Microsoft PowerToys is the best-kept secret in Windows 11. It's a genuinely free, open-source pack of small utilities written by Microsoft engineers and the community, and it fixes a long list of papercuts that the operating system has shipped with for years. We install it on almost every machine that comes through our Edinburgh workshop for a productivity tune-up, and customers from Currie to Falkirk regularly tell us it's the single biggest quality-of-life change we've ever shown them.
This guide explains what PowerToys actually is, how to install it cleanly on Windows 11, and the eight utilities most people switch on within an hour and then never turn off.
What Is Microsoft PowerToys?
PowerToys is an official Microsoft project. It started life on Windows 95, was revived for Windows 10 in 2019, and is now a polished, signed application with automatic updates through the Microsoft Store. It bundles around 25 small tools that extend Windows in useful ways — better window snapping, a Spotlight-style launcher, on-screen colour pickers, OCR from any image, bulk file renaming, and more.
Because every utility is opt-in, PowerToys is safe to install even on cautious machines. If a tool causes a conflict with other software you rely on, you can simply toggle it off without uninstalling the whole pack. It's also light on resources — the background process uses roughly the same memory as a single browser tab.
How to Install PowerToys on Windows 11
The cleanest install route is the Microsoft Store, because updates arrive automatically and the package is signed by Microsoft:
- Open the Microsoft Store from the Start menu.
- Search for Microsoft PowerToys — make sure the publisher is listed as Microsoft Corporation.
- Click Install and wait for the download to finish.
- Launch PowerToys and accept the User Account Control prompt — some utilities (like Keyboard Manager) need elevated rights to remap system keys.
If your machine is locked down and the Store is disabled, you can grab the installer directly from Microsoft's official GitHub release page. Avoid third-party download sites — fake "PowerToys" installers are a common payload for adware, which is exactly the sort of mess our software troubleshooting team ends up sorting out.
1. PowerToys Run — The Hidden Quick Launcher
Press Alt + Space and a small search bar appears in the middle of your screen. Start typing the name of any app, file, browser bookmark, system setting or running window and it'll jump to the top of the list — hit Enter and you're there. It's Microsoft's answer to macOS Spotlight, and it's faster than digging through the Start menu for everything except the apps you've already pinned to the taskbar.
It also does maths. Type =23*4.5 and the answer copies straight to your clipboard.
2. FancyZones — Window Layouts That Actually Work
Windows 11's built-in Snap layouts are fine for two or three windows, but the moment you've got a 32-inch monitor with email, a browser, a code editor and a spreadsheet open, they fall apart. FancyZones lets you draw your own grid — three columns of unequal width, a tall sidebar with two stacked panes, whatever fits your workflow — and then hold Shift while dragging a window to drop it into any zone.
If you're running dual monitors and want the layout to apply across both, our guide on setting up dual monitors on Windows 11 covers the display-side setup that pairs perfectly with FancyZones.
3. Image Resizer — Right-Click and Done
Right-click any image (or batch of images) in File Explorer and you'll see a new Resize with Image Resizer option. Pick a preset — Small, Medium, Large, Phone — or define your own pixel dimensions, and PowerToys creates resized copies in seconds. It's the fastest way to shrink phone photos for email, marketplace listings, or a website upload, and it preserves the original files by default.
4. Keyboard Manager — Remap Annoying Keys
If your Caps Lock key is wasted, your laptop's Function key is in the wrong place, or you've inherited a keyboard with a Brazilian layout, Keyboard Manager fixes it without changing your Windows language settings. You can remap individual keys, swap entire pairs, or build complex shortcuts (for example, mapping Caps Lock + H/J/K/L to arrow keys for vi-style navigation).
For laptops with sticky or failing keys, remapping is sometimes a useful stopgap before a full keyboard swap — but if a key has died entirely, it's usually better to come and see us about a proper repair through our laptop repairs service.
5. Text Extractor — OCR From Anywhere on the Screen
Press Windows + Shift + T, drag a box around any text on screen — a PDF, a screenshot, a video frame, a locked-down web page — and PowerToys copies the text to your clipboard. It uses the same OCR engine as Windows itself, so accuracy on clear English text is excellent. Customers in Linlithgow and Dunfermline who deal with scanned invoices love this one.
6. Mouse Without Borders — Control Two PCs With One Mouse
If you keep a work laptop and a personal desktop on the same desk, Mouse Without Borders lets one mouse and keyboard control both. Move the cursor off the edge of one screen and it appears on the other; you can even copy and paste files between the two machines. It only works across PCs on the same network, but for a home office or a small business it eliminates an entire desk cluttered with peripherals.
7. Always on Top — Pin Any Window
Press Windows + Ctrl + T with any window focused and it stays on top of everything else, with a thin coloured border so you can tell it's pinned. Brilliant for a calculator, a video call thumbnail, a chat window, or a reference document you keep glancing at while you work.
8. PowerRename — Bulk Rename Files
Right-click a selection of files and choose PowerRename. You get a live preview pane where you can search-and-replace text in filenames, use regex if you need it, change case, and add prefixes or suffixes — all before committing the change. It's the kind of thing that turns a half-hour task into a ten-second one.
Should You Install PowerToys at Work?
For most small businesses the answer is yes — it's signed by Microsoft, distributed through the Microsoft Store, and lets each user toggle features they don't need. The main thing to watch is Keyboard Manager: if your IT team or remote-support tools rely on specific shortcuts, test those still work after enabling any remaps. For larger fleets we manage through our business IT support service, we usually roll out PowerToys with a standard config so every machine behaves the same way.
Need Help Setting It Up?
If you'd like someone to install and configure PowerToys on your machine, walk you through the utilities that fit your workflow, or set up Mouse Without Borders between a couple of PCs, we can do it in person at our Edinburgh workshop or remotely via our remote support service across Scotland. Book a session online and we'll have you up and running the same day.