Microsoft releases PowerToys v0.49 with new mouse utility and UI updates

A new release cycle has started for the PowerToys collection of utilities. Kicking off with PowerToys v0.49, Microsoft promises that this and the upcoming batch of releases include "exciting new updates".

And things get off to a great start with the arrival of not only the Video Conference Mute tool in the stable build, but also a brand-new utility -- Find My Mouse. There are also numerous fixes and improvements as a well as a UI update for PowerRename.

See also:

• Microsoft is rolling out the new Windows 11 store app to some Windows 10 users
• WSATools makes it ridiculously easy to sideload Android apps in Windows 11
• Microsoft is using KB5005463 update to push PC Health Check app and encourage upgrades from Windows 10 to Windows 11

For now, there is only one mouse-related utility available in the form of Find My Mouse, but there is the promise of more features that will "enhance mouse and cursor functionality on Windows". The first tool makes it easy to locate your mouser cursor, with the idea being that it will be of particular value to people with large, high-resolution displays and also for low-vision users.

In the documentation for the tool, Microsoft says:

Double press the left ctrl key to activate a spotlight that focuses on the cursor's position. Click the mouse or press the esc key to dismiss it. If you move the mouse while the spotlight is active, the spotlight will dismiss on its own shortly after the mouse stops moving.

Here is the impressively lengthy changelog for PowerToys v0.49:

General

• Find My Mouse utility added! Utilize the functionality to quickly locate the cursor on your displays! Learn more on our Mouse Utility docs.
• Accessibility and minor UI improvements to the settings page. Thanks @niels9001!
• Added deep links to the Settings menus for various utilities within their respective editors. Thanks @niels9001!
• Settings improvements to improve clarity for various options. Thanks @niels9001!
• Improved settings window to adjust size and position as needed when multi-monitor conditions change. Thanks @davidegiacometti!

PowerToys Awake

• Screen reader improvements for accessibility.

Color Picker

• Color Picker's HEX format was changed to remove the # character. Thanks @niels9001!
• Accessibility improvements for screen reader and UI to distinguish colors from the border when matching. Thanks @niels9001!

FancyZones

• Fixed Color Picker and OOBE windows from being snapped by FancyZones. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
• Fixed regression with layouts not being changed via shortcuts.
• Fixed crashing issue with FancyZones editor.
• Fixed zone layouts resetting after screen locking.
• Accessibility improvements for screen reader in editor.

Keyboard Manager

• Fixed crashing issue when the editor is opened at high zoom on 4k monitors.

PowerRename

• New UI update! We hope you enjoy the modern experience and take advantage of new tool-tips to describe common regular expressions and text/file formatting. Thanks to @niels9001 for all the support on this redesign!

PowerToys Run

• Windows Terminal Plugin added. Open shells through Windows Terminal via _ activation command by default. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
• Added environment variables to Folder plugin search. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
• Fixed certain schemas that were overwritten with HTTPS. Thanks @franky920920!
• Fixed issue with program plugin getting caught in infinite loops as certain file paths are recursively searched.

Video Conference Mute

• VCM added to stable releases of PowerToys!

If you already have a version of PowerToys installed, you can grab the latest version by using the built-in update checker. Otherwise, you can download PowerToys v0.49 here.