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Powertoys 41.4

www.snipca.com/38842 What you need: Windows 10

Microsoft’s Powertoys suite of system tools has benefited from a number of updates over the past few weeks. To download the latest version, go to the link above then scroll down and click the Powertoys EXE file. If you already have an older version of Powertoys installed you can upgrade within the General tab of the main Powertoys window.

As well as ironing out bugs and improving existing tools, this version adds a tool called Awake, which lets you prevent your computer from going to sleep and your monitor from turning off. This is particularly useful if you’re running a task (such as backing up) that doesn’t require you to do anything, but is one you’d like to keep an eye on. We explain how to use the Awake tool below.

Version 4.14 also improves the Powertoys Run tool, which lets you launch programs via a small search box. You can now use a selection of new shortcut commands within this search box, including performing quick unit conversions - type %% followed by what you want converted

(for example, %% 10lbs in kg). We also like that Powertoys Run lets you quickly search for and open pages in Windows’ Settings app (as we also explain below).

Fancyzones (the tool that lets you divide your desktop into zones, then drag windows into them so they resize accordingly), now lets you quickly switch between your zone layouts. Simply open the layout editor window by pressing the Windows key+` (the apostrophe key at the top left of most keyboards), then double-click the layout you want to use. You can then drag windows into zones by holding down the Shift key while dragging them.

1 To use the new Awake tool, select it in the menu on the left, then click the slider under Enable Awake to switch it on. 2 Awake will keep your computer on, but the default settings mean your monitor will still turn off in accordance with your power settings in Windows. To stop your monitor turning off, tick this box. 3 To prevent your computer from going to sleep for a set period of time, select the ‘Keep awake temporarily’ mode, then fill in the hour and minutes boxes. Alternatively, select ‘Keep awake indefinitely’ and it will stay on until you turn Awake off. 4 Powertoys Run now lets you search for pages in the Windows Settings app. Type $ (dollar sign) followed by the page you want, or simply scroll through the list.