Microsoft PowerToys

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Microsoft PowerToys is a set of programs provided by Microsoft for the Windows operating system. PowerToys are not integrated into Windows since they are released after the public release of a Windows operating system. They are also not under technical support because they do not undergo the same rigorous testing that the operating system components do.

Windows 95 PowerToys

This was the first version of Microsoft PowerToys and included many tools for advanced users. One of the best known ones is TweakUI - a tool that is used to customize the user interface and advanced settings in Windows. It does this by modifying the registry. A total of 15 "PowerToys" were included in this package. They include:

  • CabView - To open cabinet files like ordinary folders
  • CDAutoPlay - To make AutoPlay work on any non-audio CD
  • Command Prompt Here - To start a command prompt from any folder in Windows Explorer by right-clicking
  • Contents Menu - To access folders and files from a context menu without having to open their folders
  • Desktop Menu- To open items on the desktop from a menu on the Taskbar
  • Explore From Here - To open Windows Explorer view from any folder such that that folder acts as the root level folder
  • FindX - To add drag-and-drop capabilities to Find (now called Search) menu
  • FlexiCD - To play an audio CD from the Taskbar.
  • Quick Res - To quickly change the screen resolution
  • Round Clock - An analog round clock without a square window
  • Send To X - Shell extensions which add several commonly accessed locations such as clipboard, desktop, command-line or any folder to the Send To context menu in Explorer
  • Shortcut Target Menu - To determine and directly access the properties for the target file to which a shortcut is pointing from the context menu
  • Telephony Location Selector - For mobile computer users to change their dialing location from the Taskbar
  • Tweak UI - To customize the user interface, including menu speed, window animation and other settings
  • Xmouse 1.2 - To make the window focus follow the mouse without requiring to click the window to make it active

The Windows 95 Power Toys set was developed by the Windows Shell Development Team.

Windows 95 Kernel Toys

After the huge success of the Windows 95 PowerToys, the Microsoft Windows Kernel Development Team released a set of tools for power users called Windows 95 Kernel Toys. Six tools were included in this package, including a Windows Task Manager-like application called WinTop, and a utility called Keyboard Remap, which allowed the user to reassign functions to keys on the keyboard. The kernel toys include:

  • MS-DOS Mode Configuration Wizard Customization Tool - To configure Windows startup files without having to manually edit CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT files
  • Keyboard Remap - To reassign functions to keys on the keyboard
  • Logo Key Control - To configure MS-DOS games so that Windows will ignore the Windows logo key while the game is running
  • Conventional Memory Tracker - To unwrap the memory used by the "vmm32" program
  • Windows Process Watcher (WinTop) - To watch how much of CPU resources are taken by individual programs
  • Time Zone Editor - To create and edit time zone entries for the Date/Time Control Panel applet

PowerToys for Windows XP editions

This is the second version of the PowerToys set, and is a major change from the Windows 95 version. The tools are now included in separate downloads rather than in a single compressed executable file, and many tools that were distributed with Windows 95 PowerToys are no longer part of Windows XP's PowerToys as some functionality of the Windows 95 PowerToys has been incorporated into later versions of Windows, such as the ability to treat .CAB files like ordinary folders.

In all, the following tools have been released as Windows XP PowerToys. Some of them have been later retired and are no longer available.

  • Alt-Tab Replacement Task Switcher - Replaces the simpler Alt-Tab switcher with a more visual one which shows live window previews.
  • Background Switcher - Adds a slideshow tab to Display properties and allows automatically changing the desktop wallpaper periodically.
  • CD Slideshow Generator - Generates a slideshow from photos burned to a CD.
  • ClearType Tuner - Allows customizing ClearType settings to make it easier to read text on the screen.
  • Color Control Panel Applet - Allows managing color profiles, changing color profile associations for devices, viewing detailed properties for color profiles (including a 3D rendering of the color space gamut).
  • HTML Slideshow Wizard - Generates an HTML slideshow presentation.
  • Image Resizer (Photo Toys) - Allows right-clicking on multiple image files inside Windows Explorer to batch resize them.
  • Internet Explorer Find Bar - Adds a toolbar similar to the Find on this page function in Internet Explorer.
  • ISO Image Burner - Burns ISO images to a CD burner.
  • Open Command Window Here - Allows starting a command prompt from any folder in Windows Explorer by right-clicking.
  • Powertoy Calculator - Calculator with support for functions, conversions and graphing.
  • RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer - Provides thumbnails, previews, printing, and metadata display for RAW images from within Windows Explorer.
  • Shell Audio Player - A Windows Media Player-based compact player which allows playing music from the taskbar.
  • Super-Fast User Switcher - Allows Fast User Switching using the Windows key+Q combination without requiring to switch even to the logon screen.
  • SyncToy - Allows synchronizing files and folders.
  • Taskbar Magnifier - Magnifies part of the screen from the taskbar.
  • Tweak UI - Allows customizing Windows XP's user interface and advanced settings.
  • Virtual Desktop Manager - Allows switching between four virtual desktops from the taskbar.
  • Webcam Timershot - Takes pictures at specified time intervals from a webcam.

Some of the Windows XP PowerToys, namely, Background Switcher, Internet Explorer Find Bar, ISO Image Burner, Shell Audio Player and Super-Fast User Switcher have since been retired. Shell Audio Player only worked with Windows Media Player 9 Series, while ISO Image Burner was a third-party PowerToy and an updated version is available as ISO Recorder. Background Switcher is available in an updated form as part of the Creativity Fun Pack. [1] Video screensaver, another PowerToy released as part of the PowerToys Fun Pack is available here.

PowerToys for other Microsoft products

Microsoft has also released PowerToys for Windows XP Tablet PC Edition and Windows XP Media Center Edition. They are available here and here respectively. As part of the Windows Media Player Bonus Pack, another set of PowerToys for Windows Media Player was released. Some of them are incompatible with the latest version of the player. Finally, Microsoft has also released PowerToys for Windows Mobile [2], Visual Studio and Microsoft Office OneNote 2003.

Microsoft also regularly releases PowerToys for various development products.

External links

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