Microsoft PowerToys might sound like a game, but it is a Windows utility that helps simplify common tasks. It is available as a free download and it gets frequent updates. The last major update arrived in a few days back and it includes several new features. We recently spoke about PowerToys when we showed you how to manage windows on a high-resolution monitor using the FancyZones feature. Since then, there have been new features added and we’ll show you how you we can use them to simplify your Windows experience.
Getting PowerToys is simple. Head over to the PowerToys GitHub page and download the binaries for your OS. You can disable features in PowerToys over a period, as you discover the ones more useful than the others.
Powertoys Run
PowerToys Run is of the most useful features to be introduced in this update. It’s an important one since it replaces the need for the entire Start menu, something we have always used in WIndows. We typically, access the start button to navigate to the software of our choice. This wastes a lot space, and it’s also slow. PowerToys Run is much faster in its approach. Start it by pressing Alt + Space. You can launch software by typing a part of the name and PowerToys Run will find it. You can even perform specific commands or navigate through the system settings using it. It even lets you do quick calculations like you would on a Calculator. There is a lot of documentation for all the possibilities, but the launching of software alone is enough reason to use it. If you find the Alt + Spacebar shortcut to be odd, you can change the default to a combination of your choice.
Keyboard Manger
The Keyboard Manager is the other interesting application in PowerToys. It lets you override keys and assign new ones to them. This is useful for several reasons. For example, you can now set multimedia buttons such as Volume Up/Down to say, the F11 and F12 keys. You can now easily adjust the volume no matter which application you might be working on without having to access the Volume Control. It can also be useful when you’re trying to remap a new keyboard layout that isn’t supported by Windows. We recently wrote a feature around the Colemak layout where we show you how to double your typing speed by changing your keyboard layout. What makes Keyboard Manager great is that you can even override existing keyboard shortcuts. Shortcuts you might have used to open Windows Explorer can now be used to launch a completely different software. Using Key Manager is simple. Click on Remap a key, or Remap a Shortcut and the interface should help you choose the original key and new key you want to map it to.
Image Resizer
The Image Resizer feature is particularly useful when need to convert a large batch of photos. Simply head over to the folder with the photos. Select the ones that you wish to convert, right-click on them and click Resize Pictures. You will be prompted to choose from one the presets. You can make changes to the presets from the PowerToys Image Resizer interface too. Click OK when you’re ready, and the images will be resized. The resized images will be stored in the same folder as the originals, but with a new name.
You can also have the resized images moved to a new folder. To do this, first select the images to be resized, right-click and drag and drop them into a new folder. You can choose the Resize Images and follow the steps mentioned earlier.
PowerRename
The PowerRename feature lets you rename a batch of files. It could be videos shot during your last outing, or a large batch of downloaded documents or songs. PowerRename works in the Explorer window just like the Image Resizer feature. Simply select all the files you wish to rename. Right click and click on Power Rename. Several options will be made available here. You can search for a specific pattern in the file names and enter a new pattern. You can use regular expressions and wild cards as well to simplify things. There are more detailed instructions on the PowerToys page.
FancyZones
FancyZones is a window management tool that lets you set spaces on your desktop. You can then drag and drop windows into them or assign spaces where you want applications to spawn. This is great if you use high-resolution monitors and TVs. It helps enhance productivity by reducing the number of times you need to switch between windows. We recently wrote a feature on how to use FancyZones, which we recommend checking out.
Preview Panes and Shortcut Guide
Some of the other features are not as impressive but they can be useful for users who aren’t used to Windosw’ keyboard shortcuts. The Shortcut Guide feature for example, shows up all the available shortcuts for their current state of program when you hold down the Windows key. This is an easy way to train yourself on how to use keyboard shortcuts rather than using the mouse to navigate around Windows. The other interesting PowerToys feature is called Preview Panes. The tool lets users preview contents of more file formats right inside Windows Explorer. It’s useful because you no longer need to load heavy software just to preview a small file.
We’ve only scraped the surface as far as explaining what PowerToys can do. There are many more benefits, which should be obvious as you use it on a regular basis. We suggest using PowerToys for a couple of weeks before deciding on which features suit you the most. The others can be disabled by unchecking the checkboxes on PowerToys. To learn more new cool tips and tricks, keep checking out RelianceDigital.in.
