PowerToys 0.80 is another release of the famous app suite developer by Microsoft. It is a major update to the software that brings with it a number of new features. The Peek, a tool that supports quickly previewing the files from within the Explorer, can now handle WebP and WebM formats. Also, you can now use winget to install PowerToys preconfigured. It now supports an ultimate set of options for desired state configuration, that you can use to specify what feature to enable or disable in each and every tool, along with base installer options.
🔽 You can download PowerToys from the Microsoft Store or GitHub. The winget -s msstore powertoys command will also install the app suite on your Windows 11 PC.
WebP/WebM support in PowerToys Peek
Peek is one of the recent additions to PowerToys. It opens a frameless window with the image preview when you press a hotkey (Shift + Space by default) on the selected image This works independently from your current file associations and doesn't change them.
Starting in PowerToys 0.80, you can use Peek to view WebP and WebM images. But that's not all.
From now on, Peek can also preview audio files!
Desired State Configuration support
Desired State Configuration (DSC) enables a PowerShell script to define the setup of the machine using a clear and straightforward declarative model, making it easy to manage and comprehend. It plays an important role in configuring, managing, and upkeep of Windows devices.
Since version 0.80, the PowerToys installer has been released on GitHub with Microsoft.PowerToys.Configure DSC resource that allows you to configure PowerToys using a Winget configuration file.
This page comes with a detailed list of parameters that will help you to create a winget config to create a fine-grain-tuned installation of PowerToys.
Other changes and fixes
General
- Added a Quick Access entry to access the flyout from PowerToys' tray icon right click menu. Thanks @pekvasnovsky!
- Added support for Desired State Configuration in PowerToys, allowing the use of winget configure to configure many settings.
Awake
- Fix an issue causing the "Keep screen on" option to disable after Awake deactivated itself.
Color Picker
- Fixed a UI issue causing the color picker modal to hide part of the color bar. Thanks @TheChilledBuffalo!
Command Not Found
- Now tries to find a preview version of PowerShell if no stable version is found.
FancyZones
- Fixed a crash loading the editor when there's a layout with an empty name in the configuration file.
- Refactored layout internal data structures and common code to allow for automated testing.
- The pressing of the shift key is now detected through raw input to fix an issue causing the shift key to be locked for some users.
File Explorer add-ons
- Fixed a crash occurring in the Monaco previewer when a file being previewed isn't found by the code behind.
- Fixed an issue in the Markdown previewer adding a leading space to code blocks. Thanks @Aaron-Junker!
- Fixed wrong location and scaling of preview results on screens with different DPIs.
- Added better clean up code to thumbnail handlers to prevent locking files.
File Locksmith
- Allow multiple lines to wrap when viewing the modal with selected file paths. Thanks @sanidhyas3s!
Installer
- Fixed the final directory name of the PowerToys Run VSCode Workspaces plugin in the installation directory to match the plugin name. Thanks @zetaloop!
- Used more generic names for the bootstrap steps, so that "Installing PowerToys" is not shown when uninstalling.
Keyboard Manager
- Fixed an issue that would clear out KBM mappings when certain numpad keys were used as the second key of a chord.
- Added a comment in localization files so that translators won't translate "Text" as "SMS".
Peek
- Added support to .WebP/.WebM files in the image/video previewer. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
- Added support for audio files. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
- Fixed an issue causing the open file button in the title bar to be un-clickable. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
- Fixed an issue when previewing a folder with a dot in the name that caused Peek to try to preview it as a file. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
PowerToys Run
- Added a setting to the Windows Search plugin to exclude files and patterns from the results. Thanks @HydroH!
- Fixed an issue showing thumbnails caused by a hash collision between similar images.
- Added the "checkbox and multiline text box" additional property type for plugins and improved multiline text handling. Thanks @htcfreek!
Quick Accent
- Added the Schwa character to the Italian character set. Thanks @damantioworks!
Registry Preview
- Allow alternative valid names for the root keys. Thanks @e-t-l!
- Fixed an issue causing many pick file windows to be opened simultaneously. Thanks @randyrants!
Screen Ruler
- Updated the measure icons for clarity. Thanks @Aaron-Junker and @niels9001!
Shortcut Guide
- Updated the Emoji shortcut that is shown to the new Windows key + period (.) hotkey.
Text Extractor
- Fixed issues creating the extract layout on certain monitor configurations.
Video Conference Mute
- Added enable/disable telemetry to get usage data.
Settings
- Added locks to some terms (like the name of some utilities) so that they aren't localized.
- Fixed some shortcuts not being shown properly in the Flyout and Dashboard. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
- Updated image for Color Picker and outdated animations for utilities in OOBE. Thanks @niels9001!
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