Microsoft PowerToys Hands-On: 4 Windows Productivity Tools I Would Not Want to Give Up
The Windows workflow issues I run into most often are the lack of macOS-like preview and quick launcher features. This article tests four useful tools in Microsoft's official PowerToys: spacebar preview with Peek, quick screenshot OCR copy, always-on-top windows, and a quick search launcher, with notes from my actual usage.
Introduction
When I develop or work on Windows, there are a few macOS system habits that I still find hard to forget. For example, pressing the spacebar to preview an image or PDF directly, or pressing a shortcut to bring up Spotlight and quickly open an app. Microsoft's official open-source toolkit PowerToys happens to cover these needs. It includes dozens of small utilities, but after using it for a while, I found that I actually keep only four of them turned on most often. Once these features become part of your routine, they make working on Windows much smoother.
1. Peek File Preview
In File Explorer, when I want to check the contents of an image, a video, or a PDF, the operation I am most used to is selecting the file and pressing the spacebar. On macOS, this is the built-in Quick Look feature, but Windows does not include it by default.
After enabling PowerToys' Peek feature, I can preview files on Windows in the same way. Select a file, press the spacebar, and the preview window appears immediately, without waiting for a specific app to launch.
From my testing, the preview response is quite fast. Whether it is a large image or a PDF file, there is almost no delay. This is very convenient if you are used to developing across both systems, or if you often need to quickly organize a large number of assets.
2. Text Extractor Screen Text Copy
Sometimes when I am looking at an image, a video frame, or a webpage that does not allow text selection and copying, I still want to copy the text shown on the screen. In the past, when I ran into this, I either typed it manually or took a screenshot and uploaded it to an online OCR recognition site.
Text Extractor works by pressing the default shortcut Win + Shift + T and then selecting any area on the screen. It extracts the text from that region directly and automatically copies it to my clipboard.
When I am checking documentation or copying text from copy-protected pages, this feature saves me a lot of manual typing time. If macOS also had a text extraction button that felt this fully integrated into the system, I would probably use it every day. Mac does have similar features, but this interaction feels very direct.
3. Always On Top Window Pinning
When I need to look at documentation or a video while writing code in another window, the most annoying thing is that once I click my main editor, the reference window gets covered behind it.
Always On Top lets me press the Win + Ctrl + T shortcut to pin the currently selected window above everything else. The pinned window gets a blue border to remind you that it is locked in front. No matter what other window you click, it will not be covered.
I often turn this on when writing code against a spec, or when keeping a show open on the side. To cancel it, I just press the same shortcut again on the pinned window. There is no need to install another complicated window management package.
4. PowerToys Run Quick Launcher
Although the Windows Start menu can search for apps, I often find that it brings up many unrelated web recommendations, and its loading speed is not very consistent.
PowerToys Run is a quick launcher similar to Spotlight, Alfred, or Raycast. After pressing Alt + Space, a minimal input box appears on the screen. I can type to find and open apps, search for files, and even enter simple math expressions or unit conversions directly inside it.
After using it for a few days, I now press Alt + Space whenever I need to find an app or jump into deeper settings. My hands barely need to leave the keyboard to reach for the mouse, and the whole flow feels very smooth.
Two Main Installation Options
Microsoft has fully open-sourced PowerToys on GitHub. You can choose either of the following ways to download and install it:
Option 1: Download Directly from Microsoft Store (Recommended)
This is the simplest method. Click the link to download it from the Store, and future updates will also be handled automatically:
Option 2: Install Through Winget in the Terminal
If you prefer the command line, open PowerShell and enter the following command:
winget install Microsoft.PowerToys
If you want to manually download the installer, you can also go directly to PowerToys GitHub Releases and download the .exe file that matches your computer architecture.
Usage Notes
Microsoft's official PowerToys suite actually includes twenty or thirty other tools, including keyboard remapping, mouse utilities, and more. But for me, the most important and most frequently enabled ones are these four features. They fill in some gaps in Windows' default system experience, and that has been genuinely useful.