User Tools

Site Tools


wiki:software:win32:powertoys

Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP

This is a small collection of tools and utilities that were released by Microsoft in the era of Windows 9x and XP. They are mirrored here. The descriptions are also mirrored from Microsoft's page, which is now only available through archive.org.

Alt-Tab Replacement

This PowerToy is now a core Windows feature.

With this PowerToy, in addition to seeing the icon of the application window you are switching to, you will also see a preview of the page. This helps particularly when multiple sessions of an application are open.

Download Alt-Tab Replacement

CD Slide Show Generator

With this PowerToy you can view images burned to a CD as a slide show. The Generator works downlevel on Windows 9x machines as well.

Download CD Slide Show Generator

ClearType Tuner

This PowerToy is now a core Windows feature.

This PowerToy lets you use ClearType technology to make it easier to read text on your screen, and installs in the Control Panel for easy access.

Download ClearType Tuner

Color Control Panel Applet

This PowerToy is now a core Windows feature.

Professional-level photographers and designers know that getting consistent, accurate color from file to screen to print and beyond is a requirement for great results. This new tool helps you manage Windows color settings in one place.

Download Color Control Panel Applet

HTML Slide Show Manager

This wizard helps you create an HTML slide show of your digital pictures, ready to place on your Web site.

Download HTML Slide Show Manager

Image Resizer

This PowerToy enables you to resize one or many image files with a right-click.

Download Image Resizer

Open Command Window Here

This PowerToy is now a core Windows feature.

This PowerToy adds an “Open Command Window Here” context menu option on file system folders, giving you a quick way to open a command window (cmd.exe) pointing at the selected folder.

Download Open Command Window Here

Power Calc

This PowerToy is now a core Windows feature.

With this PowerToy you can graph and evaluate functions as well as perform many different types of conversions.

Download Power Calc

SyncToy

With new sources of files coming from every direction (such as digital cameras, e-mail, cell phones, portable media players, camcorders, PDAs, and laptops), SyncToy can help you copy, move, and synchronize different directories. Learn more here.

Taskbar Magnifier

Use this PowerToy to magnify part of the screen from the taskbar.

Download Taskbar Magnifier

Tweak UI

This PowerToy gives you access to system settings that are not exposed in the Windows XP default user interface, including mouse settings, Explorer settings, taskbar settings, and more.

Version 2.10 requires Windows XP Service Pack 1 or Windows Server 2003.

Virtual Desktop Manager

This PowerToy is now a core Windows feature.

Manage up to four desktops from the Windows taskbar with this PowerToy.

Download Virtual Desktop Manager

Webcam Timer Shot

This PowerToy lets you take pictures at specified time intervals from a Webcam connected to your computer and save them to a location that you designate.

Download Webcam Timer Shot

Articles in this section

    • Fixing Firefox Quantum: Auto-hiding toolbarsplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigFixing Firefox Quantum: Auto-hiding toolbars

      MacOS

      I strongly advise against continuing to use Firefox in any capacity. It isn't secure and will not keep your online account passwords secure.

      With Firefox axing native browser plugins, there are a lot of things I can’t do in the browser anymore. Hiding the toolbars is one of those annoying things that the great gods of Firefox’s dev team have deemed an unnecessary and frivolous feature.
  • Maximizing Windows: Better screenshots with Greenshotplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigMaximizing Windows: Better screenshots with Greenshot

    Every once in awhile, I like to peruse Sourceforge for new, interesting open-source applications. I was looking for a good screenshot application several months ago, when I was working on writing help documentation on a project at my job. I’ve since found out that the help documentation software, Adobe RoboHelp, includes a very nice screenshot manager called RoboScreenShot. This application, however, is not free, and I’m always interested in…
  • Packagetrackr.com’s Windows Gadgetplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigPackagetrackr.com’s Windows Gadget

    I rather like Packagetrackr.com, which has recently been migrating to a new site, Faranow.com. I buy stuff online a lot (mostly eBay these days), and having a single place to track everything is awesome, especially since I can get email alerts and the like.
  • Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XPplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigMicrosoft PowerToys for Windows XP

    This is a small collection of tools and utilities that were released by Microsoft in the era of Windows 9x and XP. They are mirrored here. The descriptions are also mirrored from Microsoft's page, which is now only available through archive.org.

    Alt-Tab Replacement win32 index
  • VMWare – Installing a virtual machine on a physical disk in Windows 7plugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigVMWare – Installing a virtual machine on a physical disk in Windows 7

    We recently started working on an old Unisys Aquanta EN (which is a rebranded Acer AcerNote Pro 950cx) for the lulz. However, since the thing won’t boot off any external disks and we have no internal floppy or CD-ROM module for it, it turned out that getting an operating system onto it wasn’t so easy. After several hours of fiddling with USB sleds and other possible solutions, we gave up on doing it directly to the hardware.…
  • Setup a webcam stream in ten minutesplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigSetup a webcam stream in ten minutes

    I have friends all over the world. Once in awhile, I make use of the various webcams I own and do a little video chatting. Getting video chat to work well will be for another day – something I learned recently, however, was how to setup a live stream on a webpage. It was surprisingly easy, and works in both Windows Vista and Windows XP.
  • X-Mouse Button Control (XMBC)plugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigX-Mouse Button Control (XMBC)

    This is a very simple mouse button remapping application that uses a win32 mouse API that has been included in Windows since XP. It's a relatively limited application as a result, but it does what it says on the tin very efficiently.