Microsoft released a new version of its open source tools collection PowerToys for Windows. PowerToys 0.68 is a big new release that introduces two new utilities to PowerToys, which brings the total number of tools that it supports to 18.
The latest version of PowerToys is available on GitHub. It supports Windows 10 and 11 devices and installers are provided for 64-bit and ARM architectures. Most PowerToys installations should receive the update automatically, thanks to the built-in updating functionality of the application.
The growing number of tools has boosted the file size of the collection. It is now a 169 megabyte download for x64 devices. Microsoft did cut the installer to 83 megabytes back when it released PowerToys 0.63, but the collection has grown since then again.
Paste unformatted text
Paste Unformatted Text is a helper tool that is enabled by default. When Windows users copy text, formatting is usually included in the copy. Depending on where the text is pasted, the formatting may be pasted along with it, which may not always be wanted.
Some programs and applications support plain text pasting already; this is often done with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Shift-V. Most web browsers support the shortcut.
The PowerToys tool adds system-wide paste as plain text support. It introduces a new keyboard shortcut, Windows-Ctrl-V, to paste clipboard data as plain text into applications. Any formatting is removed in the clipboard when the keyboard shortcut is invoked on the Windows device.
Mouse Jump
The second new feature is disabled by default. It has been added to the mouse utilities, which already support mouse finding and mouse highlighting options.
Mouse Jump enables users to move the mouse cursor quickly across multiple screens or a single screen.
To make use of it, PowerToys users need to flip the Mouse Jump preference under Mouse Utilities in the PowerToys configuration window. Once done, the may use the feature anytime through the keyboard shortcut Windows-Shift-D.
When invoked, PowerToys displays a screenshot of the entire screen in a smaller format on the desktop. A click on any location there moves the mouse to that location. This works similarly with multiple screens connected to a PC.
Other improvements in PowerToys 0.68
PowerToys 0.68 features other improvements, including smaller feature additions, bug fixes and the like.
Here is a short overview of the highlights:
- PowerToys Run Calculator plugin supports log2 and log10 now. Also shows Steam open shortcuts now in the Program plugin.
- New GPO policies for automatic update downloads and toast notifications.
- Run command supports MSC and CPL files.
- FanzyZone crash fix.
- Hosts file editor hosts loading improved.
Closing Words
PowerToys is a big collection of utilities for Windows that seems to grow with every release. Windows users who need only a single tool may want to check if a leaner alternative is available.
PlainPaste is such a tool. It supports plain text pasting, and is dedicated to that task. It is much smaller and faster as a consequence. Not all PowerToys tools may be replaced though.
Now You: do you use PowerToys?
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