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PowerToys – open-source Windows utilities

fourth-wall.co.uk

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Re: PowerToys – open-source Windows utilities

#251

Post by jen729w »

Falkon1313 wrote: post #249
NelsonMinar wrote: post #164

PowerToys Run is fantastic as an app launcher. Not quite as good as Alfred on MacOS but then nothing is. There's a bunch of similar apps for Windows (I used to use Hain) but none ever worked quite right for me, PowerToys Run does though. FancyZones is awfully nice too for just putting a window somewhere at a reasonable size and location. As other folks have noted SysInternals is another similar rogue Windows product…

What does PowerToys Run do that the standard WIN+R run dialog doesn't? Or just hitting the WIN key to get the search dialog? I'm kind of a power user, since the C64 and DOS 3.3 days, and I find that Windows' current built-in stuff always works well for me. Never seen a need for a separate launcher app. Also wonder about that FancyZones. I love how easily Windows makes basic window and desktop management - shortcuts l…

The thing that Alfred does that the various methods of launching an app don't do is that it switches to an already-running app.

If I've got Outlook open I don't want another Outlook open. Why would I want that? I want to go to the version of Outlook that I already have running! This renders a 'launcher' pointless. I only 'launch' Outlook once a day.

I've yet to find – and I stopped looking a while back, because I stopped using the OS – a Windows 'application launcher' that does this. If Win+R does this then you've just blown my mind, but I don't think it does.

Is this a result of the way that Windows and Mac treat running apps differently? I only ever have one instance of Safari.app running, for example. That isn't the case on Windows, so how would a 'switcher' know which instance to pick?

Re: PowerToys – open-source Windows utilities

#253

Post by Jenk »

5d8767c68926 wrote: post #191
jcrben wrote: post #67

I found that IT at work wouldn't let me install powertoys because they didn't like the Awake feature. Please bundle these in of allow us to install them one by one.

Considering how much energy my work laptop burns on a daily basis because of the four(!) different security products, I am curious how Awake is where they draw the line.

"Security." Awake prevents your machine from locking due to inactivity, which violates PCI regs.

Re: PowerToys – open-source Windows utilities

#255

Post by RachelF »

forgotmypw17 wrote: post #240
NelsonMinar wrote: post #164

PowerToys Run is fantastic as an app launcher. Not quite as good as Alfred on MacOS but then nothing is. There's a bunch of similar apps for Windows (I used to use Hain) but none ever worked quite right for me, PowerToys Run does though. FancyZones is awfully nice too for just putting a window somewhere at a reasonable size and location. As other folks have noted SysInternals is another similar rogue Windows product…

When I still used Windows, my favorite app launcher was voidtools Everything

It's one of the reasons I stay on Windows. I haven't found a Linux tool that works as well for file indexing.

Re: PowerToys – open-source Windows utilities

#256

Post by RachelF »

tveyben wrote: post #48

I like powertoys, especially ‘fancy zones’! But Explorer is something I stopped using more than a decade ago when I encountered TotalCommander - that I cannot do without!!! The regex-supporting live-preview batch-filenaming utility alone is awesome. I work so much faster (with the keyboard) than will ever possible in Explorer! I could write for hours about the greatness of TCM, but as that’s a little off topic here I…

Yes, when I see someone using Explorer instead of Total Commander, I feel sorry for them.

There's an enhanced TC called TC UP with additional utilities:

https://www.tcup.pl/index.php/en/

Re: PowerToys – open-source Windows utilities

#257

Post by bloqs »

jen729w wrote: post #251
Falkon1313 wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does PowerToys Run do that the standard WIN+R run dialog doesn't? Or just hitting the WIN key to get the search dialog? I'm kind of a power user, since the C64 and DOS 3.3 days, and I find that Windows' current built-in stuff always works well for me. Never seen a need for a separate launcher app. Also wonder about that FancyZones. I love how easily Windows makes basic window and desktop management - shortcuts l…

The thing that Alfred does that the various methods of launching an app don't do is that it switches to an already-running app. If I've got Outlook open I don't want another Outlook open. Why would I want that? I want to go to the version of Outlook that I already have running! This renders a 'launcher' pointless. I only 'launch' Outlook once a day. I've yet to find – and I stopped looking a while back, because I sto…

You want to switch to an already running app? Alt tab or win tab doesnt do that?

Re: PowerToys – open-source Windows utilities

#258

Post by [deleted] »

joshstrange wrote: post #245
robertwt7 wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s the difference between alfred and spotlight? I always yse spotlight for launcher and app switching and it’s great

In a word, extensibility. If you are only looking to launch apps, do a few math calculations, and maybe search for files then Spotlight probably has you covered. In fact when spotlight stepped up its game I was a little worried Alfred has been Sherlocked [0] or that the developer might stop supporting it but thankfully that's not the case. You can do a number of cool things with Alfred like creating "workflows" to cr…

[deleted]

Re: PowerToys – open-source Windows utilities

#259

Post by chipotle_coyote »

maleldil wrote: post #183
megaman821 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is not true. I use both Windows and Mac a lot and I have about an equal number of OS level plugins. * PowerToys Awake - Amphetamine * PowerToys FancyZones - Moom * PowerToys Run - Alfred * EarTrumpet - Rogue Amoeba SoundSource * Windows Terminal - iTerm * QuickLook - Mac Native Functionality * Nothing for Windows - HazeOver * Windows Native Functionality - Bartender * Snipping Tool - Clean Shot X

* PowerToys Run - Alfred * Windows Terminal - iTerm * Snipping Tool - Clean Shot X These are not fair comparisons. The Mac tools you list here are much more powerful than the Windows counterparts, and there are good enough built-in alternatives (Spotlight, Terminal and the default screenshot tool). * PowerToys FancyZones - Moom This isn't fair either. FancyZones is much more powerful; Rectangle is a better comparison…

What is it that Rectangle can do that Moom can't? As a long-time Moom user, I've never come across an example of "amazing thing [other MacOS window management extension] does that Moom doesn't," but I always try to be open.

(There's also the possibility that there are amazing things I wouldn't use, of course. I have discovered that while I like keyboard shortcuts and Moom's hover dropdown for window resizing/movement, I find "drag a window to the screen edge to resize it" to be a maddening anti-feature.)

Re: PowerToys – open-source Windows utilities

#260

Post by jen729w »

bloqs wrote: post #257
jen729w wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing that Alfred does that the various methods of launching an app don't do is that it switches to an already-running app. If I've got Outlook open I don't want another Outlook open. Why would I want that? I want to go to the version of Outlook that I already have running! This renders a 'launcher' pointless. I only 'launch' Outlook once a day. I've yet to find – and I stopped looking a while back, because I sto…

You want to switch to an already running app? Alt tab or win tab doesnt do that?

It does, but I want to do it with an Alfred-like switcher.

The problem with *-tab is that each application has no fixed place in that space. So on every invocation I have to look, find, switch.

Contrast with bringing up Mail using Alfred. The behaviour is always the same, and therefore muscle-memory-learnable: Cmd+space, ma, return. Messages: Cmd+space, me, return. Near-instant for me because I've done it literally thousands of times.

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