How to Use PowerToys on Windows 10

FancyZones is a feature in which you can get more window snapping options. ^[1]

1. 1
   Configure your layout. To do so, press ⊞ Win + ` together. This will open a window in which you can switch between different layouts on your current monitor.
2. 2
   Create a new custom layout. To do so, go to "Custom" and click on "Create new custom". Then, click Edit selected layout . Create zones that your windows can snap to and click Save and apply .
3. 3
   Snap to a zone. To do so, hold the ⇧ Shift key while dragging the window. You should see the layouts that you configured earlier. Release your mouse when it is inside of one of the zones highlighted blue. This will move your window to that zone.
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Image Resizer allows you to bulk resize images in File Explorer. ^[2]

1. 1
   Select a group of images. To do so, drag your mouse cursor in File Explorer.
2. 2
   Right-click. This will open the File Explorer context menu.
3. 3
   Click on "Resize images". A dialog window should appear.
4. 4
   Select the size of your images. You can choose between a variety of sizes. You can also choose a custom size.
5. 5
   Click on Resize . This will create a copy of the images with a different size.
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PowerRename is a tool that allows you to mass rename files more quickly and easily. ^[3]

1. 1
   Select a large group of files. To do so, drag your mouse cursor in File Explorer.
2. 2
   Right-click. This will open the File Explorer context menu.
3. 3
   Click on "Power Rename". A dialog window should appear.
4. 4
   Enter what to find in the filename in the "Find..." field.
5. 5
   Enter what to replace the matched content with in the "Replace..." field.
6. 6
   Configure additional options. You can choose to match by Regex, make Find and Replace case-sensitive, and ignore folders.
7. 7
   Click on Rename . This will start the rename operation.
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PowerToys Run allows for the quick running of applications in a Spotlight-like search environment. ^[4]

1. 1
   Press Alt + Space . This will open PowerToys Run.
2. 2
   Enter a search term. You can search for files, apps, and more. You can even do calculations in PowerToys run.

   Tip : Prefix your query with > to run a PowerShell command.
3. 3
   Select the appropriate term. You can use the arrow keys or click on the appropriate term. This will open the item.
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1. 1
   Relaunch PowerToys as an administrator. This will allow its features to affect windows that are launched as an administrator.
2. 2
   Decide whether to always run PowerToys as an administrator. That way, whenever you launch PowerToys, it will always run in elevated mode.
3. 3
   Change the appearance of the PowerToys settings pane. You can change between light, dark, and system default.
4. 4
   Decide whether to run PowerToys on boot. That way, you can use PowerToys's tools without having to launch it manually.
5. 5
   Check for updates. To do so, click the Check for updates button. If there is an update for PowerToys available, it will install.

   • You can also download updates automatically.
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FancyZones

1. 1
   Decide whether to enable the feature. To do so, click on the toggle at the top of the screen.
2. 2
   Launch the zones editor. This will take you to the same screen as if you pressed ⊞ Win + ` . This will allow you to edit the zones that your windows can snap to.
3. 3
   Change the keyboard shortcut. You can make it so that FancyZones responds to a different keyboard shortcut. Be careful not to have any keybinds conflict with other apps.
4. 4
   Configure additional options. Using the additional options underneath, you can change the behavior of the feature.

   • Hold Shift key to activate zones while dragging - this will require you to hold the Shift key in order to snap to a zone. If this is off, then you do not have to hold the Shift key to snap the window to a zone.
   • Use a non-primary mouse button to toggle zone activation - this will allow you to right-click and drag with your mouse to snap the window to a zone.
   • Override Windows Snap hotkeys (Win + Arrow) to move windows between zones - this will allow you to move a window between zones by using ⊞ Win + ← and ⊞ Win + → .
   • Move windows between zones across all monitors when snapping with (Win + Arrow) - this will allow you to move a window between zones across all monitors with the keyboard shortcuts.
   • Keep windows in their zones when the screen resolution changes - if the resolution of the screen changes, it will not affect the positioning of the windows in their zones.
   • During zone layout changes, windows assigned to a zone will match new size/positions - this will move the windows to their new positions when the zones move.
   • Move newly created windows to their last known zone - make an application window open in the last zone the window was in at the time of closure.
   • Follow mouse cursor instead of focus when launching editor in a multi screen environment - when this is on, the editor will open on the screen where the mouse is located, not the screen that has a window with focus.
   • Show zones on all monitors while dragging a window - this will change it so that you will be able to view zones on all monitors, not just the monitor with focus. This may be performance-intensive when there are multiple monitors and lots of zones.
   • Make dragged window transparent - this will make the window transparent so that you can always see the zones.
5. 5
   Customize the appearance. You can change the opacity of the zones, the color of a zone when it is selected, the color of a zone when it is not selected, and the color of the zone border.
6. 6
   Exclude apps. If you do not want an app snapping to a zone, enter the name of the app. For example, to exclude Google Chrome from FancyZones, type chrome.exe on a single line.
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File Explorer Preview

