Microsoft PowerToys is a free and open-source (FOSS) PC program for Windows 11 that offers a wide variety of advanced tools and features that supplement the operating system’s out-of-box capabilities. There are plenty of excellent PowerToys tools available to parse through, including many that I’d love to see become a part of the desktop OS proper one day.
PowerToys is exceptionally useful as a productivity bolsterer, with many of its features targeting advanced workflows and the like. Here are five PowerToys tools in particular that I rely on daily to help get my work done as efficiently as possible. Each of these tools is indispensable to my workflow, and each is natively available within the PowerToys application itself.
PowerRename
A bulk file and folder renaming tool
PowerRename lets you rename hundreds or even thousands of files all at once, without the need to go in and edit each name manually. Needless to say, this tool has the potential to save you countless hours, removing task repetition from the equation entirely. PowerRename can be accessed directly from the Windows right-click menu, where a Rename with PowerRename entry is added when enabled. There are plenty of advanced features within the tool, too, such as the option to change text format casing.
Always On Top
A window pinning tool
Always On Top makes it easy to pin an important application window to the foreground at all times, which can go a long way in ensuring key information remains accessible while you multitask and juggle various other windows. Pinning and unpinning windows can be triggered via a customizable keyboard shortcut, and there are a variety of more advanced options to play around with as well, such as adjusting opacity, whether the window has a border, and whether it activates when in Game Mode.
Shortcut Guide
A keyboard reference tool
Shortcut Guide is a brilliantly simple PowerToys tool that displays a window of system-level and app-level keyboard shortcuts. These shortcuts update dynamically based on which app you currently have running in the foreground, and shortcuts can be searched through for added convenience. You can choose a specific keyboard shortcut for launching Shortcut Guide’s window, and you can also pin individual shortcuts for quick access directly into a dedicated list section.
Image Resizer
A bulk resizer tool
Image Resizer is a convenient PowerToys tool that unlocks the ability to bulk resize image files. On the desktop or within File Explorer, right-clicking on an image displays a Resize with Image Resizer context menu entry, and tapping on this entry opens up a dedicated window for Image Resizer itself. There are several customization options to work with here as well, including setting size presets, adjusting the fallback encoder, and configuring compression, interlacing, quality level, and more.
FancyZones
A window manager tool
Windows 11 offers a native Snap Layouts feature for organizing your application windows, but FancyZones dials things up to eleven. The PowerToys tool lets you define specialized zones or locations on your screen as targets for windows, which can then be used for automatic window resizing and repositioning. By default, holding down the Shift key on your keyboard will allow you to see the active zones that you have configured. As you’d expect, FancyZones is highly configurable, with a dedicated layout editor interface allowing for custom layout creations.
