
PowerToys – Windows system utilities to maximize productivity - MikusR
https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys
======
segphault
Really hope that the "full window manager" item leads to good things. Having
proper tiling window management with extensive keyboard control would be so
awesome.

~~~
naikrovek
I got a UHD monitor and when I did, the normal Windows keyboard shortcuts
we're quickly rendered useless. So, with the help of an Internet Guy I have an
AutoHotKey script that makes window management dead easy.

I'll share it if anyone wants it.

~~~
eitland
I guess several people here would be interested.

Back in the days I remember using something I guess from the donationcoder
website, that would allow me to drag windows into "placeholders" on the
screen. I used it to get consistent setups when recording screencasts when I
was a teacher.

(And if anyone needs something to setup widows for screenrecording on Linux
this is the best I've found, thanks to Robert Gamble on stackoverflow:
[https://stackoverflow.com/a/288537/9987](https://stackoverflow.com/a/288537/9987))

~~~
naikrovek
[https://gist.github.com/naikrovek/b13a77d169de0e192bcf48fec0...](https://gist.github.com/naikrovek/b13a77d169de0e192bcf48fec02bc21f)

------
leshokunin
I was thinking about the "preview Windows key shortcuts" just yesterday! So
glad to see it's getting made. I'm been a Windows power user since 3.1, and I
just discovered this week that the programs on my task bar could be launched
with Win+number. I also just started using Win+Tab over Alt+Tab because of the
nice Expose feature. I wonder how many other nice to haves there are that
simply aren't visible.

~~~
eitland
> I wonder how many other nice to haves there are that simply aren't visible.

You might be aware of this already, but if anyone isn't this aware, this
picture from the article has a number of Windows-/Super- key shortcuts that
works already:

[https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/blob/master/WindowsKe...](https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/blob/master/WindowsKeyShortcutGuide.jpg?raw=true)

~~~
BorRagnarok
That is a horrible set of shortcuts. Who uses the Game bar or dictation bar?
Who needs a shortcut for Settings? Are you really opening your settings screen
so often that a shortcut actually improves your efficiency? If so, do you do
actual work on your machine or do you just play with Windows on it. How many
seconds in a day are you going to save with the Settings shortcut, and isn't
that number going negative when counting the time it takes to learn and
remember the short cut?

Who needs a shortcut to Ease of Access settings, or to the narrator? Who needs
Start+, if you already have Start+D?

Start+Ctrl+D opens a new virtual desktop? Despite me never using virtual
desktops? And now I have to learn all about virtual desktops (while I don't
need them) to correct my accidentally pressing the Start button too when I was
typing Ctrl+D. Thanks guys, for making every key-combo some or the other
shortcut for stuff I don't need. My windows experience is quite good but for
the growing fear of accidentally hitting some unknown shortcut and screwing
things up.

Microsoft, please start removing shortcuts that no one needs, you surely must
have all the telemetry data to support my point by now.

~~~
frosted-flakes
> Who needs a shortcut to Ease of Access settings, or to the narrator?

Seriously? Those are probably the most important shortcuts on there. Having a
way to immediately jump to accessibility settings is critical for all of the
people who need those tools when they sit down at an unfamiliar computer, or
even their own computer.

As for all of the others, yes, they should all be there. If you use it,
dictation is something that's done frequently, as is use of the Game Bar (how
else would you call it up during a full screen game?) and virtual desktops.

> Microsoft, please start removing shortcuts that no one needs, you surely
> must have all the telemetry data to support my point by now.

The fact that they haven't removed them should be enough evidence that they
are, in fact, used.

~~~
WorldMaker
Echoing the part that if you use Game Bar, you probably use it frequently.
It's the easiest way to pull up a clock in a fullscreen game without losing
focus from the game. There's also useful things there like screenshot capture,
multi-window volume control, and game mode control (prioritize the game's
threads over background work on the PC; sometimes you do want to
enable/disable it based on if you need a compile to happen in the background
sometime soon or if you want to focus on the best gaming experience you can
get).

(Furthermore, the updates to the Game Bar currently in Xbox Insider Preview
right now add a ton of new useful widgets including things like direct access
to your Xbox Friends list without needing to jump to the Xbox App. It's
becoming an even better PC-world equivalent to the Xbox Guide blades on an
Xbox One. Bringing things closer to what you can do with the Discord or Steam
overlays, but universal across all your games rather than developer or
launcher specific. [Hopefully the widgets will be extensible in the future and
maybe help us move to a world where it can eat those other two overlays; one
overlay to rule them all.])

------
jaden
There's a typo in the title. PoweToys --> PowerToys

~~~
dang
Fixed now. Thanks!

------
Frenum
Regarding Backlog #9, Cmd (or PS) from here has been available with
shift+rclick for quite some time.

------
rich-tea
I was going to say I fondly remember PowerToys on Windows XP, but it looks
like it actually goes back to 95. They were always one of the first things I
installed after a regular reinstallation of Windows.

Later I switched to Linux and realised most of it was already built in or
unnecessary and, needless to say, regular reinstallations are no longer a
thing for me.

