Microsoft has released version 0.57.0 of PowerToys. The PowerToys are a collection of small programs for power users. There were PowerToys for Windows 95 and Windows XP and since mid-2019 Microsoft has also been developing a version for Windows 10 and higher. The PowerToys currently consist of wake† Color Picker† FancyZones† File Explorer Add-ons† Image Resizer† Keyboard Manager† PowerRename† PowerToys Run† Shortcut Guide and the Video Conference Mute† The changelog for this release shows the following changes and improvements:
Highlights
- PowerToys Run quality pass. Old standing issues were re-evaluated and fixed.
- Additional features and improvements were added to existing PowerToys Run plugins.
- New plugin for time and date values/information in PowerToys Run.
- the PowerToys Run documentation is also receiving a required update.
- We’re registering svgs as a picture kind when SVG Thumbnails are enabled so they appear when searching for pictures in File Explorer.
- We’ve disabled PDF preview by default, given its incompatibilities with Outlook and that Edge is now being registered for previewing PDF files on Windows 10 too.
- From a coding quality point of view, every project now has code analyzer active.
- A double click on the tray icon is needed instead of single click to open settings.
Always on Top
- New sound for Always on Top activation.
wake
- Fixes for the system tray icon.
- Temporary duration presets are now configurable.
- Fix for an issue causing Awake to not be closed properly.
ColorPicker
- It’s now possible to delete multiple colors from history and also export them to a file.
- The CIEXYZ format has increased precision.
- Performance improved by reducing the use of low level keyboard hooks.
FancyZones
- Fixed a bug where the same layout applied with different configurations to different screens would reset to a single configuration. (This was a hotfix for 0.56)
- When snapping windows with rounded corners on Windows 11, set the correct corner preferences to avoid gaps between zones.
- Fix for canvas layout resetting due to resolution changes.
file explorer
- Additional markdown file extensions added for Markdown Preview.
- Svgs are now registered as a picture kind on Windows.
- Added a text wrapping setting and copy context menu to dev file preview.
- Pdf file preview and thumbnails are now disabled by default, due to incompatibility with Outlook and an appropriate warning is shown in Settings.
mouse utility
- Find my mouse has a new setting to specify a minimum distance for activation. (This was a hotfix for 0.56)
- Fix for the bug causing the task bar to be hidden behind other windows when a mouse utility was active.
- Fix for the bug causing shortcuts set on icons to not activate when a mouse utility was active.
- Fixed a slight offset in Mouse Pointer Crosshairs when it’s configured with an odd thickness.
PowerToys Run
- New plugin for time and date values/information.
- WindowWalker now has a tooltip, additional features like killing the process and closing the window, additional settings and improvements.
- Unit converter now accepts additional ways of writing feet and gallon. Also interprets as either imperial or US gallons depending on current culture.
- Unit converter now accepts meter for meter.
- Localization for Web Search and Unit Converter (not including units) has been enabled.
- Localization for Windows Terminal has been enabled. (This was a hotfix for 0.56)
- Calculator now tries to always interpret the dot (.) symbol as a decimal separator, despite configured culture, to meet expectations.
- Calculator now handles trailing zeroes on hexadecimal numbers correctly.
- System commands plugin can now show the local ip and mac addresses.
- Folder plugin has improved results, with improved tooltips.
- Windows settings plugin has added entries for Screen Saver and Connect Wiring Display Panel.
- Plugins can now show descriptions for their configurations in settings.
- Fix for the focus issue when calling PowerToys Run for the first time after login and after returning from some windows.
- Fix for a bug on Program when creating a shortcut.
- Validated that upgrading to .net framework 6 fixed the error appearing when shutting down the system with PowerToys Run running.
Video conference mute
- Newly added microphones are now updated and tracked by VCM.
Settings
- What’s new button in the bottom with a new look, with a couple more UI tweaks.
- Fixed a bug causing Settings not to open when a racing condition caused Keyboard Manager settings to not be read correctly.
- To open settings from the tray icon a double click is needed instead of a single click.
- Fix for a bug which would cause checking for updates to run indefinitely.
- When auto-updating, pass a flag to avoid restarting without being prompted.
Installer
- Dependencies installers are now executed with /norestart to avoid unprompted restarts. (This was a hot fix for 0.56).
- Upgraded .net framework dependency to 6.0.3.
- Installer logs are now saved where they can be collected and sent by the bug report tool.
- Reverted changes to start with proper elevation and when installed under a different user since those changes ended up causing more issues where PowerToys would start running with the wrong user.
Development
- OOBE code refactor to have all module information in XAML, like in Settings.
- Every project now has analyzers turned on and warnings fixed.
- New patterns added for code spell-checking and stale entries removed.
- Additional logging has been added to Fancy Zones and PowerToys Run.
- A new CI release build will not be triggered if all that was changed was just documentation.
- Fixed a racing condition causing flaky build errors when building PowerRename.
- Centralization of common csproj/vcxproj settings underway.
| Version number | 0.57.0 |
| Release status | Final |
| Operating systems | Windows 10, Windows 11 |
| Website | Microsoft |
| Download | |
| License type | GPL |