We're back with a fresh PowerToys release! This one brings two new mouse utilities, Mouse Button Lock and CursorHide, an optional quick-access shelf for Command Palette, snip dictation in ZoomIt, and a set of new command-line tools for automating PowerToys. Color Picker and Text Extractor also move to WinUI 3, and Keyboard Manager picks up some long-requested remapping features. Get the update by checking for updates in PowerToys or by heading to the release page. Let's dive in!

️ Mouse Button Lock and CursorHide

Holding a mouse button down during a long drag or selection can be tiring. With Mouse Button Lock, press and hold a button for a moment, then let go. Windows keeps treating it as held, so you can continue dragging or selecting until you click any button. This is especially useful for gaming, working in professional applications that require extensive dragging and selection, and improving accessibility for users who find it difficult to hold down a mouse button for extended periods.

PR: #49279 (Thanks, @owenpkent!)

CursorHide is the second new mouse utility. It hides the mouse pointer while you type, after a period of inactivity, or both, and shows it again as soon as you move the mouse.

PR #50271 (Thanks, @DamianEdwards!)

⚡ Command Palette gets a quick-access shelf

Compact mode in 0.101 kept Command Palette out of the way until you needed results. Now your favorite commands can be one keystroke away too. Turn on the quick-access shelf in Settings > Appearance > Compact mode to show your pins below the search box while the palette is collapsed. Press Alt+1 through Alt+9 to launch them, or Alt+Shift+number to select one without running it. Drag to reorder, right-click for more actions, and optionally show recent commands and apps next to your pins.

The shelf is just one part of a big Command Palette update:

• Settings search: Fuzzy search finds options, extensions, commands, aliases, and assigned shortcuts, then takes you straight to them.
• Keyboard-first Dock: Press Win+Alt+J to focus the dock and move between its items from the keyboard.
• Copilot key support: Choose Command Palette as the Copilot key app in Windows Settings, and press the key again to toggle the palette.
• Multiple clocks: Pin several dock clocks, each with its own time zone and format.
• Language and links: Pick an app language for Command Palette, and copy links that open a page, run a command, or jump to a specific setting.
• Polish: Sharper app icons, faster grid and gallery browsing, results that keep loading at the end of a list, and clearer nested menus.

Massive thanks to @jiripolasek for the sustained Command Palette work across this release!

PRs: #49915, #50894, and #50812

ZoomIt adds snip dictation

ZoomIt can now capture what you say along with what you snip. Turn on Snip with dictation in the ZoomIt settings, then press Space while you drag out a snip and describe what you're capturing. ZoomIt transcribes your speech on your device, and a single paste delivers both the screenshot and your text. Dictation uses the microphone selected under Record.

ZoomIt also gets smooth zoom transitions, better audio pacing in recordings, and a fix for silent recordings on multichannel and spatial-audio devices.

New command-line tools

More of PowerToys can now be scripted from the terminal:

• Advanced Paste: Run built-in and custom actions without opening the UI, using files, stdin/stdout, or the clipboard. AI actions use your configured providers and policies.
• Light Switch: Check status, set or toggle the theme, and manage schedules, with JSON output.
• Settings: See which utilities are enabled, and turn them on or off even while PowerToys isn't running.
• Peek: Preview multiple files and folders from the command line.
• PowerDisplay: JSON Lines output makes results and errors easy to consume from scripts.
• On your PATH: FancyZones, Image Resizer, File Locksmith, and PowerDisplay commands now work from any terminal folder.

PRs: #50834, #50459, #50507, and #49724 (Thanks, @daverayment!)

⌨️ Keyboard Manager adds tap-alone remaps and easier editing

Keyboard Manager now supports tap-alone remaps. Tap a key by itself to trigger a different action, while the key keeps working normally in shortcuts and mouse combinations. Large remapping lists are easier to manage too, with search, modifier and app filters, and bulk deletion.

The new editor also gets a searchable key picker, so you can select any key, including media keys or keys your keyboard doesn't have, and build a full shortcut with just the mouse. Recording now only listens while the editor is in focus, and Tab moves you out of the recording field. IT admins can also deploy and export remapping profiles with DSC v3.

PRs: #49136 and #49287 (Thanks, @MasaYan24!), #51150, and #49427 (Thanks, @Gijsreyn!)

Other notable changes

• Color Picker and Text Extractor: Both move to WinUI 3, with a new overlay, editor, and magnifier for Color Picker. Your existing shortcuts and settings carry over.
• FancyZones: Scroll the mouse wheel while dragging a window to switch layouts, with an optional indicator showing the selected layout's name.
• Peek: Added read-only SQLite previews, file and subfolder counts with scanning progress for folders, a plain-text fallback, and Alt+Left/Alt+Right navigation between files.
• Screen Ruler: Measure in device-independent pixels to account for each monitor's scaling, with improved edge detection.
• Environment Variables: A new Remove duplicates action cleans up PATH while keeping the original order.
• Quick Accent: A searchable character reference in Settings lets you browse language sets and copy characters directly.
• Grab and Move: Exclude specific apps so they keep their normal modifier-key behavior.
• Shortcut Guide: Added shortcuts for Claude Desktop and Ableton Live, and made indexing more resilient to malformed manifests.
• Workspaces: Now asks for confirmation before launching an unverified app configured to run as administrator.
• Awake: Windows can now turn off the display while the PC is locked, without ending your keep-awake session.
• New+: Fixed a File Explorer memory leak and improved long-path handling.
• Settings: Added an interactive animated welcome scene, fixed a memory leak when switching pages, and kept module on/off preferences when a utility fails to load.

✨ Big thanks to the community

As always, a big thank-you to everyone who contributed - we couldn't do this release without you! Thanks @DamianEdwards, @AkazaRenn, @Meister1977, @LE0-Lin, @namdpran8, @MarcelSchm, @jiripolasek, @Subhro-ai, @AlanJie, @dhruv0703, @noraa-junker, @langningchen, @joaogabriel15, @xianhongtao, @Comma8, @TyrantRey, @mansiverma897993, @Gijsreyn, @MasaYan24, @gavinzhangth, @amanmaurya92, @owenpkent, @mikeclayton, @mvanhorn, @Arslan-TR, @thomastv, @daverayment, @cuishuang, @amail80, @4RH1T3CT0R7, @ShimizuTheLotus, @Bakorlam, @sundeep8967, @markrussinovich, @mmustafasenoglu, @loulanyue, @tit-exe, @nzcodes, @matthudson, @sanskarIN, @xThreeh, @QIU-Guanzong, @ElenaGe216, @Gavin-Yau, @eglavin,@karan5028ji, and @dotMorten for your pull requests!

We're always happy to get your feedback and contributions, whether it's a bug report, a feature idea, or a pull request. Head over to the PowerToys repo to jump in.

The full release notes can be found here.

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