Microsoft's approach to Windows features is a mixed bag. It tries to keep the operating system overly simplified and doesn't ship several features that should be a part of it. PowerToys became my savior as it targeted the pain points of Microsoft’s flagship operating system. It includes a vast tool set now, much bigger than the original edition, and almost all of them make sense. Windows decides to skip even crucial features like a better preview tool, file management options, batch file rename, and many more.

What’s even more surprising is that PowerToys continues to add a new feature every few months that Microsoft never thought about. It’s befuddling to see the same company ship widely used features via PowerToys and not include them natively. Let’s discuss the most recent changes to PowerToys and how it benefits everyone.

The feature gap is huge

PowerToys fills it

Each PowerToys utility stems from a reason. Microsoft retired PowerToys for some time when it was a collection of a small set of tools that introduced features missing in Windows. Ever since its revival in 2019 and conversion into an open-source project, the tool has become an inseparable part of my system.

It all started with just a couple of tools, that’s now grown to over thirty in such a short time. For me, Command Palette, which is a revamped version of the old PowerToys Run, is a feature I want Windows to include by default.

PowerToys Run was already great, as it brought a spotlight-like floating search bar to Windows. Command Palette tunes it for modern workflows, and it's the modern search bar that Windows desperately needs.

Windows Search is an abomination that I don’t like dealing with anymore. In my personal experience, the search function broke about a couple of months back, and typing anything into the bar or Start menu didn’t fetch any results. Even after applying all the monthly patches and submitting feedback, the search didn’t improve.

Even if I ignore this problem as an isolated use case, I don’t prefer using Windows search on my virtual machines. The reason is the same; it operates at a snail's pace and doesn’t really match the modern OS vibe. Another painful reason is Microsoft’s injection of Bing ads into the search window, which just kills the search speed and tarnishes the whole experience. Command Palette turns the tide as it fixes the native search flaws with some cool upgrades.

Dock is here

It’s the taskbar upgrade I needed

I can conjure the Command Palette with the Win + Alt + Space shortcut. It adds a floating search bar on the screen that can search for anything, install apps, use built-in tools, and more. Rather than jumping into individual apps and then navigating pages in the hopes of finding the right thing. Running commands is also possible, and I’ve shifted all my Winget installs to Command Palette.

But the newest update adds a Dock to the top of your screen that’s fully customizable. It’s still in Beta, so you might find inconsistencies with the feature implementation. My test run didn’t encounter any glaring issues after I enabled it from the customizable settings. In the beginning, the dock had only two icons on the far left, for Winget and Command Palette. The right side is a little more populated with resource monitoring icons for CPU, memory, network, and GPU, with a date and time icon.

So far, it is a perfect taskbar that I wanted from Microsoft. It could skip a few icons like GPU usage, but I would keep the network usage icon. It saves me from checking the speed via the terminal or a web tool. But what about some more icons?

You can add most of the system app icons and even niche ones, utilities like sysinfo, to the dock. All it takes is typing the tool’s name in the Command Palette’s bar and selecting the Pin to dock option. I can even choose to hide the app label to conserve space for a cleaner look. I can also pin the PowerToys utilities on the dock, which is great if you are bad at remembering keyboard shortcuts like me.

To add salt to wounds, it supports extensive customization. I can reposition it on any screen corner I like. Windows 11 locked the taskbar at the bottom, but the Command Palette’s dock can be freely positioned in any direction. I prefer the top orientation because the vertical one takes up more space due to the display of information. You can hide the labels and subtitles to reduce the width to some extent.

What’s even more surprising is that it bears the same personalization properties as the Windows taskbar. I can change its color, material design (transparent or acrylic), and change the background. You can finally add an image as the background of the dock. Its visibility is a little subdued, but I expect Microsoft to fix it and simply display the image on the dock.

You deserve a better search and taskbar

Command Palette gives me a better version of the Windows taskbar without paying a dime. It has already improved my search experience as I’ve been using it for a year, and with the new dock update, I don’t see any point in using the old taskbar. The only reason to do so is to open the system tray, so I’ve set the taskbar to auto-hide mode. Give it a try if you are unsatisfied with the native taskbar.