Powertoys 0.86 brings order to navigation

Microsoft's developers have tidied up the navigation bar in Powertoys 0.86. Advanced paste now supports image-to-text.

Screw the Windows settings.

(Image: Bild erstellt mit KI in Bing Designer durch heise online / dmk)

Nov 5, 2024 at 11:14 am CET

2 min. read

By

Dirk Knop

Microsoft's programmers have released version 0.86 of Powertoys for Windows. The most striking feature is the tidy navigation bar. But the new build also comes with extended and improved functions, for example the tool collection can now insert text from images.

Tidy navigation area: Categories collect the numerous individual components of the Powertoys and provide a better overview.

(Image: Screenshot / dmk)

In the release notes for Powertoys 0.86, the developers emphasize some highlights. The "Advanced Paste" function has now learned and can convert images to text. Keyboard shortcuts can also be set up with which "Paste as file" and the individual options "Paste as TXT/PNG/HTML file" can be called up directly. Image-to-text delivers exactly that: Text recognized on images in the clipboard can be pasted by calling up the AI-supported function.

The image-to-text pop-up — A pop-up allows you to select the image-to-text function in the "Advanced insert" of the Powertoys.

(Image: Screenshot / dmk)

The default key combination "Windows", "Shift" and "V" brings up the "Advanced Paste" dialog, where the target function can be selected. A separate key combination can also be set up to call up image-to-text directly in order to shorten the process somewhat.

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The "Workspaces" function has also received numerous bug fixes. These include the correct launch of multiple instances of an app in the same workspace. The developers are still working out how to handle Progressive Web Apps (PWA) correctly. They have also added a telemetry option to the general settings that is deactivated by default and are asking users to activate it if possible, as this will help further development. The"Powertoys Data and Privacy Documentation" discusses the handling of the collected data.

Updating Powertoys

The update can be found and installed by calling up the integrated update search. This can be found on the "General" tab.

Update search of the Powertoys — The update search on the "General" tab searches for and finds the update and offers to install it at the click of a mouse.

(Image: Screenshot / dmk)

As usual, the Powertoys are also available for download as an installation package:

Powertoys 0.86 (user setup, x64)
Powertoys 0.86 (user setup, ARM64)
Powertoys 0.86 (system-wide setup, x64)
Powertoys 0.86 (system-wide setup, ARM64)

Read also

Hotfix for Powertoys: Version 0.85.1 corrects two errors

At the beginning of October, the developers released Powertoys 0.85, followed a week later by bug fix version 0.85.1. They included the new "New+" function, which allows users to create their own directory or file templates and insert them into the desired location in the file system from the context menu of the file explorer.