PowerToys 0.102 ra mắt với tính năng khóa chuột và Command Palette nâng cấp

Microsoft's in-house PowerToys utility may be one of the most useful tools for fixing many of the shortcomings of Windows 11, and its latest update, version 0.102, adds a number of new features to the productivity suite that will be just as useful for everyday users as they will be for those who need accessibility accommodations. The headline features of PowerToys 0.102 are the new CursorHide and Mouse Button Lock. CursorHide is a configurable tool that allows Windows 11 users to hide their mouse cursor automatically while typing, after a user-defined period of inactivity, or both.

Mouse Button Lock is somewhat more involved, being a customizable mouse feature that sort of works like an accessibility tool. It allows users to set mouse buttons to automatically lock in the clicked position after being held down for a certain period. The example provided by Microsoft's PowerToys team is to use Mouse Button Lock to perform click and drag operations—as you might imagine, Mouse Button Lock will be significantly more useful to users of certain hardware setups, like trackballs and trackpads. It can be configured on the left, right, and middle mouse buttons, and users can customize the mouse hold duration and set up a movement threshold that helps cut back on misfires.

In addition to the two new input device features, PowerToys 0.102 also adds a new quick-access shelf to the Command Palette, pinning up to nine commonly used features, like settings, app launches, media, clipboard, the snipping tool, or a webpage, to the shelf for quick access with Alt+F1-9 keyboard shortcuts. There are other new features in the Command Pallete, like fuzzy settings search, improved keyboard navigation, Copilot key support—allowing users to rebind the Copilot key to launch the Command Palette—support for multiple docks, new, sharper icons and more responsive and intuitive navigation, and support for multiple pinned clocks.

The update also adds support for dictation in its ZoomIt screen annotation and capture feature. The dictation mode allows users to press space while snipping the screen to describe the screen capture and generate a transcript of what is spoken. Both the transcript and the resulting screen snip are copied to the clipboard, ready for pasting.