1. 1
   Enable or disable SVG preview. This will allow you to preview SVG files in the File Explorer preview pane.
2. 2
   Enable or disable Markdown preview. This will allow you to preview Markdown files in the File Explorer preview pane.
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Image Resizer

1. 1
   Decide whether to enable the feature. To do so, click on the toggle at the top of the screen.
2. 2
   Add custom image sizes. You can do so by clicking on "Add size". You can also delete custom sizes as well. You can even name the size.
3. 3
   Configure the encoding settings. You can decide whether to use JPEG encoder, PNG encoder, or a different file format for encoding images. You can also change the quality level, interlacing, and compression.
4. 4
   Customize how files should be renamed. You can use different codes for different file metadata. You can use %1 for the original file, %2 for the size name, %3 and %4 for the selected width and height, and %5 and %6 for the actual width and height.
5. 5
   Decide whether to use "original date modified". This will allow you to use the original date modified metadata instead of the time when you resized the images.
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Keyboard Manager

1. 1
   Decide whether to enable the feature. To do so, click on the toggle at the top of the screen.
2. 2
   Remap keys. To do so, click on Remap a key . From there, you can click the + to create a new remap, and click on the dropdowns to map a key to another key. To delete a remap, click on the trash icon to the right.

   • Click Type key to enter a key by typing it.
   • Click OK to save the changes or Cancel to discard the changes.
3. 3
   Remap keyboard shortcuts. To do so, click on Remap a shortcut . From there, you can click the + to create a new remap, and click on the dropdowns to map a shortcut to another shortcut. To delete a remap, click on the trash icon to the right.

   • Click Type shortcut to enter a shortcut by typing it.
   • Click OK to save the changes or Cancel to discard the changes.
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PowerRename

1. 1
   Decide whether to enable the feature. To do so, click on the toggle at the top of the screen.
2. 2
   Enable the icon in the context menu. This will show the "Power Rename" button when you right-click on a bunch of files.
3. 3
   Decide whether to only show the icon in the extended context menu. This will only show the "Power Rename" button when you hold Shift when right-clicking.
4. 4
   Enable autocomplete. This will automatically predict what you will rename by allowing you to select previously entered values into the Find and Replace field.
5. 5
   Change the number of items visible on a single screen. You can decide to only show more or less items when viewing the preview of the bulk action. You can always scroll to view the rest of the preview.
6. 6
   Decide whether to show the values from last use. This will remember what you entered last time and fill them in the next time you use the PowerRename tool.
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PowerToys Run

1. 1
   Decide whether to enable the feature. To do so, click on the toggle at the top of the screen.
2. 2
   Decide how many results you want visible on one screen when using PowerToys run. You can have more or less results visible on-screen when looking at PowerToys run. You can always scroll to view more.
3. 3
   Change the shortcut for opening PowerToys Run. You can make it so that PowerToys Run responds to a different keyboard shortcut. Be careful not to have any keybinds conflict with other apps.
4. 4
   Choose whether you want PowerToys Run to open in fullscreen mode. If you are playing a game, you may not want to have additional windows to open on accident when in fullscreen, as it will block your game. This toggle will allow you to control that.
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Shortcut Guide

1. 1
   Decide whether to enable the feature. To do so, click on the toggle at the top of the screen.
2. 2
   Change the press duration. This will allow you to hold the Windows key for less or more time to open the shortcut guide.
3. 3
   Change the opacity of the background. This will make the background that the shortcut guide more or less transparent/opaque.
4. 4
   Change the theme of the Shortcut Guide. You can change it between light, dark, and system default.
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