Microsoft PowerToys
52 comments
·September 10, 2025xnx
antisthenes
Don't forget SysInternals for the more technical tasks/tools.
xnx
SysInternals is great (though improvements to taskmgr and resmon have closed some of the gap).
SysInternals is also wild in encouraging running an .exe directly from the web via Sysinternals Live.
ics
If only Microsoft could make it part of Windows by default instead of those lucky users who discover what PowerToys needing to submit their request to corporate IT and enduring either incredulity or dumb jokes about the naming.
Gatekeeping as "power user features" is silly, it's 2025 and many of these features have been built-in on other operating systems for a decade or more.
xnx
True, but one of the reasons that PowerToys can innovate and iterate so freely is not being tied to mainline Windows and all the enterprise and backward compatibility baggage that comes with.
pfooti
It is a little annoying that I had to install this in order to remap the capslock key on my laptop to a control key. That's all I use from powertoys, but I guess I'm glad it is at least feasible.
AnonC
One annoying thing (among others) I realized after upgrading to Windows 11 recently is the ability to position the taskbar on the right or left is gone. Microsoft and its all knowing Windows 11 team decided that having the taskbar anywhere except at the bottom doesn’t work well and removed this positioning feature that has existed for decades.
I doubt that PowerToys would add a feature for this, but it’d be cool if it happened.
crims0n
Agreed. Possibly controversial opinion but in my mind, on widescreen displays, it makes good sense to have the taskbar to the left or right.
hnuser123456
For that, use ExplorerPatcher: https://github.com/valinet/ExplorerPatcher
ThrowawayTestr
Windhawk has a plug-in to fix this I'm pretty sure.
cryzinger
FancyZones is a must-have if you use an ultrawide monitor! I set mine up with two zones, where one takes up about 1/3 of the screen and the other takes up about 2/3.
jphoward
Are you me? Exact same! The problem with dual monitors is either you're sat in front of the gap, or you need to pivot. This way you get a 'normal' monitor and a portrait section to the side, much better.
dinfinity
The obvious solution is going triple monitor:
One 32" 3840x2160 landscape and two 25" 2560x1440 portrait monitors is perfect for me.
flutas
I have a pretty odd grid setup myself for a 55" TV monitor. Best part is holding shift and being able to snap a window to multiple zones. Let's me have a grid with tons of smaller zones that are useful for various apps when I need tiny windows and large ones when I don't.
Mattwmaster58
I've found splitting up my ultrawide into 6x2 cells, then you can use Ctrl+Shift to select every cell your mouse enters additively. I've wanted something like this for linux for a long time but haven't found anything.
orphea
I set up three zones and a huge highlight distance between them. I can drag a window between zones and it resizes to those two zones combined. This way I can have three 1:1:1 windows or two 2:1 or 1:2 windows with the same single layout!
ddejohn
I use 12 columns so I can still do this 1/3 - 2/3 split, but other proportions as well. I tend to have a chat app on the left quarter, browser in the middle half, and a music app on the right quarter. Lots more freedom than only two zones!
cataflam
Amazing they are still alive and kicking. Started using them with Windows 95 (different specific ones, same general concept)
These and Sysinternals (bought by Microsoft around 2006) were must have when I was still using Windows.
linhns
I think it got revived a few years ago, so not always alive and kicking.
wowczarek
Aaahh, PowerToys - making Windows somewhat usable since 1996.
On a related note, before I'm forced to write my own, does anyone know of a Windows tool that allows keyboard based window navigation? Not the alt-tab faff, I mean like in terminal emulators and terminal multiplexers, I want to use say win-ctrl-arrows to move focus from the current window to the adjacent or overlapping visible window to the left, right etc.
Someone must have done this already...
z_open
Tried it and realized it was gimped compared to the Linux tools it was trying to emulate. Monopolies will always be playing catchup with basic functionalities people have done for free because they make sense.
threeboy
Installed this two days ago for the color picker.
lucasban
The new PowerToys command palette is looking promising as well, still very worthy of the beta label but I like where it’s going
Leftium
I tried it, but I prefer https://keypirinha.com
I use Raycast on MacOS, a Windows version is coming: https://www.raycast.com/windows
dole
Command Palette is the Mac/Linux style app picker that's nice and bloated and does what hitting the Windows key and Start Menu search should've done in 98SE. I've got it bound to Win+Shift+Space but it's laggy and dumb enough (doesn't learn what I'm always searching for and running??) to where I don't bother. My money's still on it eventually replacing the Windows key binding.
linhns
It’s the best tool in the suite and I’d say Microsoft take it out and make it a single application sooner or later.
zparky
I can't believe I've never seen this before - I was scrolling through the list of tools and almost every one of them is something I've either wished I had or went out of my way to download some software. Thanks!
gadders
Powertoys has had some weird bugs over the years:
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/issues/410
I can't find it now, but I think it also used to crash outlook if you put mailto: links in emails.
0xml
Better if it allowed single-tool installs instead of the whole suite.
PowerToys is one of the best things about Windows: useful, free, and regularly updated. It was great to see it come back in 2019.