Do not immediately search for PowerToys on your PC: they are not deployed by default. To install them, two methods are available to users of Windows 10 and 11, the two versions of Microsoft’s operating system that will interest us in this series of articles.
Installation
The first is quite classic. Just type “Microsoft PowerToys” in the search bar of the Microsoft Store. They are classified in the Developer Tools Applications category. The other method, much more geeky, guarantees immediate access to the very latest versions of the various PowerToys. To do this, you must go to the Releases section of the Github.
At the top, the Install Hashes section groups together the different versions available. A priori, the one that interests you is the first: PowerToysUserSetup-0.72.0-x64.exe. The second is intended for the few Windows users with a Snapdragon-based PC, while the following are focused on deployment on groups of computers. The installation is carried out like that of a classic application. The file weighs just over 225 MB.
When installation is complete, the main PowerToys screen launches automatically. The interface is very well done: the different PowerToys will be presented to you as well as their operation. You will also find the general parameters. They are quite simple: run as a user or administrator, graphic theme applied, launch or not when Windows starts or even access beta features.
There you go, you are ready for what’s next. It’s hard to go around all the PowerToys, but in the next few days we’ll show you our favorites.