PowerToys improves FancyZones and adds new utilities in latest update

Microsoft PowerToys logo (Image credit: Microsoft)

What you need to know

PowerToys has a new update that brings it to version 0.1.6.0.
The update brings improvements to FancyZones and several new utilities.
The update also brings over 100 fixes to issues.

PowerToys is a collection of utilities for power users. It includes utilities like the PowerRename tool, an Image Resizer tool, and FancyZones, which lets you customize windows on your desktop.

Here's the complete changelog for v0.1.6.0:

FancyZone improvements:

Multi-Monitor improvement: Zone flipping switching now works between monitors! Simplified UX: Removed layout hot-swap and flashing feature due to need to improve multi-monitor support

New Utilities!
- Markdown Preview pane extension
- SVG Preview pane extension
- Image Resizer Window Shell extension
- Window Walker, an alt-tab alternative
Fixed over 100 issues!
Testing improvements
- 54 UX Functional tests
- 161 new Unit tests

Window Walker is an interesting utility that comes with this update. It allows you to press Control + Windows to bring up a search bar. You can then search for running programs on your PC.

You can grab the latest version of PowerToys from GitHub.

Sean Endicott is a news writer and apps editor for Windows Central with 11+ years of experience. A Nottingham Trent journalism graduate, Sean has covered the industry’s arc from the Lumia era to the launch of Windows 11 and generative AI. Having started at Thrifter, he uses his expertise in price tracking to help readers find genuine hardware value.

Beyond tech news, Sean is a UK sports media pioneer. In 2017, he became one of the first to stream via smartphone and is an expert in AP Capture systems. A tech-forward coach, he was named 2024 BAFA Youth Coach of the Year. He is focused on using technology—from AI to Clipchamp—to gain a practical edge.