PowerToys for
Windows 95 was the first version of Microsoft PowerToys and included 15 tools for power users. It included
Tweak UI, a system utility for tweaking the more obscure settings in Windows. In most cases, Tweak UI exposed settings that were otherwise only accessible by directly modifying
Windows Registry.[4]
Included components
The following PowerToys for
Windows 95 were available:[5]
CabView opened
cabinet files like ordinary folders;
Command Prompt Here allowed the user to start a command prompt from any folder in
Windows Explorer by right-clicking (native in
Windows Vista onwards);
Contents Menu allowed users to access folders and files from a
context menu without having to open their folders;
Desktop Menu allowed users to open items on the desktop from a menu on the
Taskbar;
Explore From Here enabled users to open
Windows Explorer view from any folder such so that the folder acts as the root level folder;
FindX added drag-and-drop capabilities to Find (later called
Search) menu;
FlexiCD allowed users to play an
audio CD from the Taskbar;
Round Clock added an analog round clock without a square window;
Send To X consisted of Shell extensions which added several commonly accessed locations such as
clipboard,
desktop,
command-line or any folder to the Send To context menu in
Explorer;
Shortcut Target Menu allowed users to access the target file a
shortcut is pointing to from the context menu or directly cut, copy, delete the target, create
shortcut to the target or view its properties;
Telephony Location Selector allowed
mobile computer users to change their dialling location from the
Taskbar;
TweakUI allowed the user to customize the more obscure settings of the operating system's
UI;
Xmouse 1.2 made the
window focus follow the
mouse without requiring to click the
window to make it active.
PowerToys for
Windows 95 were developed by the
Windows Shell Development Team. Some of the tools work on later versions of
Windows up to
Windows XP, but others may interfere with newer built-in features on
Windows 98,
ME, and
XP.[6]
Windows 95 Kernel Toys
After the success of the
Windows 95 PowerToys, the Windows
Kernel Development Team released another set of tools for power users called Windows 95 Kernel Toys.[7]
MS-DOS Mode Configuration Wizard Customization Tool allowed users to configure Windows startup files without having to manually edit
CONFIG.SYS or
AUTOEXEC.BAT;
Keyboard Remap reassigned functions to keys on the keyboard;
Logo Key Control configured MS-DOS games so that Windows would ignore the
Windows logo key while games were running;
Conventional Memory Tracker to track and break down the amount of memory being allocated by virtual device drivers;
Windows Process Watcher (WinTop) monitored how much of
CPU resources were taken by individual programs;
Time Zone Editor enabled the user to create and edit time zone entries for the Date/Time
Control Panel applet.
PowerToys for
Windows XP was the second version of the PowerToys set and brought major changes from the
Windows 95 version. The tools in this set were available as separate downloads rather than in a single package.
Alt-Tab Replacement Task Switcher replaced the simpler Alt-Tab switcher with a more visual one which shows live window previews.
CD Slide Show Generator generated a
slideshow from photos burned to a
CD.
ClearType Tuner allowed customizing
ClearType settings to make it easier to read text on the screen.
Color Control Panel Applet allowed managing
color profiles, changing color profile associations for devices, viewing detailed properties for color profiles (including a 3D rendering of the
color spacegamut).
HTML Slide Show Wizard generated an
HTML slideshow presentation.
Image Resizer allowed right-clicking on multiple image files inside
Windows Explorer to batch resize them.
Open Command Window Here allowed starting a command prompt from any folder in
Windows Explorer by right-clicking.
Power Calculator was a more advanced graphical calculator application than the
built-in Windows Calculator; it could evaluate more complex expressions, draw a Cartesian or polar
graph of a function or convert units of measurements. Power Calculator could store and reuse pre-defined functions, of any
arity. For example, a function could be set by cube(x) = x * x * x, and later it could be used in an expression like 5 + cube(4).[11] It did not evaluate every time an operator was entered. Rather, the entire expression must be entered for calculation. In the Numeric mode, it presented a visual keypad, in all other modes the expression had to be typed in. A scrolling text area maintained a history of all calculations. The advanced view allowed declaring and graphing functions, along with a list of all the saved functions. A flyout window provided the option of choosing either a Cartesian co-ordinate system or polar co-ordinates. It could also save a list of variables for use in expression. Unit conversions of the following types were supported: length, mass, time, velocity, and temperature. PowerToy Calc had support for typing calculations using
Reverse Polish Notation (RPN). It could calculate up to 500 precision levels beyond the decimal point and supported
complex numbers.[12]
RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer provided thumbnails, previews, printing, and
metadata display for
RAW images from within
Windows Explorer.
