Microsoft’s PowerToys 0.93 delivered a much-needed Settings dashboard overhaul and major Command Palette performance wins, but the suite still lacks a unified Settings search—and community work tracked on GitHub plus Microsoft’s own roadmap notes indicate a settings search bar is targeted for the next update (v0.94), a change that would materially improve discoverability and day‑to‑day productivity for power users. (github.com, devblogs.microsoft.com)
PowerToys began life as a grab-bag of small, expert‑focused utilities and over the modern revival has grown into a polished, open‑source toolkit for Windows power users. The recent v0.93 release concentrated on two parallel themes: usability (a Windows 11‑style, card‑based dashboard) and engineering efficiency (Ahead‑of‑Time compilation and other runtime optimizations for Command Palette). Those changes are visible in the official release notes and Microsoft’s engineering blog. (github.com, devblogs.microsoft.com)
PowerToys today is a modular collection of dozens of tools—ranging from FancyZones and PowerRename to Color Picker, Peek, Text Extractor, and Command Palette—that users enable or disable independently. Coverage and documentation list roughly the same set of utilities, although press outlets sometimes paraphrase the exact count; PowerToys’ scope continues to shift as the team adds, retires, or consolidates modules. (learn.microsoft.com)
Windows 11’s Settings app has a strong, centralized search that can understand natural phrasing and deep‑link you to the right page; PowerToys lacks that same convenience. Users report spending time hunting for controls, and contributors have repeatedly created GitHub issues asking that a search box be added. (learn.microsoft.com, github.com)
A community PR referenced in reporting (and discussed on GitHub) carried a label indicating it’s “In for 0.94” in some conversations; however, a single, merged, release‑guaranteeing PR implementing a production‑ready search bar has not been conclusively located in publicly merged PR lists at the time of reporting. That means the feature is planned and likely to land soon, but the exact implementation, timeline, and UX details remain provisional. Treat any timeline statements as tentative until the v0.94 release notes are published. (neowin.net, github.com)
The key benefits will be faster discoverability, fewer clicks, and lower cognitive load for power users. The risk is the usual one with usability shortcuts: convenience must be balanced with manageability and security, particularly in enterprise deployments. Microsoft’s documentation, release notes, and GitHub threads show the team is aware of these trade‑offs and is planning the work—yet the final UI and release timing remain contingent on continued development and QA. (github.com, devblogs.microsoft.com)
Source: Neowin PowerToys is missing an important feature and a future update might finally fix it
Background
PowerToys began life as a grab-bag of small, expert‑focused utilities and over the modern revival has grown into a polished, open‑source toolkit for Windows power users. The recent v0.93 release concentrated on two parallel themes: usability (a Windows 11‑style, card‑based dashboard) and engineering efficiency (Ahead‑of‑Time compilation and other runtime optimizations for Command Palette). Those changes are visible in the official release notes and Microsoft’s engineering blog. (github.com, devblogs.microsoft.com)PowerToys today is a modular collection of dozens of tools—ranging from FancyZones and PowerRename to Color Picker, Peek, Text Extractor, and Command Palette—that users enable or disable independently. Coverage and documentation list roughly the same set of utilities, although press outlets sometimes paraphrase the exact count; PowerToys’ scope continues to shift as the team adds, retires, or consolidates modules. (learn.microsoft.com)
What changed in v0.93 (short summary)
- Dashboard redesign: v0.93 replaces the older module list with a card‑based home screen that surfaces quick actions, toggles, and a shortcuts overview—built to feel more like Windows 11 Settings. This addresses the repeated user complaint that the old Settings UI was hard to scan. (github.com)
- Command Palette (performance): The Command Palette saw AOT compilation and other engineering work that the team says reduced installation size by roughly 55%, startup memory by ~15%, and load times by ~40% in their internal benchmarks. The team also fixed numerous UX and accessibility issues. (github.com)
- Feature and QA investment: The release bundled many module improvements, accessibility fixes, and an expanded automated UI test pipeline—an explicit sign that the project is shifting from rapid prototyping to product‑grade stability. (devblogs.microsoft.com)
The missing piece: a Settings search
Why search matters in PowerToys
