PowerToys

Microsoft's PowerToys collection keeps on going from strength to strength, and there is always great interest in updates as users look forward to exploring what's been added. New releases come fairly swiftly, and today we're given a nice glimpse into the future as one of the developers reveals something currently being worked on.

So what does the crystal ball reveal? There is a new module in the pipeline that will add a new File Actions entry to the Windows 10 and Windows 11 context menu. From here you'll be able to choose from various actions to perform on your selected files, such creating a new folder containing the currently selected file, generating a Checksum, and numerous other options.

The current release cycle of PowerToys sees the development team focusing on "new features, stability and improvements". While a boost to stability and general improvements are always welcome, it's the new features that are of the greatest interest.

And with the release of PowerToys v0.76.0, Microsoft does not disappoint. There are new features aplenty to be found here, with numerous modules benefitting from significant updates -- not least of which is the arrival of new add-ons for File Explorer. But there are also important UI changes across the suite, and a plethora of additions and improvements.

It is always an exciting time when a PowerToys release cycle is described as being "focused on new features, stability and improvements". And the release of PowerToys v0.75.0 does not disappoint.

To start with, there is a new arrival in the form of the Environment Variables module, and there's also a completely new Dashboard home page for Settings. Additionally, there is the usual raft of tweaks and bug fixes as well as a new previewer for the Peek module.

There is always a slight sense of disappointment when Microsoft says that the current release cycle for PowerToys is focused on stability and improvements, as it means there are not going to be any new utilities. This is where we find ourselves at the moment, but the pessimism may be misplaced as PowerToys v0.74.0 is packed with important changes and updates.

Key among them is a major update to the recently added OCR component Text Extractor. In the boost up to Text Extractor 2.0, there are important additions including a new overlay, table mode and more. But this is far from being the end of the story; PowerToys v0.74.0 includes improvements to just about every module.

Kicking off the v0.73 release cycle, which is "focused on new features, stability and improvements", Microsoft has released PowerToys v0.73.0, complete with a new module -- Crop And Lock.

The latest addition to the PowerToys family is described as making it possible to "crop a current application into a smaller window or just create a thumbnail. Focus the target window and press the shortcut to start cropping". This update also includes a number of bug fixes and a range of new features for existing modules.

There can be few tech-heads out there -- particularly if they are readers of BetaNews -- that are not aware of PowerToys. This outrageously useful collection of Windows utilities has an avid following, and each new release is eagerly lapped up as new modules are added.

The latest project for the PowerToys team is to give the app a "new homepage experience". What this means in practice is an update to the app that introduces a central dashboard that provides an overview of which modules are currently enabled, also showing helpful information such as useful keyboard shortcuts for individual utilities.

A PowerToys release cycle focused on stability and improvements may not sound terribly exciting, but with the newly hatched PowerToys v0.72.0 Microsoft has delivered significant updates that you won't want to miss out on.

Although there are no brand-new modules to explore, PowerToys Run has new plugins to work with. There are also a huge number of bug fixes and improvements across pretty much all areas of the utility, and a great new feature for Mouse Highlighter. On top of this, Microsoft has managed to dramatically slash the installation footprint of the PowerToys collections.

It feels as though it has been a while since the last update for PowerToys, but Microsoft has now rectified this. The company has released PowerToys v0.71.0 which sees not only a large number of bug fixes, but also numerous tweaks, improvements and additions.

This is a hugely significant update that adds support for the previewing of archives in the Peek utility, as well as making it possible to use Registry Preview as the default tool for opening .reg files. PowerToys developers have really gone to town with this release; just about every module has been updated and there is an improved look that is more in line with the Windows 11 aesthetic.

It's not long since Microsoft unleashed PowerToys v0.70.0 to an excited userbase, complete with two exciting new utilities. Just a week later, it's time for yet another release.

This time around there are, sadly, no new toys to play with, but that does not mean PowerToys v0.70.1 is not significant. Described as a patch release, it addresses a large number of problems that have been found in the software as well as making various improvements.

Recent updates to PowerToys have seen Microsoft focusing on fixing bugs and improving stability, but with the release of PowerToys v0.70.0, there are two new utilities to play with -- Mouse Without Borders and Peek.

Peek is an impressive tool for previewing files, but it is Mouse Without Borders that is the star of the show. This new module makes it possible to not only control multiple computers with a single mouse and keyboard, but also use a shared clipboard and transfer files between them.

Microsoft has issued a new patch release for PowerToys to fix a range of bugs in the suite of utilities.

The release of PowerToys v0.69.1 comes mere days after the last update which was rather more significant. Just a week ago we were treated to the arrival of a new module in the shape of Registry Preview, and this latest release fixes problems with this and other utilities.

Having just added a registry editing tool to PowerToys, Microsoft is now working on the practically inevitable -- adding ChatGPT support to the utility collection.

This will not take the form of a dedicated new module, rather it will be a plugin. Specifically PowerToys' AI-driven ChatGPT functionality will come courtesy of a PowerToys Run plugin that is currently in development. It is a move that neatly integrates the power of ChatGPT into Windows 10 and Windows 11.

It is a month since Microsoft added Mouse Jump and Paste As Plain Text utilities to PowerToys, and now there is yet another new toy to play with -- Registry Preview.

We first heard about this new registry editing and visualization module last week, and now it has been officially released as part of PowerToys v0.69.0. Microsoft says that the v0.69 release cycle focuses on new features, stability and improvements, and the company gives early notice for v0.70 which is due for release next month.

This year has seen the addition of a veritable smorgasbord of tools to the PowerToys utility collection -- and the pace shows no sign of slowing. Recent arrivals include Mouse Jump and Paste As Plain Text, and next in line is a handy registry utility.

PowerToys developers are currently working on a new tool called Registry Preview. Designed with power users in mind, this upcoming module will make it possible to preview the effects of importing a .reg file into the registry as well as providing registry editing options.

Just last week, Microsoft released PowerToys v0.68.0 complete with not one but two new utilities --  Mouse Jump and Paste As Plain Text.

Now a few days have passed, the company has released a small but important update, taking the collection of utilities up to version v0.68.1. Among the changes are a new default shortcut for Paste As Plain Text to avoid a conflict with Windows 11's new volume mixer.