PowerToys
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Please allow individual tools to be installed
Please allow individual tools to be installed
The PowerToys are great - but not always all at once. Therefore: please allow us to select which Toys should be installed.
Proposed technical implementation details (optional)
It would be great if the individual Toys could be installed by using Winget, for example:
- This installs all Toys:
WinGet install powertoys - This installs just the Shortcut Guide:
WinGet install powertoys-ShortcutGuide
Thanks a lot, kind regards, Thomas
no plans currently due to how the settings works. you can disable the ones you don't want to run.
Thank you very much for your answer!
you can disable the ones you don't want to run.
… is it possible to disable Toys by some kind of automation, e.g. PowerShell Scripts or Registry settings?
It's perfect if users activate Toys afterwards, but depending on the Users Knowhow, it would be great if we can deploy a basic PowerToys-Set so that the User will most probably be happy and not annoyed :-)
+1 This will be awesome if implemented, so that my company can install FancyZones (without installing Awake - due to security concerns)
What is the best way to disable specific PowerToys for all users of a workstation?
what's the status of this request? how can companys deploy just specific Tools from PowerToys, rather than installing it all at once. For example, just Fancy Zones.
This has a lot of implications, install/upgrade scenarios and rippling dependencies and it outside our core goals to support. Everything is designed to be modular but we do not directly test this type of scenario where parts are missing when they should be installed. If you wish to fork, 100% as we are an open source project.
An alternative has been outlined in a few threads where people deploy a read only settings file via InTunes or other management tools to the user.
I'm really annoying that after 2 years, there is nothing to control what tool will be installed and some Group Policies Preference to control what a user cans do or not... :-(
My company also has doubt to install FancyZones due to security concerns of Awake. Very disappointing.
@r-flo-r running awake is no different than someone having a YouTube video playing or a PPTX presenting or countless other scenarios that leverage the same api awake does. Not even counting a physical method to move the pointer
with that said, the Enterprise style enablement is something we will look into in the future but I don’t know if this will be the route. Per above, We are open source and you can create a custom variant with stuff fully removed.
Even if someone was able to successfully fork the code and make a modularised spin-off, the same Enterprise Environments which block it now would most likely block that alternative too. I am betting most Corporate Environments will only consider PowerToys because it's a Microsoft tool so a forked version would not have that advantage.
Personally I would love to see a modular option hence me stumbling on this post. There are currently 12 different tools in PowerToys and the road map suggests even more to come! Some are brilliant but I only use about a quarter of what's on offer so the rest do feel like bloat to me and I would prefer to uninstall them. I usually end up triggering a few random keyboard shortcuts before I remember to go and disable them but even then, they must still be consuming disk space.
I appreciate I'm just a whining passenger here, I'm not skilled enough to contribute and I'm really grateful for everything that's been done in this project. It just doesn't feel right to me that an application I installed for FancyZones is now able to hook into my camera and microphone. That unsettles me!
@crutkas
running awake is no different than someone having a YouTube video playing or a PPTX presenting or countless other scenarios
All of those ways can still be controlled -- I am told by the experts. They say PowerToys Awake is the only one that can't be controlled -- hence wanting to exclude it from installation.
people deploy a read only settings file
Do you know where I can read more about this? I can't find any reference to read only settings file...
I am in the same boat as everyone else... we want to allow PowerToys in our org but CANNOT until we can find a way to permanently disable Power Awake. Has there been any progress on this front? As someone else mentioned, we can work around things like Youtube etc... there does not however seem to be a clear prevent Power Awake form being installed or used.
@trodder, use Group policy, https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/grouppolicy Every version since 0.64 ships with a group policy file which allows you to individually disable each utility.
Your IT admin should know how to use group policy and this will lock down PowerToys to their preference.
Also PowerToys Awake, if you just play something in media player on repeat, it uses the same API to keep the computer from sleeping. Awake's goal is to allow long running workloads to finish such as ML training
@crutkas - For many years across many similar issues, you repeatedly complain that "people don't understand what Awake does!"
The problem is not whether Awake is as amazing or harmless as you clearly believe it to be, but that any high security IT department bans PowerToys because of it - whether you like that policy or not. Your beliefs cannot change that, so repeatedly saying "Awake isn't a problem, let me explain why..." is not responsive to the issue.
Lacking a method of installing just, say, FancyZones or excluding specific toys is causing fewer people to be able to use your tools. Even a "PowerToys without Awake" download (which should be simple) would resolve most issues.
To add to this:
I know the GPO option exists but even that can be a significant lift for high security organizations. It's not as easy as just creating a GPO. It has to be reviewed, audited, assessed, etc. -- and sometimes it needs funding (don't ask).
Ideally, what I think makes the most sense is the PowerToys installer lets you pick what components it does or doesn't install. This is how many programs work. And, the installer should use standard methods that work with established deployment models/solutions that large organizations use. That way the organization just has to create a deployment configuration that does not install Awake or whatever.
That would be ideal.
I came here looking for a way to just install FancyZones. Having to install 18 tools I don't use just to get FancyZones is creeping past reasonable.
I'm hoping PowerToys does something to help as I've been trying for the last 1 year to get PowerToys working at work. I just wish there was an easy way for deployment tools to deploy w/o Awake.
I was on the same boat with everyone, who after fancyzone to be decoupled from the awake feature. Luckily, my office migrate to Windows 11, and it has better 'snap layout feature', something that you can use as a workaround :)
Nice. It'll be a long while before we get to 11. Plus, I have an ultrawide and the number of built in zones in 11 is not enough.
I've actually got an AHK script that someone is helping me write that lets me resize windows. I'm copying some ideas from SWM like being able to dynamically set a grid size.
But I do hope PowerToys updates to support this issues' need.
My company also has doubt to install FancyZones due to security concerns of Awake. Very disappointing.
Exactly the same at mine. They refuse to allow PowerToys to be installed because of Awake. And any arguments fall on deaf ears. They are not willing to engage in discussion on it. End of.
These requests keep getting closed again and again because the devs are living in a happy little world where they have full Local Admin control of their own machines and can install what they want. Sadly, in the real world, most of us do not have this luxury.
Any progress news about this suggestion? I found Fancyzone is individually incorporated in Philips Display Control Programm.
Just to add that on my side, it is not Awake but the Hosts File Editor that is causing issues. Even if it cannot be launched without admin right. Just the fact that is it with the bundle break the deal.
probable workaround for anyone working within a company which resticts installation of PowerToys/FancyZones, in order to get at least some of the functionality which FancyZone provides: in case you have a Dell monitor, you can install "Dell Display Manager". in our company it was fine for our IT to install that. Maybe thats also a workaround for others.... cheers
During my free time this week I managed to setup a standalone .zip deployment of FancyZones that directly consumes the binaries from PowerToys release installer. The only reason I am consuming the prebuilts instead of forking and recompiling is to avoid dealing with code signing certificates.
Tested the runtime on a clean Windows 10 VM, should be easy to replicate / modify as required as the underlying logic is trivial: https://github.com/rolandas-rimkus/FancyZones
@rolandas-rimkus This looks awesome. I shall see if I can try it. Thank you so much. You're doing the real MVP work. :)