Releases: microsoft/PowerToys
Release v0.37.0
Our goals for v0.37 release cycle Video Conference Mute work so we can bring it into the stable branch, general bug fixes, moving Keyboard manager out, and removing the legacy settings app.
Installer hash
262CD602206DF552323AF7FDCF1032FB0B0D0E8DAD82E1E3B11290CEFCF5757B
Change log
- PowerToys now requires Windows 10, version 1903 or higher
- FancyZones editor default launching key is Win+Shift+`
- Windows Terminal's new Quake mode will use Win+`. We feel this is a far better use of the keystroke.
- Current PowerToys users can update this in our settings in the FancyZone section.
- Removed our v1 HTML based settings system
New Spec - Feedback please!
- What is new in PowerToys (SCOOBE) - Pull Request
FancyZones
- Editor UX bug fixes. Thanks @niels9001
- Monitor resolution is added to the top to directly infer the boxes on top are your monitors
- Fix for editor crash when editing a custom layout
PowerRename
- Option added for capitalization.
- Improved loading responsiveness with large sums of files.
PowerToys Run
- Changed XAML to improve rendering. Thanks @niels9001
- Disabled plugins are no longer loaded
- VS Code plugin workspaces showing up now. Thanks @ricardosantos9521
Keyboard manager
- Now an independent exe. This now runs high priority in its own process. When your CPU is under load, this should allow the process to continue to be prioritized
Color Picker
- uses a centralized keyhook. This should improve activation
- Esc for closing will no longer bubble through. Thanks @DoctorNefario
Settings / Welcome to PowerToys
- Shortcuts will stand out more
- Few accessability bugs fixed. Thanks @niels9001
Shortcut Guide
- Excluded apps for Shortcut Guide. Thanks @davidegiacometti
Installer
- new arg for starting PT after silent install
Developer quality of life
- Ability to directly debug against Settings
Community contributions
We'd like to directly mention (in alphabetical order) for their continued community support this month and helping directly make PowerToys a better piece of software.
@Aaron-Junker, @addrum, @davidegiacometti , @DoctorNefario, @htcfreek, @Jay-o-Way, @niels9001 and @ricardosantos9521
Experimental v0.36.0
This experimental release contains our Video conference mute feature plus everything in our v0.35.0 release. We know we have some issues and we have a main tracking issue - #6246.
This is our first release with the webcam driver actually being a DirectShow filter. This solves a multitude of quirks and simplifying the signing through our compile pipeline.
To find out more about the Video conference mute utility, head over to head to our Video Conference Mute overview.
Installer hash
6191C8B0781406622B24AD93EF58F7880EF67BAE6E165B6B7C693C8D8ECBB951
Current known issues and limitations:
- with some webcams, there is an incompatibility with Teams and the overlay image is not rendered, instead a corrupted frame is shown. If your camera has this quirk, please let us know the model in the [main tracking issue - #6246]
- the application preview (Teams, Meet, etc.) may show the overlay image flipped horizontally but that is expected, the image will show correctly to the other people on the call.
- in order to enable/disable the VCM, PowerToys should run as administrator
- changes to some of the VCM settings require the application to restart to pick up the new values such as a new overlay image.
- in some cases, the overlay image can be shown flipped vertically (the workaround is to edit the image and flip it before selecting it).
(#6246) - if the PowerToys Video Conference Mute webcam doesn't show up in the video conference app, try restarting the app and if still doesn't show up try restarting Windows.
Things to note
- This release will not be on WinGet. We are evaluating if this is something people would be interested in.
- This release is on the "Experimental" train, so only prerelease versions will be prompted for updates.
Release v0.35.0
Our goals for v0.35 release cycle were to add in new functionality to support quick swapping layouts for FancyZones, wrap up work for the DirectShow migration for Video Conference Mute so we can migrate into the main dev branch as well as fixing bugs.
Where is the Video Conference utility?
Released 0.36 which is based on the 0.35 branch. You can find more on the experimental 0.36 release page
Installer hash
8A052767127A6E2058BAAE03B551A807777BB1B726650E2C7E92C3E92C8DF80D
Highlights from v0.35 Stable/0.36 Experimental
General
- PowerToys will start requiring Windows 10 v1903 or greater after 0.35.x release. The v1 settings, which supports older Windows versions, will be removed in 0.37.
- Note: We may be able to bring back support when we migrate to WinUI3 but as of now, we will be increasing the minimum version of Windows to 1903 or greater.
- Localization corrections
- Improved GitHub report bug template.
- Increased .NET Core to 3.1.13
- Fixed installer 'run as user' regression
Color Picker
- UX adjustments to editor. Thanks @niels9001!
