PowerToys comes to the Microsoft Store on Windows 11

Microsoft has released the latest version of PowerToys on the Microsoft Store for Windows 11. This gives users a new way to install the set of utilities meant to enhance the Windows experience for power users. It’s also another step in making the Microsoft Store feel more complete.

For those unaware, PowerToys was the name of a set of tools that Microsoft made for Windows 95 way back in the day. These tools weren’t necessarily meant for the average user, but they made the experience more convenient for those who already knew their way around Windows. PowerToys went dormant for many years, but the project was reborn for Windows 10 about two years ago.

The modern release of PowerToys includes nine tools. One of the most recent additions is PowerToys Awake, which prevents your PC from going to sleep for as long as you need it to stay on. There are also tools like PowerRename to rename multiple files at once, Image Resizer, Color Picker, and PowerToys Run.

There’s also an experimental tool called Video Conference Mute, which provides system-wide microphone muting and webcam control. The goal is to let users mute themselves more easily in any app they use without having to think about the different ways to do it in each app, and without having the app window active.

Until now, PowerToys was only available to download through GitHub, or using package managers like winget or Chocolatey. It being available on the Microsoft Store should make it more discoverable for users on Windows 11. It seems this should come alongside an official announcement, but the listing went live before it happened.

With Windows 11, Microsoft wants the Store to be your go-to destination for all your apps, and this time, it’s taking that goal seriously. Pretty much any app can be added to the Microsoft Store now, including PWAs (like the new Reddit app) and traditional desktop apps. We’ve already seen Visual Studio added to the Microsoft Store, and Microsoft is showing more support for its own platform with releases like this.

It’s not just about the kinds of apps that can be added to the Microsoft Store, either. Developers can use their own monetization platform on the Microsoft Store now, so hopefully, we’ll see more and more big names show up and the Store will truly become a one-stop shop for Windows users.

If you’re interested, you can head here to download PowerToys from the Microsoft Store, but only if you’re using Windows 11.

The post PowerToys comes to the Microsoft Store on Windows 11 appeared first on xda-developers.

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