Summary
Want to get more out of Windows 11? Here’s some cool built-in (and not quite built-in) tools you might not be aware of.
Windows Actually Has a Bit of Built-in ‘Stuff’, and You Can Add More With PowerToys
Each release of Windows faces criticism for ‘dumbing things down’. A lot of this sentiment is just down to people being change-averse, but some of it is warranted, especially when Microsoft periodically attempts to remove a much-beloved Windows program that’s shipped with the OS since the Middle Ages, like Paint or WordPad.
But, Windows is still more than just a shiny launcher for your web browser and Microsoft Office, and it’s still got a lot of functionality lurking under the hood that can help you optimize your PC, make it more efficient to use, and even automate tasks. And if you want more, Microsoft PowerToys adds a lot of extra convenience and tools to tune things up.
If you’re yet to install Microsoft PowerToys for Windows 11, grab it from theMicrosoft website. Then, run PowerToys from the Start menu, enable the features you want to use, and tweak away.
Awake
First, and possibly most useful, the Awake PowerToy. It does just what it says on the tin: you turn it on, and your device never goes to sleep. Awake appears as an icon in the system tray where you’re able to toggle its functionality. It is particularly handy if you have a download or file transfer you absolutely don’t want interrupted, or want to keep Docker containers or servers running in the background.
Task Scheduler
Everyone’s talking about, or about to be talking about, AI agents that can automatically do menial tasks for you without requiring ongoing prompting. But a lot of these things can be done already with simple scheduling and scripting, without AI agents that rely on a data center the size of Kansas.
The Windows Task Scheduler is a relatively simple tool that, combined with abit of scripting know-how, lets you tell your PC to do something automatically at a certain time or when a specific event occurs.
If you’re looking to automate tasks on the web,IFTT is pretty nifty, too.
FancyZones
FancyZones is a PowerToy that adds mouse and keyboard-controlled windows snapping to Windows 11. You can edit screen layouts with different zones, and then with a swipe or a click, resize and position windows to them automatically.
File Locksmith
Ever tried to delete a file and Windows won’t let you because it’s in use? When enabled, the File Locksmith PowerToy will actually tell you what’s using the file (why Windows hasn’t done this by default is a total mystery to me) and let you try to unlock it.
Keyboard Manager (Disable That Pesky Left Windows Key While Gaming)
Customize your keyboard by reassigning or disabling physical keys. If you’ve ever accidentally alt-tabbed or hit the left Windows key and interrupted your game at a critical moment, this one’s for you (I actually used to pry off the left Windows and alt keys on my keyboard back when I had time to play Counter-Strike).
Snipping Tool/Text Extractor
The Snipping Tool is more than just a replacement for the print screen key. Copy text from anything, including images, PDFs, and protected web pages. If it’s on your screen, it’s probably available to the Snipping Tool. All you need to do is take a screenshot, and open the Text Actions menu or the Text Extractor PowerToy.
Explorer Preview/Details Pane and Peek
Why right-click to view a file’s properties when you can have that information readily available? The Details and Preview panes in the Windows File Explorer show file information or a preview for supported file formats, rather than making you launch an app to view them. If you want to quickly preview files in a larger window, the Peek PowerToy lets you assign a keyboard shortcut to do just that.
Process Explorer (Super-Powered Task Manager)
We all know the Windows Task Manager, and we all know how to Ctrl + Alt + Delete to force a misbehaving program to close or see how much memory an app is using. The Process Explorer is a supercharged version of the Task Manager popular with IT administrators that shows extra info like what files programs are using. Technically, Process Explorer isn’t built in (it should be), but installation is as easy asdownloading it from Microsoft Sysinternals.
Microsoft recently updated Notepad withrich text supportand, of course,AI. This is probably fine for most people who don’t care about AI taking over everything, but the old notepad.exe isstill there if you know how to get to it.
Command Palette
It’s like Spotlight search on macOS, or a souped-up run dialog. Type what you want, and the Command Palette PowerToy will show results, from apps to files, and launch them with a keystroke.
Built-in Windows Scripting (It’s Not Just for Linux)
Whatever OS you’re using, you should learn to script it. Once you know how to use PowerShell (the Windows-native command line and scripting language that supersedes oldbatch files), you really open up a lot of possibilities for what you can do with your PC. And you might even take it further andprogress to full-blown programming, where you can really start to make your devices do, well, anything you want them to.
