The Secret Microsoft App That Makes My Windows Experience Better.

I frequently switch between Mac and Windows. It’s a perk of being a tech journalist. But the thing is, I’ve become so accustomed to the ease of use of macOS that whenever I switch to Windows mode, I encounter some issues. Windows has a tendency to create obstacles where they shouldn’t be. I used to just tolerate this, but that was before I fully mastered PowerToys.

PowerToys is a set of utilities developed by Microsoft itself. It’s available for free download on GitHub and many other places, and unlike Windows 11, Microsoft adds useful and interesting features every few weeks. You can download and install PowerToys from itsGitHub page, the Microsoft Store , or using the Windows Package Manager .

Here are a few PowerToys utilities that have become indispensable to me (after installing the app, you really should explore all its features to find something you like). If they were removed, I wouldn’t know how to use my Windows computer anymore—this app really should have been preinstalled.

Command Palette

These days, Windows Search can feel a bit clunky and inconvenient, much like the Start menu . While it’s fine for launching occasional apps, I can’t use it for much more than that. Plus, I’m a macOS user, so I’m used to the lightning-fast Spotlight Search keyboard. While third-party keyboards are now available in Windows ( the latest addition is Raycast ), my favorite option is Microsoft’s own keyboard, Command Palette, which is part of PowerToys.

Like Spotlight Search, Command Palette is lightweight and fast, and you can assign it any keyboard shortcut. I use it to quickly launch apps, search for files, and even find open windows. Command Palette also has a very useful bookmarks feature, which I use often. I’ve created bookmarks to quickly open frequently used folders, such as Downloads and Screenshots, and even websites. A bookmark can be activated by searching for a keyword or with its own dedicated keyboard shortcut (I’ve set one up for the Downloads folder, which is very handy). For more information, I have a detailed guide to customizing Command Palette , which you should check out.

Light switch

It’s surprising that Windows 11 still doesn’t have an automatic dark mode. Over the years, Windows 11’s dark theme has gradually expanded to all the apps you care about. But there’s no easy way to enable it, and no way to automatically turn it on in the evening or on a schedule.

Of course, there’s a PowerToys utility for that. The recently added Light Switch utility lets you create a global custom keyboard shortcut to enable dark mode. In the “Schedule” section of Light Switch, you can set up an automatic schedule based on fixed hours or using local sunset time, as I do.

Take a look

I constantly switch between macOS and Windows 11, and macOS has several handy features I now find hard to live without. One of them is the ability to quickly preview any file in Finder by pressing the spacebar. Windows doesn’t have this option, and until now, enabling it required a third-party app, which wasn’t always reliable. Now, Microsoft has added a similar feature to the Peek utility from PowerToys. Once enabled, you can press the spacebar after selecting any file to preview it. You can then use the arrow keys to navigate to other files in the folder. Press Enter to open the file in your default app.

Text extraction

Windows has built-in text recognition (OCR) for images, accessible through the Snipping Tool. However, it’s very slow. When I urgently need to copy text from an image, I prefer to use the Text Extractor utility in PowerToys . It’s much faster. Use the special keyboard shortcut Windows + Shift + T to see an overlay on the screen. Use the mouse to select the area you want to copy. As soon as you release the cursor, the text is automatically saved to the clipboard.

Resizing an image

This is one of those PowerToys that should have been a standard feature in Windows 11 long ago. Resizing images, or entire groups of images, is something I often do because I make my living publishing online. But you, too, may occasionally need to compress or resize images for uploading online or for a presentation. Instead of opening a complex image editing program and manually resizing images one by one, use this plugin.

Once enabled, this feature will appear in the File Explorer context menu. Select one or more images, click “Resize with Image Resizer,” choose one of the preset sizes (you can add more presets from the PowerToys app) or create a custom resolution, click “Resize,” and you’re done.

Awake

I can’t imagine using Windows without the Awake utility from PowerToys. It adds a handy little tray icon that, by clicking it, I can extend my computer’s sleep time beyond the default settings. I have a custom-built PC with a beefy power supply, so I take the automatic sleep settings very seriously. But there are times when I’m downloading a large file in the background or performing a lengthy AI-powered task, and I need the computer to stay on. That’s where the Awake utility really comes in handy. You can choose to have your computer sleep indefinitely, for 30 minutes, 1 hour, or any other time you specify.

FancyZones

Windows’ built-in window management system is impressive enough, but it’s not sufficient for my workflow. I typically prefer to work with a text editor, a browser, and Slack open simultaneously. Since I have a large monitor, my writing app and Slack are on one side, and my browser is on the other. But setting all this up can take some time. That’s where FancyZones comes in handy. I can create custom zones for each application I use, allowing me to place them where I need them and resize them.

To customize this, first go to the FancyZones section in PowerToys. From there, open the zone editor and create a new custom layout. You can now use the mouse to move zones and add new zones. Once the layout is enabled, all you need to do is move the window while holding the Shift key. Dragging the window to any designated zone will instantly resize it.

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