Esccan now be used to exit the editor. Thanks @BenConstable9!
FancyZones
- Added hotkeys and quick swap functionality for custom layouts! Users can now assign a hotkey in the editor and use it to quickly set a desktop's zones with
Ctrl + Win + Alt + NUMBERkey binding, or by pressing the hotkey while dragging a window. - UX updates. Thanks @niels9001!
- Fixed zone placement algorithm for when the Taskbar is vertical
- Bug fixes
PowerToys Run
- Users can specify where to show the launcher window. Thanks @addrum!
- New plugin added to support opening previously used Visual Studio Code workspaces, remote machines (SSH or Codespaces), and containers! When enabled, use
{to query for available workspaces. Thanks @ricardosantos9521! Please note, this plugin is off by default. - Shell history now saves the raw command instead of the resolved command. A command like
%appdata%would now save in the Shell history as is instead ofC:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming. Thanks @mayitbeegh! - Better logging to try to track down some bugs
- Bug fixes
Video Conference Mute (Experimental)
- Tracking work remaining at issue #7944
- Goal is to have 0.36 experimental release week of April 5th (Yes, we've stated this before, we know)
Contributor workflow
- Main project now has a vsconfig which will prompt you to install needed items versus having to use a script. This will aid in keeping you up-to-date when something changes.
- Updated spell checker. Thanks @jsoref!
Community contributions
We'd like to directly mention (in alphabetical order) for their continued community support this month and helping directly make PowerToys a better piece of software.
@Aaron-Junker, @addrum, @BenConstable9, @htcfreek, @Jay-o-Way, @jsoref, @mayitbeegh, @niels9001, @pc-v2, and @ricardosantos9521
Release v0.33.1
Our goals for v0.33 release cycle was to add in some critical new functionality into the new user experience as well as a plug-in manager for PowerToys Run.
Where is the Video Conference utility?
We'll be doing a 0.34 experimental release week of March 8th. We feel we are near ready to add in Video Conference mute into the stable release pending feedback from the pending 0.34 experimental release.
Installer hash
33D9A55E5D133EC521669FA05473A3B3F04F06B786016A36E92ADC83002502E1
Highlights from v0.33 Stable/0.34 Experimental
General
- Updated overview links to be language agnostic to the docs site.
- 'First time load' experience. The hope is a quick, light way to learn about basic functionality. We have some more work to do and want to also use the same framework for teaching about updates as well.
- Localization corrections
FancyZones
- Adjusted editor UX based on feedback. Thanks @niels9001!
- New options to change zone activation algorithm.
File Explorer
- Improved how SVG images are previewed in the preview pane, thanks@Drakula44!
- @Aaron-Junker has created a proof of concept for using Monaco editor for previewing dev files. This will enable over 125+ file types.
PowerToys Run
- Plugin Manager now is in settings. You can directly turn on / off, include items in general search, and change the action key! Thanks @htcfreek for the great feedback!
- Improved support for additional window managers by abstracting out shell process calls. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
- Fix for PT Run registering the hotkey on non-supported OS versions.
~will now act as the user home directory in Folder plugin. Thanks @davidegiacometti- Service plugin has adjusted status messages
Video Conference Mute (Experimental)
- Adjust video muting to leverage DirectShow.
- Goal is to have 0.34 experimental release week of March 8th.
Settings
- When restarting as admin, the settings now will reopen. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
ARM64 Progress
- Investigation on how we'll accomplish Settings with the XAML Island and WPF app.
Community contributions
We'd like to directly mention (in alphabetical order) for their continued community support this month and helping directly make PowerToys a better piece of software.
@Aaron-Junker, @davidegiacometti, @Drakula44, @htcfreek, @Jay-o-Way, @niels9001, and @notDevagya
Release v0.31.2
Release v0.31.1
Our goals for 0.31 release cycle were to focus on adding improving the FancyZones editor, adding in some new toys into PowerToys Run, some ARM64 work, and stability. 0.31.0 was tested internally but not publicly released due to discovering #9396.
For the entire commit history, please look at the 0.16 release. Below are just a few of the bullet items from this release.
Where is the Video Conference utility?
We plan to roll out a DirectShow based version in February with the hope to merge the utility into the main PowerToys repository in February / March timeframe.
Installer hash
A1226B1788B2F254DA72383B879E3B1F38603DAAAF6D2674F0927730E0AD8AF4
Highlights from v0.31
General
- Bug report tool and improved logging now added to our system tray.
- Added in CodeQL and other CI improvements.
- OOBE Spec should be finalized
ARM64 Progress
- .NET Core upgrade for code bases the PowerToys team controls is complete. We still have two external dependencies that are .NET Framework that need to be updated.