The more modular a toolkit becomes, the more important discoverability is. PowerToys now exposes many toggles and nested pages; for routine tasks—turning FancyZones features on, finding a Keyboard Manager shortcut, or locating a Command Palette extension setting—scrolling through a long settings tree is inefficient.Windows 11’s Settings app has a strong, centralized search that can understand natural phrasing and deep‑link you to the right page; PowerToys lacks that same convenience. Users report spending time hunting for controls, and contributors have repeatedly created GitHub issues asking that a search box be added. (learn.microsoft.com, github.com)
What’s coming (and what’s confirmed)
Microsoft’s PowerToys team explicitly listed “improvements for searching your Settings” on the project roadmap for the 0.94 milestone, and there are multiple GitHub issues and community pull requests tracking different approaches. The combination of the team roadmap note and active issue threads makes it clear this is a planned effort—but the precise UI and behavior are still in flux. (devblogs.microsoft.com, github.com)A community PR referenced in reporting (and discussed on GitHub) carried a label indicating it’s “In for 0.94” in some conversations; however, a single, merged, release‑guaranteeing PR implementing a production‑ready search bar has not been conclusively located in publicly merged PR lists at the time of reporting. That means the feature is planned and likely to land soon, but the exact implementation, timeline, and UX details remain provisional. Treat any timeline statements as tentative until the v0.94 release notes are published. (neowin.net, github.com)
How a Settings search could work — realistic expectations
Design conversations and issue commentary on GitHub suggest several approaches; practical implementations will likely combine elements from multiple proposals.- A top-level search box on the Settings dashboard that filters modules, pages, and short descriptions as you type.
- Result types: module cards, specific settings, quick actions (e.g., “Open FancyZones editor”), and deep links that open the exact page or even highlight the target toggle.
- Inline toggles for common boolean settings in search results — enabling and disabling without navigating to a settings page (discussed but not guaranteed).
- Keyboard navigation and accessibility behavior compatible with screen readers and high‑contrast modes.
- Potential tie‑ins with Command Palette so you can both search and control PowerToys from the launcher. Issues already exist that propose adding PowerToys module pages to the Command Palette search index. (github.com)
Why this matters for regular and advanced users
- Faster configuration: A single search box shaves minutes off routine tasks—especially for administrators or power users who manage many machines and replicate settings.
- Lower onboarding friction: New users discover modules more easily and are more likely to enable useful features when they can find them quickly.
- Fewer support tickets: Easier discovery reduces simple “where is the setting?” support queries in forums and enterprise IT desks.
- Better automation and deep‑linking: If deep links are exposed, organizations can document and script configuration workflows more reliably.
Potential design and operational risks
A centrally searchable settings experience is an obvious win, but it brings trade‑offs and potential risks that the product team and sysadmins must consider.1) Accidental misconfiguration and access control
If search results allow inline toggling of settings, it becomes trivially easy to change behavior quickly. That’s convenient—but in managed environments, it could bypass auditing or IT policies if not paired with proper Group Policy and device management controls. PowerToys already ships Group Policy templates for locking modules; any new search UI must integrate with those controls to avoid creating a backdoor to configuration drift. (github.com)2) UX ambiguity: toggles in results vs. deep link behavior
Designs that surface inline controls reduce clicks but risk confusing users about where the setting lives. The product should clearly show whether a toggle in the result is a shortcut or a surrogate for a deeper configuration panel, and it should preserve discoverability (i.e., let users jump to the full settings page if they want more detail).3) Performance and startup costs
PowerToys has been emphasizing runtime and install optimizations (AOT, lazy initialization) in 0.93. A naive settings search that eagerly indexes every module and loads all localized strings on startup could erode those gains. The ideal implementation will lazy‑fetch or incremental index as pages are visited. GitHub discussions show contributors are already mindful of initialization costs and race conditions. (github.com)4) Accessibility and localization
