Introducing PowerToys 0.95: Enhanced Performance and New Features
Microsoft has unveiled PowerToys version 0.95, emphasizing improved speed and reliability through various performance enhancements and usability upgrades. Among the most significant improvements is the Command Palette, which now benefits from an advanced fuzzy matcher and intelligent fallbacks, resulting in quicker and more pertinent search results.
Performance Boost: Speed Comparisons
The development team conducted real-world speed tests comparing versions 0.94 and 0.95. These benchmarks revealed impressive reductions in search times for various terms, demonstrating the efficacy of the updates. For instance, the search time for “access”decreased dramatically from 633 milliseconds to just 113 milliseconds, while “copilot”dropped from 257 milliseconds to 78 milliseconds.
New Utility: Light Switch
A standout feature of this release is the introduction of Light Switch, a utility designed to automate the transition between light and dark modes on your PC. Users can easily configure custom start and end times or opt for location-based adjustments that sync with local sunrise and sunset times, complete with an adjustable offset for added flexibility.
Light Switch offers additional customization options, allowing users to specify whether they want the transition applied to the shell, applications, or both. For convenience, a keyboard shortcut can be set up for immediate switching.
Shortcut Management Enhancements
PowerToys 0.95 introduces enhanced features for shortcut management. Users can now directly address shortcut conflicts from the conflict dialog, and the introduction of a “Clear”button in the configuration dialog allows users to completely unassign shortcuts with ease.
Improvements to Find My Mouse Utility
The Find My Mouse utility has also seen noteworthy updates, now allowing for full transparency adjustments of the highlight via a slider. This enables users to achieve a more subtle highlighting effect. Additionally, Mouse Pointer Crosshairs can now be configured to display only horizontal, vertical, or both lines, enhancing customization options for users.
Additional Features and Future Plans
Further improvements include enhanced support for Desired State Configuration v3 and the introduction of a Welsh layout for the Quick Accent feature. Users will be pleased to know that the Gliding Cursor can now be canceled using the Esc key, while ZoomIt now supports smoother image zooming for a better user experience.
Looking ahead, Microsoft has exciting plans for future releases. Users can expect a reimagined Keyboard Manager UI, support for custom endpoint and local model options in Advanced Paste, further enhancements to the Command Palette, and an updated Shortcut Guide experience.
For further details, visit the official announcement from Microsoft: Microsoft.
For images and additional coverage, check out this report: Neowin.
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