Color Picker
- Bug fixes in editor
FancyZones
- Streamlined, simplified user interface (Massive thanks to @niels9001)
- Dark mode for the editor
- Certain settings (e.g. number of zones, spacing settings) can now be set on individual layouts.
- Bug fixes
File explorer
- Fixed OneDrive SVG Bug
- SVG are scaled appropriately when viewbox is provided
- SVG thumbnail quality improved
PowerToys Run
- Service management plugin (restart, stop, ...)
- Registry key plugin
- System action plugin (Reboot, lock, ...)
- Hyperbolic functions added to calculator
- Icon fixes when running in certain themes
- Unneeded dependencies removed
- Bug fixes
Installer
- Default to .NET Core 3.1.11
Community contributions
We'd like to directly mention (in alphabetical order) for their continued community support this month and helping directly make PowerToys a better piece of software.
@Aaron-Junker, @BenConstable9, @chrdavis, @davidegiacometti, @ExecThTs, @htcfreek, @itsme-alan, @jay-o-way, @martinchrzan, @niels9001, @pavelzw, and @TobiasSekan
Release v0.29.3
This is patch release to fix two bugs 0.29.0 we deemed important for stability based on user feedback. 0.29.1 and 0.29.2 were internal tested but not publicly released.
- #8808 - FancyZone zones would occasionally not appear. This was caused by two uninitialized variables. During testing, there was a race condition so we missed it. Our push on adding in additional code analysis tools will hopefully catch these types of bugs.
- #8787 - PowerRename would throw regex errors when it shouldn't. We removed the error dialog for now and will add in a more targeted error catching block at a later time.
Release v0.29.0
Our goals for 0.29 release cycle were to focus on adding on end-user experience, stability, accessibility, localization and quality of life improvements for both the development team and our end users. Due to the short dev cycle due to the holidays this month, larger work items will show up next release such as FZ editor improvements and threenew plug-ins for PowerToys Run.
For the entire commit history, please look at the 0.29 release. Below are just a few of the bullet items from this release.
Where is the Video Conference utility?
This is only included in the experimental release. Our hope is to release an updated experimental release early in 2021.
Release Notes
General
- Bug report tool and improved logging.
- Various localization improvements.
- CodeQL added. Triggered via a cron timer twice a day.
- "How to use" docs moved to https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/powertoys/
- This will allow the community to do direct PRs against those documents
ARM64 Progress
- .NET Core upgrade for code bases the PowerToys team controls is complete. We still have two external dependencies that are .NET Framework that need to be updated.
Color Picker
- General bug fixes
- Added ability to provide the name of the color at parity with Office and WinUI Color Picker.
FancyZones
- Allows to use Windows Snap on desktops that don't have a layout applied and for apps that are in the excluded list.
- Bug fixes
PowerToys Run
- Improved performance
- PT Run now supports accented characters.
Installer
- Option to extract the MSI from the .exe for enterprise scenarios and more options to do unattended installations.
- Removed toast notifications during installation.
We'd like to directly mention (in alphabetical order) for their continued community support this month and helping directly make PowerToys a better piece of software.
@Aaron-Junker, @benjamhooper, @davidegiacometti, @eriawan, @htcfreek, @jhutchings1, @jsoref, @jay-o-way, @martinchrzan, @niels9001, @riverar, @snickler, and @TobiasSekan
Release v0.27.1
This is patch release to fix a 5 items for 0.27 we deemed important for stability. FancyZones and Color Picker are the two that have the hot fixes. Our next major planned release is 0.29 at the end of December 2020.
- #8330 - FancyZones not waiting for me to release Shift. The primary bug is fixed. We discovered an edge case #8511that is not resolved in this larger fix. We felt the larger fix was worth getting out without the edge case being solved.
- #8378 - Memory leak in FancyZones. Our fix actually improved performance when showing the zones on high res and high DPI scaling screens
- #8339 - FZ editor is correctly handling multi monitor when the laptop built-in display is turned off.
- #8322 - Editor Crash on removing colors from the history where there is none
- #6594 - Color Picker hangs while holding activation keystroke
Experimental v0.28.0
This experimental release contains our Video conference mute feature plus everything in our v0.27.0 release. We know we have some issues and we have a main tracking issue - #6246.
We are currently looking into changing the virtual webcam driver into a DirectShow filter. This would solve a multitude of quirks along with heavily simplifying the signing through our pipeline. This work is not inside this release.
To find out more about the Video conference mute utility, head over to head to our Video Conference Mute overview.
Features added:
- An optional image overlay for the video
Things to note
- This release will not be on WinGet due to the driver still prompting for permission during install time.
- This release is on the "Experimental" train, so only prerelease versions will be prompted for updates.