Virtual Desktop Manager allowed switching between four
virtual desktops from the taskbar.
Webcam Timershot took pictures at specified time intervals from a
webcam.
Discontinued components
The following PowerToys for Windows XP were discontinued:[10]
Background Switcher added a slideshow tab to Display properties and allows automatically changing the
desktop wallpaper periodically. Although, Background Switcher is retired, a replacement, Wallpaper Changer, is available from Microsoft.[13]
Internet Explorer Find Bar added a toolbar to Internet Explorer that allowed users to search for keywords in a web page. This feature is natively supported by
Internet Explorer 8.[14]
Shell Audio Player was a
Windows Media Player-based compact player which allows playing music from the taskbar.
Super-Fast User Switcher allowed
Fast User Switching or logging on to a different account using the
Windows key+Q combination without requiring to switch to the logon screen.
Windows 10 received PowerToys four years after its release. On May 8, 2019, Microsoft relaunched PowerToys and made them open-source on
GitHub.[20] The first preview release was available in September 2019, which included FancyZones and the Windows key shortcut guide.[21]
Included components
PowerToys for Windows 10 comes with the following utilities:[22]
Always On Top adds the ability to quickly pin windows on top of all other windows with a quick keyboard shortcut.[23]
PowerToys Awake adds an ability to keep a computer awake without managing its power & sleep settings.[24]
Color Picker adds a tool for color identification (in
HEX,
RGB,
CMYK,
HSL and HSV, among others).[25]
FancyZones adds a window manager that makes it easier for users to create and use complex window layouts.[26]
File Explorer (Preview Panes) adds
SVG,
Markdown and
PDF previews to File Explorer.[27]
File Locksmith adds the ability to check which files are in use and by which processes.[28]
Host File Editor adds the ability to edit the 'Hosts' file in a convenient way.[28]
Image Resizer adds a context menu to
File Explorer for resizing images.[29]
Keyboard Manager adds options for remapping keys and shortcuts.[30]
Mouse utilities adds tools that enhance mouse and cursor functionality on Windows. Currently, the collection consists of Find My Mouse, which focuses on the cursor's position; Mouse Highlighter, which indicates mouse clicks on the screen; and Mouse pointer Crosshairs, which displays
crosshairs centered on the mouse pointer[31]
Mouse Without Borders adds a tool which allows a user to move their cursor across multiple devices.[32]
Paste as Plain Text adds a customizable keyboard shortcut to paste text stripped of text formatting.[33]
PowerToys Run adds a
Spotlight-like tool that allows users to search for folders, files, applications, and other items.[28]
Quick Accent adds the ability to type accented characters in an alternative way.[28]
Registry Preview adds a tool to preview, compare and edit registry file contents before writing to the
Windows Registry.[35]
Screen Ruler adds the ability to measure pixel distances on-screen with
image edge detection.[28]
Shortcut Guide adds a full screen overlay that allows the user to view the
windows key shortcuts available in the current window.[26]
Text Extractor adds the ability to copy text from anywhere on your screen.[28]
Video Conference Mute adds tools to disable/enable the camera and microphone.[36]
Compatibility with Windows Vista, 7, and 8
PowerToys did not receive any releases supporting
Windows Vista. Making equivalent calls to various
Windows APIs were still possible though and enabling third-party applications to be implemented with the same, or a subset, of the original functionality. Additionally, among
Windows 7,
Windows 8 and
Windows 8.1, none received official support.[citation needed] Not accounting for time spent developing
Windows Vista, PowerToys was not updated for over 12 years, before being re-released as
open source software for
Windows 10.
A set of PowerToys for
Windows Media Player was released as part of the Windows Media Player Bonus Pack (for Windows XP), consisting of five tools to "provide a variety of enhancements to Windows Media Player."[39][40]
^"Internet Explorer 8: Features (Section: Better Find on Page)". Internet Explorer 8 web site. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2010. Internet Explorer 8 includes a redesigned Find On Page toolbar, which is activated by pressing Ctrl-F or choosing Find On Page from the Edit menu or Search box drop-down.
^"Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools". Microsoft Corporation. 28 April 2003. Retrieved 14 April 2010. Cdburn.exe: ISO CD-ROM Burner Tool [~snip] Dvdburn.exe: ISO DVD Burner Tool