2 new reasons to download this must-have toolkit for Windows


Microsoft’s essential software updates, always to improve productivity on Windows. While previous versions mainly contained improvements to existing tools, PowerToys 0.68.0 adds two new toys for its users.

PowerToys version 0.68.0 adds two new tools to the Windows Toybox. // Source: Microsoft

Windows Toybox just got better! On Wednesday, March 1, the PowerToys software developed by Microsoft and designed to improve user productivity was updated to version 0.68.0.

Yet another beta version that is not content with improvements to existing tools and bug fixes. Two new utilities dedicated to improving copy-paste and the use of several screens are arriving.

Copy-paste without leaving a trace

First toy added to this version: “Paste as Plain Text“, translated by “Paste as plain text“. It’s all in the name, since once activated in PowerToys, this option allows you to keep only the content of the text that you copy from a site or a document. Even the selected text is bold underlined in a 27-point serif font, pasting this snippet into an email will only display the text.

Source: Frandroid

If modern web browsers already integrate this option via the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + V, “Paste as plain textpromises to apply it to all your software, in addition to letting users choose its key combination. Default is Ctrl+Win+V.

Mouse jump between screens

Second new tool:mousejump“, Or “mouse jump“. Added in the mouse utilities section, this feature allows you to quickly move your cursor over large distances.

Once activated, you can use the Win + Shift + D keys to bring up a window with a miniature copy of all your screens. Clicking anywhere in this window teleports your cursor there. Convenient in everyday life if you use a very large screen or several monitors.

An essential toy box

Details of these two new features and all fixes and improvements included in this update are listed on the PowerToys GitHub page. As we recall, this suite of productivity tools has now been open source since 2019, after a first life on Windows 95 and XP.

This new version notably brought a tool to easily locate the mouse cursor on the screen, an omniscient search bar modeled on the macOS Spotlight model, and, more recently, the possibility of typing specific characters (such as É and Ç dear to the French language) without looking for them in the character table.

PowerToys 0.68.0 is available on Windows 10 and 11, both in its desktop version and in its Microsoft Store software application.


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