Chapter 4: Unlocking More Power with PowerToys Utilities

In our quest to supercharge your computer productivity, we’ve explored how to customise shortcuts and introduced you to a couple of game-changing PowerToys utilities. Now, let’s dive deeper into some of the other powerful utilities within the PowerToys suite that can significantly enhance your productivity and revolutionise how you work.

1. PowerToys Run: Your Command Center

Imagine having a command center at your fingertips where you can launch applications, search for files, and execute commands with just a few keystrokes. That’s what PowerToys Run offers.

What is PowerToys Run?

• PowerToys Run is a quick launcher that lets you find and start apps, open files and perform searches quickly. It’s like the Windows Start Menu on steroids, offering faster and more targeted results.

??Press Alt + Space to bring up the PowerToys Run launcher.

2. Shortcut Guide: Your Built-In Reference

As you learn and integrate more shortcuts into your workflow, it’s handy to have a quick reference guide. That’s exactly what the Shortcut Guide in PowerToys provides.

??Press Windows Key + Shift + / to bring up the Shortcut Guide. Hit Esc. key or click anywhere to get back out.

3. FancyZones: Master Window Management

If you often work with multiple windows and need to keep everything organised, FancyZones is your new best friend. It’s a window manager that lets you create custom layouts for your windows, making multitasking easier and more efficient.

??This feature is now built into Windows 11 when you hover the window Minimise/Maximise button. The FancyZones option though, works on Windows 10 as well as giving you more options on Windows 11.

What is FancyZones?

• FancyZones is a window management utility that allows you to define custom zones on your screen where windows can be snapped. This lets you arrange multiple windows in a way that suits your workflow, without overlapping or clutter.

How to Use FancyZones:

• Open the PowerToys settings and navigate to the FancyZones section.
• Click on “Launch layout editor” to create or select a predefined layout.
• Hold the Shift key while dragging a window to snap it into one of the defined zones.

Practical Applications:

• Multitasking: Keep multiple applications visible and organised, such as a browser on one side of the screen and a document on the other.
• Custom Layouts: Create specific layouts for different tasks, like writing or research.
• Maximise Screen Space: Make the most of your screen real estate by arranging windows in a way that’s both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

4. Crop & Lock: Focus on What Matters

If you often find yourself needing to focus on specific content within an application or if you need to display only certain parts of a window during presentations or screen sharing, Crop & Lock is the feature you've been waiting for.

What is Crop & Lock?

• Crop & Lock allows you to take a portion of any window and create a separate, resizable, always-on-top window that only shows the cropped content. This is especially useful for focusing on specific information or isolating parts of a window that you want to keep visible at all times.

How to Use Crop & Lock:

• To use it, press Windows Key + Ctrl + Shift + R to activate the Crop & Lock tool.
• Click and drag to select the area of the window you want to crop.
• A new window will be created that shows only the selected content, and this window can be resized and positioned as needed.

??You can change the shortcut to activate this in the PowerToys settings to something more simple to remember.

Practical Applications:

• Focused Work: When working with a research website or documents, crop out the part you need to reference constantly and keep it on top of other windows.
• Presentations: If you’re sharing your screen, use Crop & Lock to show only the relevant part of an application without distractions from the rest of the window.
• Multitasking: Isolate critical information from a dashboard or report, keeping it in view while you work on something else.

5. The Text Extractor: Simplify Data Collection

Have you ever needed to grab text from an image, PDF or a non-editable document? Typing it out manually can be tedious and time-consuming. This is where PowerToys’ Text Extractor comes in handy.

What is the Text Extractor?

• The Text Extractor is a tool that allows you to easily copy text from images, scanned documents or any screen content that isn’t normally selectable. It uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to convert text from these sources into editable and copyable text.

How to Use the Text Extractor:

• Open PowerToys and make sure the Text Extractor is enabled in the settings.
• Press Windows Key + Shift + T to activate the Text Extractor.
• Click and drag to select the area of the screen that contains the text you want to extract.
• The extracted text is automatically copied to your clipboard, ready to be pasted wherever you need it.

Conclusion

With the powerful utilities like PowerToys Run, Shortcut Guide, FancyZones, Crop & Lock and Text Extractor your Windows experience can become more tailored, efficient and productive than ever before. These tools are designed to help you work smarter not harder, by reducing the friction in everyday tasks and keeping everything you need right at your fingertips.

As you experiment with these utilities, you’ll find your own unique ways to incorporate them into your workflow. Stay tuned for the next chapter, where we’ll explore even more tips and tools to enhance your digital productivity journey!