Windows 11 is considered the most advanced operating system released by Microsoft, but it cannot be considered a complete toolkit with only basic features. To activate additional features beyond the basic Windows, you must install an application called ‘<a href="http://www.world-today-news.com/microsoft-powertoys-gets-a-useful-function-to-locate-the-mouse-pointer-office-at-mundoinsider/" title="Microsoft PowerToys gets a useful function to locate the mouse pointer – Office at MundoInsider”>Microsoft PowerToys‘. Power toys provide very useful features that can help you perform many tasks more easily.
ⓒ Jon Martindale / Foundry
Power Toy’s popular features include Image Rezise (right-click to adjust image size), Keyboard Manager (remap certain keys to other keys), Text Extractor (copy text from image), Peek (file You may already be familiar with things like Preview a file in Explorer) or Screen Ruler (which measures pixels on the screen).
However, Power Toys also has many other useful, less well-known features. Introducing this.
What is Microsoft Power Toy?
ⓒ Jon Martindale / Foundry
Microsoft Power Toys is a collection of utilities that improve the basic Windows environment, providing various shortcuts and functions to increase productivity and make work a little easier.
In the past, you had to download the Power Toy installation file directly from GitHub, but now you can download it directly from the Microsoft Store. If you are a user who frequently uses the command line, you can also install it through the Windows Package Manager. Go to the Power Toy page in the Microsoft Store, click ‘Install’, and proceed with installation. Once installation is complete, most features are enabled by default. Features that you do not want to use can be disabled in the Power Toy dashboard.
Now, let’s take a look at some useful, but somewhat lesser-known power toy features.
Advanced Paste
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When copying text from the web or Microsoft Word, formatting is often copied along with it. already Ctrl+Shift+V You probably know that you can paste as unformatted text using shortcut keys.
Microsoft Power Toy’s Advanced Paste feature goes one step further. This feature allows you to paste not only unformatted text, but also Markdown or JSON format, and using the OpenAI API key, you can also apply additional formatting using AI. Advanced Paste also provides a clipboard history showing previously copied items.
To use this feature Windows key+Shift+VJust press to select the desired paste option. Alternatively, you can open the advanced paste option in Power Toy settings and change it to a more intuitive shortcut.
always stay on top
Have you ever wanted to keep a certain window visible at all times, but had the inconvenience of having it disappear because it was covered by another window? The ‘Always On Top’ feature allows you to always pin a specific window to the top. After selecting the window you want to pin, Windows key+Ctrl+TWhen you press , a blue border will appear in the window. This means that it is fixed at the top level. You can deactivate it by repeating the same command, and if you apply it to another window, the previous window will be unpinned.
color picker
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Color Picker is a simple tool that lets you quickly extract the color of a specific pixel on your screen. It works like a color extraction tool in a photo editing app like Photoshop, but you can use it at any time. Windows key+Shift+CAfter pressing , hover the mouse cursor over the desired pixel and click to display the HEX, RGB, and HSL codes of that color on the dashboard. Other color codes, such as CMYK, can additionally be displayed.
Fancy Zone
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Windows 11 has a Snap Layouts feature that allows you to quickly arrange the screen into various layouts. However, if your existing layout is limited, FancyZones may help. Windows key + Shift + backtick (`) or tilde (~) You can press a key and select the desired configuration method. You can also design your own window layout configuration by clicking ‘Create a new layout’.
File Explorer add-ons
Windows 11’s File Explorer allows you to preview images and some document types through the preview window without opening the app. Power Toys allows you to preview a wider variety of file formats. By default, the File Explorer add-on supports previewing source code formats such as SVG files, Markdown files, C++, JSON, Python, and XML. In addition, PDF file preview is supported, so you can view it in a preview window and as a thumbnail.
find my mouse
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Have you ever found yourself shaking your mouse to find the cursor position? This can be especially inconvenient in environments where multiple monitors are used, and it is even more frustrating when the PC is frozen. Simply activate Power Toy’s ‘Find My Mouse’ function. Ctrl twice You can highlight the cursor by pressing it. If you always want to find your cursor easier, Windows key+Alt+PYou can activate the mouse pointer crosshair function by pressing .
Power Rename
When you have photo or video files piled up with numerous common file names, renaming them one by one can be a hassle. You can easily solve this problem using PowerRename. After selecting all the files you want to rename, Right-click while holding down the Shift keyOpen the expanded context menu and select ‘Rename with PowerRename’. Enter the text you want to change in the file name, enter the replacement text, and click ‘Apply’.
Power Toy Run
Have you ever felt like Windows Search isn’t optimized for running apps? PowerToys Run offers better search capabilities and is available immediately once activated. Alt+SpacebarBy pressing , you can run the desired app quickly and effectively. It works similarly to the Spotlight feature in macOS. Power Toy Run understands search terms much better. For example, if you try to find the ‘Fan Control’ app in Windows Search, Bing results are displayed first, but Power Toy Run immediately finds the app even if you search for ‘FanControl’ without spaces.
Shortcut Guide
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Windows 11 has a lot of useful shortcuts to make your workflow and PC experience faster, but it’s not easy to remember them all. Power Toy’s Shortcut Guide makes it easy to find them. Windows key+Shift+Slash (/)When you press , a list of shortcut keys appears on the screen. Pressing the Windows key and the number or letter displayed on the screen executes the corresponding command.
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