What you need to know
- PowerToys version 0.25.0 is rolling out today.
- The update mostly focuses on fixes, including the first pass of localization in 17 languages.
- The PowerToys video conferencing utility is set to hit version 0.26 experimental next week.
- You can download PowerToys from its GitHub page now.
Microsoft rolled out a fresh update for its PowerToys suite of utilities today, bringing it to version number 0.25.0. There isn't a ton of new stuff to check out in this release, as it's mostly focused on bug fixes. It does, however, mark the completion of the first pass of localization in 17 languages.
More pertinent is that PowerToys' new video conferencing utility is expected to launch next week with the experimental version 0.26. "We need additional work done here to ship this out," Microsoft said in the release notes for today's update. It will be 0.26 Experimental and will be 0.25 + The video conference utility."
The video conference utility will be another handy addition to a growing lineup of tools that make it easier to get work done in Windows. It gives you access global keybinds that will mute your camera feed and mic in conference calls, no matter where they're taking place. One command will mute both at once, while there are also separate commands to mute one or the other.
In terms of what's new today, here's a look at the release notes for PowerToys version 0.25.0:
General
- First pass on localization complete. 17 different languages. We know there will be some rough areas, please make us aware so we can correct them.
- Logging added into the installer
- Large sums of accessibility issues fixed.
- Less notifications for installing
- FxCop work is almost fully wrapped up
Color Picker
- Additional color style selections such as CYMK and HSL
FancyZones
- Multiple bugs fixed
- Better zone drawing improvements
Keyboard manager
- Fixed terminal input map failure
- Better app compat
- Multiple bug fixes
- Ability to directly disable keys/shortcuts
PowerToys Run
- expanded environment var searching such as %windr%
- multiple crash bug fixes
- Improvements on calculator plugin
- Directly able to override theming
- Windows will open to what shell you want
- Better action key support
- = for direct calculator
- ? for direct file searching
- . for direct for applications
- // for direct URL
- < for running processes
- > for shell processes
Dev docs
- Added multiple developer related docs.
PowerToys makes it easier and faster to do common tasks in Windows with a set of dedicated utilities for different purposes. There are things like a tool to batch-rename files, one to easily resize images, and another that lets you create dedicated zones on your desktop for apps. For more, check out our hands-on with PowerToys for Windows 10 Otherwise, PowerToys is available to download from GitHub.
