Newsletter Archives

• NPS Image Editor — for those who still like Microsoft Paint

  Posted on February 24, 2025 at 02:42 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  I’ll admit it. I still use Microsoft Paint from time to time because I like how easily I can paste images into other images, make collages, and quickly add text to an image.

  Before you start writing that email: yes, I know there are other programs that do those things. Remember? I run that download site. But Paint is fast. You can right-click an image icon and choose Edit, and Paint has your image ready for you. Do I wish it had more bells and whistles? I certainly do.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.08.0, 2025-02-24).

  Freeware Spotlight Color picker, Image Editor, NeoHtop, Newsletters, NPS Image Editor, System Monitor

• Microsoft PowerToys aren’t just for power users

  Posted on July 29, 2024 at 02:43 CDT by Mary Branscombe • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Mary Branscombe

  Microsoft keeps adding useful tools to the free PowerToys set and improving what’s already there.

  Back in the Windows 95 days, system tweaking and cleaning utilities were so common — and so likely to change system settings that stopped Windows features from working properly — that the Windows shell and kernel teams came out with their own tools, known as PowerToys.

  These were refreshed for Windows XP. A few other Microsoft teams joined in. Engineers on the OneNote development team created multiple power toys, including one that eventually became the Onetastic add-on.

  There were so many changes in Windows Vista and Windows 7 that many PowerToys stopped working. Microsoft didn’t update them. And some just turned into Windows features. It wasn’t until 2019 that PowerToys returned for Windows 10, and with a slightly different approach.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.31.0, 2024-07-29).

  Windows 11 Always On Top, Awake, Color picker, Command Not Found, Crop and Lock, FancyZones, File Locksmith, Hosts File Editor, Image Resizer, Mouse Crosshairs, Mouse without Borders, Newsletters, PowerToys, PowerToys Run, Screen Ruler, Shortcut Guide

• Windows PowerToys — returns!

  Posted on September 13, 2020 at 21:10 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums
  

  UTILITIES

  By Nathan Segal

  When it comes to utilities for Windows, most of us are conditioned to look either inside the OS or beyond Microsoft

  We forget that the folks in Redmond offer a wide variety of accessory tools and utilities online. When was the last time you visited Sysinternals, home of the classic Sysmon and Process Explorer?

  Another example is Microsoft PowerToys (GitHub page), which has been resurrected as an open-source app for Windows 10. This collection of useful tools is designed primarily for power users, but the average Windows jockey might want to look at them, too.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.36.0 (2020-09-14).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Color picker, Keyboard remapping, Power-user apps, PowerToys, Windows shortcuts