Thanks to Scott Hanselman’s post “Scott Hanselman’s 2021 Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List for Windows” I discovered a package of free utilities supplied directly by Microsoft called PowerToys, which are perfectly integrated into Windows 10. In the post you can also find other very useful utilities, both for those who use Windows for personal use, those for office and professional use, and also for developers.
To install them just go to the page of the Microsoft site and follow the instructions, which in practice refer to the Github page with the latest version (release) to download.
Now let’s see which utilities are included in the PowerToys package:
- Color picker: allows you to read the color (provided in various formats) of the pixel of the mouse pointer. Indispensable for anyone working in graphics or websites.
- FancyZones: allows you to divide the screen into different zones, configurable, where then the windows can be “put” in a very simple way, simply by holding down the “shift” key (the upper case) and releasing the window/program in the zone desired. Very comfortable.
- File explorer: integrates previews for files in .svg and .md format (Markdown)
- Image resizer: indispensable extension of the contextual menu that allows you to resize an image in no time.
- Keyboard manager: allows you to configure key combinations for both Windows and specific programs.
- Power rename: a “lifesaver” for when you need to rename a lot of files. Fanstastic.
- PowerToys Run: allows you to launch programs without having to go through the start menu, but the combination ALT + Space is enough.
- Shortcut guide: holding down the “Windows” key displays all the shortcuts for launching programs or special functions. Very convenient for learning the hot keys of the most convenient functions.
Some images that make more than a thousand words:
