Windows 10's new open-source PowerToys Run app launcher: Microsoft fixes the bugs
At Build 2020 last month Microsoft added the PowerToys app launcher PowerToys Run to the utility's toolkit for Windows 10 power users. The company has now issued an update that fixes a few glitches with the new app launcher.
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PowerToys Run can be launched by typing Alt+Space to bring up a search box – similar to macOS Spotlight search – which helps Windows 10 users quickly find and open apps, folders, and files. It helps allows users to search for processes or do calculations.
PowerToys developers admitted there was room for improvement in PowerToys Run when it launched and some of those improvements have arrived in a new update for PowerToys, which fixes a bug that caused PowerToys Run to launch apps in admin mode if PowerToys was being run as administrator.
SEE: Top Windows 10 run commands (free PDF)
Also, when running in admin mode PowerToys Run wasn't finding files and folders, and it wasn't finding the Evernote app.
Microsoft notes that a few fixes require PowerToys Run's app data to be reset. This can be done by deleting everything in the folder: %localappdata%/Microsoft/PowerToys/PowerToys Run.
The update also fixes a bug that prevented PowerToys Run from finding key apps, including File Explorer and Microsoft's open source Windows Terminal app for developers using command-line tools.
Microsoft open-sourced PowerToys in September, reviving a tool it introduced in Windows 95 for power users. Each month developers behind the open-source PowerToys project are releasing updates and new utilities that ship with PowerToys, such as PowerRename for bulk-renaming files, FancyZones for customizing windows layouts, and Preview Panes for a read-only view of a file's contents in File Explorer.
At Build, Microsoft also released a new PowerToys Keyboard Manager that lets users remap the keyboard.
PowerToys requires Windows 10 1803 build 17134 or later and also the installation of the .NET Core 3.1 Desktop Runtime.
PowerToys Run lets you search for applications, folders, or files