToys appears poised to solve one of the most stubborn annoyances of multi‑monitor life: the need to squint behind your display and jab tiny OSD buttons just to dim a monitor, change color temperature, or lower built‑in speaker volume. A new PowerToys module — circulating under...

Microsoft shipped what it calls a small bug-fix update to PowerToys — identified in some reports as 0.96.1 — that aims to restore a previously broken module on Windows 10 and address a handful of regressions in Awake and Advanced Paste, while leaving the larger 0.96 feature set intact. The...

Resizing a photo in Windows’ built‑in Photos app is a two‑click habit once you know where the controls live — and for many everyday tasks (email attachments, blog images, quick social posts) Photos now covers everything you need without installing extra software. This deep dive explains the...

Microsoft’s PowerToys appears to be preparing a native monitor-control module that puts common external-display settings — brightness, contrast, color temperature and even speaker volume — directly inside PowerToys’ settings and flyouts, potentially ending the need to hunt through clumsy...

I used to disable nearly every program that tries to launch with Windows, but two third‑party tools quietly earned permanent spots in my startup list because they solve real pain points the moment the desktop appears: DisplayFusion for multi‑monitor reliability and PowerToys for a grab‑bag of...