PC World - USA (2019-10)

OCTOBER 2019 PCWorld 107

But if those windows are a
little smaller than what you
want? Or if instead of two
columned windows, you want
three? Until now, you’d have
had to create your own,
dragging and resizing
windows manually. Now you
don’t have to.
Microsoft’s PowerToys
were a beloved staple of the
Windows 95 era, allowing
users to add vetted extensions
to the basic operating system. Others, like
SyncToy’s tool for syncing folders (go.
pcworld.com/snty), emerged as PowerToys
for Windows XP and Vista. Now, PowerToys
is back, and each app even has the code
available on GitHub for suggested
modifications. There are two initial
PowerToys apps: a Shortcut Guide, and the
FancyZones app. You’ll need to download
the PowerToys installer (go.pcworld.com/
pwty), then select which apps you’ll want to
install. You don’t even need to be on a
Windows 10 Insider build to get it—this is
open to anyone.
The Shortcut Guide is a cheat sheet to
what’s going on in your Windows screen.
With the Shortcut guide enabled, pressing
the Windows key for more than a second will
turn on the available Windows shortcuts for
what you’re currently seeing on your screen.
The implication is that Shortcut Guide is

context-aware, and will display what action

those shortcuts will take given the current

state of the desktop and active window. If,

after you’ve triggered an action, you still

hold down the Windows key, those shortcuts

will adjust to reflect what you’re seeing.

Windows PowerToys’ Shortcut Guide.

FancyZones lets you select from a list of templates.