Loyal users of Microsoft Windows will remember the great importance of the famous PowerToys in environments such as Windows 95 and Windows XP . However, those who did not get to use these versions of the Microsoft operating system, may not know very well what these tools are and what they are for. If you are one of them, we are going to show below what Microsoft Powertoys are , how we can download them and what we can do with them in Windows 10.
What are Microsoft PowerToys
It is a collection of applications provided by Microsoft itself for the Windows operating system. Applications that are not integrated into the operating system itself, that is, they do not come pre-installed with Windows, and which also do not have specific technical support since they are not subjected to the same tests as the rest of the system components.
In short, it is a set of free applications or programs developed to add certain functionalities to the Windows operating system and aimed at advanced users, with which they can make the most of the Microsoft operating system.
A little history
The origin of this famous collection of tools leads us to the version of Windows 95. The first version included 15 programs for advanced users of this version of the Microsoft operating system:
- CabView: As its name suggests, it provides a tool that allows us easy access to view and retrieve files from a CAB file as if it were a directory or folder.
- CDAutoPlay: Allows you to extend the automatic playback function to CDs that would not normally start automatically.
- TweakUI: Allows you to customize and configure certain aspects of the system that Windows itself does not allow, unless we make certain changes in the system registry.
- Command Prompt Here: Option that allows us to open a command prompt window located in the current folder.
- Contents Menu: Allows you to access files and subdirectories within a folder without having to open it.
- Desktop Menu: Offers the ability to open items on the desktop from a menu through the task bar.
- Explore From Here: Similar to the command menu option, this utility allows you to open Windows Explorer in a specific location.
- FindX: Adds drag and drop capability to the Find menu.
- FlexiCD: Allows you to control our audio CD from the task bar.
- Quick Res: Provides the ability to quickly and easily change the screen resolution.
- Round Clock: It is basically the Windows 3.x clock, but the difference is that instead of showing the analog clock, it is shown in round and hand format.
- Send To X: Add various options to the Send To submenu in the browser’s context menu.
- Shortcut Target Menu: Right-clicking on the desktop shortcut icons adds a Target option with its own submenu to provide the ability to go directly to the file the shortcut points to quickly. It also offers the options to delete said file or view its properties.
- Telephony Location Selector: A feature designed for Windows 95 laptop users to allow them to use their modem in various locations.
- Xmouse 1.2: Allows you to focus on different windows with the mouse pointer itself without having to click on them.
The second version of PowerToys came out for Windows XP and brought some changes from the initial version for Windows 95. The applications in this suite were available as separate downloads rather than being a single package, and the following utilities were included:
- Alt-Tab Replacement Task Switcher: It offers the possibility of changing the functionality that Windows offers us when pressing the Alt + TAB keys, to show, in addition to the icon, an image of the open application.
- CD Slide Show Generator: Allows you to record a CDRom with a slide show from digital images.
- ClearType Tuner: Makes it easier to read the text on the screen.
- Color Control Panel Applet: Enables detailed color settings geared toward photography professionals.
- HTML Slide Show Wizard: It incorporates an assistant for the presentation and its subsequent upload to the web of presentations from photos in HTML format.
- Image Resizer: Allows you to change the size of one or more images through an option that is integrated in the context menu.
- Open Command Windows Here: Add to the contextual menu the option Open command window here in system file folders.
- Power Calculator: Add a powerful calculator capable of interpreting graphs and making different types of conversions.
- Raw Image Thumbnailer and Viewer: As its name suggests, it is an image viewer in RAW format.
- SyncToy: It is a tool for synchronizing folders on the system.
- Taskbar Magnifier: Allows you to add a toolbar to the taskbar with a screen magnification.
- Custom Tweak UI for Windows XP: Interface to access system settings that do not appear in the default system interface.
- Virtual Desktop Manager: Utility that allows us to manage up to four desktops from the taskbar.
- Webcam Timershot: Allows you to take photos at a certain time from our webcam.
The latest version arrives this year, more than four years after the first version of Windows 10 was released.
Microsoft PowerToys for Windows 10
After the launch of Windows 10 in July 2015, we had to wait until the beginning of September of this same year 2019 to see how the first preliminary version of the PowerToys for Windows 10 arrived . Only two utilities are available in this initial release:
- FancyZones: This is a tool that allows us to define a specific area on the desktop where we can drag windows later and will allow us to organize them in a more orderly way. Therefore, we could say that it is a window manager that allows us to organize the applications that we have open in a more organized way and to our liking.
- Shorcut Guide: As its name suggests, it is a tool that offers us a guide to see the keyboard shortcuts that we can use in Windows 10. To do this, all we have to do is hold down the Windows key on our keyboard and we will automatically see how all the shortcuts that we can use appear by combining the Windows key with the rest of the options. Lots of shortcuts or keyboard shortcuts that Windows 10 itself doesn’t natively offer.
- PowerRename: On this occasion, it is a utility that allows you to add to the Microsoft operating system the function that allows you to massively rename files or folders. Once installed, it is integrated into the context menu of Windows 10, so the only thing we will have to do to use it is to click with the right mouse button on any of the files or folders that we want to rename.
- PowerPreview or File Explorer (Preview Panes) : Allows access to a new panel within the file explorer that shows us a preview of Markdown (.md) and SVG (.svg) files.Check out Creative Fabrica for this incredible free svg converter
- Image Resizer : this is an extension for the Windows 10 context menu that adds the Resize Images option. We can use it with one or more selected images. Clicking on this option will open a window to choose the size and offer us other options.
- Window Walker : This application seeks to replace Alt + Tab by means of the combination Ctrl + Windows key with a search engine that allows us to search for content and change windows between the ones we have open.
How to download and install PowerToys for Windows 10
The new PowerToys for Windows 10 focus again on offering additional functionality from Microsoft’s operating system, so if you want to try them or enjoy them on your computer, the first thing to do is download them. To do this, just follow this link to github .
As we can see, this will save an MSI file on our disk that will be the one that acts as the installer. Therefore, all we have to do to install them is double-click on the downloaded MSI file and follow the installation process that the wizard will offer us.
During this process, we can indicate if we want the Windows 10 PowerToys to start at system startup , something quite useful if we are going to make moderate use of them. Otherwise, it will be better that we start them only when we are going to use them.
It is important to know that, although these are three independent tools, the installation file is unique for all of them. In the same way, from a single interface we can manage all of them for greater comfort. In later versions each may be available with a separate installer and its own interface.
