The first version of Microsoft PowerToys made its appearance in Windows 95, and subsequently to Windows XP. The freeware system utilities, which allow power users to customize their Windows, is now back on Windows 10!
The first preview release of PowerToys for Windows 10 is now available for download. This release features two free tools – the FancyZones and Windows key shortcut guide.
FancyZones is a window manager that allows you to easily create window layouts, at which you simply drag-and-drop windows into those layouts. This tool is useful if you want to run multiple applications side-by-side.
You can choose the layout from five ready-made templates or you can set custom zones, from the Zone Editor. Simply hold the Win + tilde (~) hotkey to launch the Zone Editor.
The Windows key shortcut guide displays the available shortcuts in full screen when you hold the Windows key down for more than one second.
The settings can be accessed by clicking on the PowerToys icon from the system tray. In the settings, you shall find toggle switches to help you switch on and off FancyZones and Windows key shortcut guide.
In addition to that, you can configure the individual settings for FancyZones and Shortcut Guide by clicking on the respective options from the left sidebar.
As for now, the PowerToys for Windows 10 has just two tools under its belt. But do expect more utilities to appear in future versions. Additional utilities in the pipeline are:
- Maximize to new desktop widget
- Process terminate tool
- Batch file renamer
- Animated gif screen recorder
Note that Windows 10 version 1803 or later is required in order to run PowerToys.
