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As Windows progresses and new versions and updates are released, Microsoft continues to add new features to its operating system. Even though many people are not happy how Windows 11 lacks some of the customization features that we had in Windows 10, there are still other applications we can use to fill the gap.
Microsoft does have a software package called PowerToys that you can install that adds additional functionality and tools to Windows. It has been around for many years and gets updated with new tools and features from time to time. In this article, we will be discussing thew new Microsoft PowerToys Command Palette tool.
To use the PowerToys Command Palette tool, you will need to be on PowerToys version v0.90.0 or later which can be found in the What’s new section of the app.
Once you install PowerToys, you can go to the main app and the Command Palette tool should be enabled by default. In the Activation section, you will see that the shortcut to open the tool is Windows Key + Alt + Spacebar. This shortcut key combination can be changed in the tool’s settings.
When you press the shortcut key combination, Command Palette will open in the middle of the screen, and you will see all the available features as seen in the images below. You will also notice that some of the tools have a trigger key that you can press to initiate a specific kind of search or action. For example, you can start typing > in the search box to initiate a run command or = to have it perform calculations for you. You can also double click any of the commands to start using it. One thing you will notice is that if you click off of the Command Palette window, you will need to re-open it using the shortcut keys.
For example, if we double clicked on Search files and typed in the word Hawaii, we would get results as shown in the image below. We can then double click on a file to open it. This is similar to the Listary File Search app.
Many of the commands will have extra options that you can access at the lower right corner of the app. These options will vary from command to command.
The Window Walker command will show you all your open apps and allow you to switch to any one of them simply by clicking on it in the list.
The Shortcut command can be used to create URL or file path shortcuts that will be added to your main list for easy access. You can add a favorite folder to make it easier to manage your files.
As you can see, the Microsoft PowerToys Command Palette tool gives you many useful tools that you can access in one place.
If you go to the settings section for the app, you can customize how it works to improve your overall experience.
If you go to the Extensions section, you can disable any of the tools that you do not want to use. It is also possible to search for new extensions from the Install Command Palette extensions or Search for extensions in the Store commands.
If you have ever used PowerToys Run, then you will notice that it is similar to Command Palette but not quite as powerful. You can use both tools together and see which one you prefer.
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