Search must work for screen readers and localized UI. The team fixed several accessibility issues in the Command Palette and is iterating in Settings; this search feature will need the same level of attention. Accessibility regressions are an easy way to alienate users who depend on assistive tech. (github.com)5) Security concerns for AI‑enabled modules
PowerToys has introduced AI‑adjacent features (Advanced Paste with optional OpenAI model configuration). Any search indexing or deep‑linking must avoid exposing or shipping sensitive data in search results (like API keys or user tokens) and must maintain safe defaults. The project’s PR review discussions show maintainers are cautious here. (github.com)Developer and community angle: open source makes this faster — and messier
PowerToys is open‑source and accepts community PRs and issue reports, which accelerates iteration but adds procedural complexity.- Community contributors have created extensions and plugins for Command Palette (the successor to PowerToys Run) and proposed adding Settings pages as searchable items there. That path could provide an interim discoverability improvement even before a dedicated settings search makes it into the main Settings UI. (learn.microsoft.com, github.com)
- The team leverages GitHub milestones and PR labels (e.g., “In for 0.94”) to coordinate releases. Public development makes intentions visible but does not guarantee timelines—features can be merged, iterated in later releases, or split across multiple versions. The development cadence is fast, but users should treat milestone labels as plans, not guarantees. (devblogs.microsoft.com, github.com)
- Community contributions expand functionality quickly, but they require careful maintainership: code quality, security reviews, localization, and accessibility checks all need to be part of the merge criteria.
Practical recommendations for users today
- Update to the latest stable release (v0.93) to benefit from the dashboard improvements and Command Palette performance gains. These are shipped and documented. (github.com)
- Use PowerToys Run / Command Palette as a quick workaround: it can find and deep‑link to Windows settings pages and perform many quick actions today. The Command Palette is actively being extended to cover more items and plugins. (learn.microsoft.com)
- For administrators: continue to control module availability via Group Policy templates and PowerToys’ configuration exports; expect to test the new search UI in a small pilot before broad rollout to managed fleets. (github.com)
- Track the PowerToys GitHub releases page and project milestones for authoritative v0.94 release notes before assuming dates or exact features. The project has public changelogs with detailed metrics and fixes. (github.com)
How to follow progress and contribute
- The most direct way to track the feature is the PowerToys GitHub repository: search issues for “settings search” or watch v0.94‑milestone PRs and discussions. Public threads show the design rationale and concrete technical constraints being debated. (github.com)
- Community contributors can propose enhancements or test pre‑release builds. Because PowerToys is open source, carefully crafted PRs that respect the project’s testing, accessibility, and security guidelines have a reasonable chance of being accepted—if they align with the maintainers’ goals.
Verdict — what this change will actually mean
PowerToys v0.93 was a meaningful maturity step: better onboarding, faster Command Palette performance, and improved testing infrastructure. Adding a Settings search in v0.94 would be a sensible next step that aligns with the project’s trajectory from toolkit to day‑to‑day productivity platform.The key benefits will be faster discoverability, fewer clicks, and lower cognitive load for power users. The risk is the usual one with usability shortcuts: convenience must be balanced with manageability and security, particularly in enterprise deployments. Microsoft’s documentation, release notes, and GitHub threads show the team is aware of these trade‑offs and is planning the work—yet the final UI and release timing remain contingent on continued development and QA. (github.com, devblogs.microsoft.com)
Closing thoughts
A searchable Settings experience is one of those incremental improvements that feels small in a changelog but moves the needle for daily workflows. Given PowerToys’ open‑source model, rapid release cadence, and the project team’s explicit 0.94 goal to improve Settings searchability, it’s reasonable to expect a usable solution soon. However, the exact UX details, the presence of inline toggles in results, and the rollout date should be considered provisional until the v0.94 release notes are published and the corresponding PRs are merged. Until then, Command Palette and existing deep links remain the fastest ways to find and act on PowerToys functionality. (learn.microsoft.com, github.com)Source: Neowin PowerToys is missing an important feature and a future update might finally fix it
