Microsoft Power Toys
A tool called "Hidden Windows Tools" that is open-source and developed by Microsoft can be used to enhance the Windows experience by unlocking additional functions.
Microsoft PowerToys is a set of utilities for power users to tune and streamline their Windows experience for greater productivity.
For more info on PowerToys overviews and how to use the utilities, or any other tools and resources for Windows development environments, head over to learn.microsoft.com!
- GitHub
What New Tools Do You Get?
A lot at least for me. While Microsoft did amazing documentation about their Power Toys, here are some utilities that saved me time & money.
PowerToys Awake
If you want to avoid the frustration of your PC restarting or shutting down unexpectedly, I highly recommend checking out PowerToys Awake.
This open-source tool from Microsoft makes it easy to keep your computer on without having to fuss with power and sleep settings.
Give it a try and experience the benefits of a more stable, reliable computing environment.
How To Activate it?
1. Download Power Toys (you need basic understating about the platform GitHub)
2. Install it & open the settings
3. Go to the Awake Tab (Conveniently marked with a coffee cap)
4. Expand the new Under Mode and select your desired operating state
Color Picker
Yeah, my reaction was the same... 😲 Windows has a color picker.
If you installed the Power Toys then just press Win+Shift+C.
And walla, now you don't need 3rd party solutions or go to shady websites to extract the colors from images/contact.
File Explorer add-ons
The "Preview Pane" tool included in the PowerToys suite is truly a game-changer.
With this handy add-on, you can preview files without having to open them, making it easy to quickly view images and Microsoft Office documents without the need for additional software.
Although some file types, such as .md and .xml, are not supported, this tool is still incredibly useful for anyone who frequently uses these file types.
Overall, the Preview Pane is a must-have for anyone looking to enhance their Windows experience.
Image Resizer
With this tool, you don't need to go to carpy websites that beg you to subscribe for full HD images.
How To Use it?
1. Find a small image
2. Right click & find the option labeled "Resize Pictures"
PowerRename
Bulk Rename Files, you can search & rename files and it's based on SmartRename which is a tool that I have been using to bulk rename files.
How To Use it?
1. Find a folder with items that need bulk renaming
2. Ctrl+A
3. Right Click and find the option labeled PowerRename
All Rights Are Reserved To Microsoft
The Best Part about this is, You can undo all changes and it has a nice modern UI, this has a lot of other features here's the full list
Text Extractor
Who Knew that windows had a text extractor, it's based on an open-source project called Text-Grab.
it's as simple as its sounds...
In Microsoft Power Toys they call it the Text Extractor, after installing Power Toys simply press ⊞ Win+Shift+T you'll see an overlay on the screen.
Click and hold your primary mouse button and drag to activate your capture.
The text will be saved to your clipboard.
While using it Most of the times it gets the text right, unless it's a corked font or small letters (size 5 and below)
also, it's very handy because it supports all installed languages on your pc, so you are not limited to English only.
Text Extractor can only recognize languages that have the OCR language pack installed. - Microsoft
The list can be obtained via PowerShell by running the following commands:
[Windows.Media.Ocr.OcrEngine, Windows.Foundation, ContentType = WindowsRuntime]
[Windows.Media.Ocr.OcrEngine]::AvailableRecognizerLanguages