Microsoft Power Toys Review

Hi this is Ghogrider from iTLover0.

 

Today, I am going to review an application that is similar with goodlock on android. The application's name is Power Toys. I am a Windows 10 user and I have only used Windows all my life. However, the thing I evied most about Mac is their search bar/spotlight. Power Toys allows you to use those functions on Windows. It is like Goodlock on Android, but on Windows. They both allow you to use additional functions.

Before I start the review, I would like to show you how to download it. First, search power toys on google(or other search engine you use). Then click on the Microsoft official website. If you click on it, a screen pops up with a short description of the Power Toys and there is a button that says Install Power Toys. Then it moves to you another page. Then you will find a Install Power Toys button again. Click it again. Then, it will send you to a GitHub page. Scroll down then you will find a thing that says PowerToyssetup.exe. Click it then the download will start. The version I'm reviewing is v0.41.4 (The photos are from v0.35.0). We will add and update this post if new functions and features are added.

 

Lets go into the review now.

Firstly, its the Color Picker. As you can predict by the name, it is a feature that picks the color for you. If you click a shortcut key(its shown in the power toys), a bar appears next to your mouse cursor and the color and the code of the screen where your mouse cursor is at is shown at the bar. It is a function that we mostly see when you use photo shop. For example, when you see a beautiful photo and you want to know the color of it and the code for it so you can use it later, you can use the Color Picker and know it right away. To be honest, its not really useful for normal people like me, but it is going to be pretty useful for people who really need it. I would rate 7/10.

 

Next is the Fancy Zones. People who use GoodLock or Windows 11 would probably be familiar with this feature. It is the split screen feature. If it is a phone, then it is putting up two or more apps on your phone at the same time. Fancy Zones makes you split the screen into 3. If you press a certain key and drag the app, a blue layout pops up and makes you decide which side you want to put the screen to. I would probably give it a 9 out of 10. I really really really like this feature but you can't decide the layout so you have to do it only as middle screen focus. It is still my favorite feature.

Fancy Zones usage example

Thirdly, it is File Explorer add-ons. This feature is pretty simple. You go into file explorer. Then you click on view and click preview pane. This makes you able to see previews of files. This is going to be useful when you can't open a lot of files simulatneously or when you want to figure out what file it is when you forget it. I would like to give it a 6.5/10. I don't really think it is going to be useful because most of the time it takes really no time to open a file but it is going to be useful in some situation.

 

Fourth is the Image Resizer. This allows you to resize image file. If the image is too big or it is not fit, or when it is too heavy and you can't send it, then you can use this feature. Just right click on the file(s) then you will find Image Resizer. Click on it and you can change it's size. You can decide how much pixels you are going to make it have. I would give 8/10 because it is pretty useful.

 

Fifth is Keyboard Manager. It helps you to change the keys for your keyboard. This means that you can customize your keys. For example, for people who moved from Mac to Windows, They aren't used to using ctrl instead of command key. So, they can use Keyboard Manager. I would give it 7/10. Most people wont need it but some people would take it really helpful.

 

Sixth is Power Rename. You can use it when you accidently change a massive amount of file's name or when you want to change their names and make some refreshment. Select the files then right click. Then you will find a thing that says Power Rename. Then, you can change the files' names that are in common. For example lets say you saved files as gmae1, gmae2, gmae3,.... when you wanted to name it game1, game2, game3,.... Then, you can just change it using Power Rename and tell it to change gmae into game. I would like to give it a 5.5/10. I don't think we are ever going to use it because it would be faster if you just change it by yourself unless it is a huge amount of file. And you won't make mistakes for a lot of amount of files. However, it can still be useful.

 

Seventh is PowerToys Run. This is the feature I said was like Mac. When I first saw this, I didn't believe we can use this on Windows. It was a real dream feature. If you press a specifical key, a search bar appears and you can go to websites and applications right away from that search bar. It is way better than normal Windows search bar. I would like to give it a 9/10. I really really really like it but it can't calculate exchange rate like Mac does and it can't search up things right away to google. Except for that, it is also really good.

PowerToys Run (The feature also in Mac)

Lastly, it is Shortcut Guide. It is a feature that tells you what commands you can do. If you press the Windows key for more than 1 second, a screen appears that tells what keys to press to do a Windows key-related commands. I would like to give it 8/10. I was able to know some commands I didn't know. It is going to be pretty useful for new Windows users.

 

That was the review of Power toys. One thing I didn't write on the main content was that you have to Run it as administrator (it won't open if you don't). Also, try downloading it again if it says the file is undetectable. It could be because a new version is out. Its been a few months since I downloaded it and I didn't use it a lot but it has been pretty useful. Especially the Fancy Zones. I thought it would be very useful for people who really needs it. Try it out and tell me your experiences in the comments. That is the end of our post. Thank you for reading such a long post, and I will see you next time! Bye!