Microsoft PowerToys 0.58.0 focuses on native ARM64

What’s new and improved in Microsoft PowerToys 0.58.0

Highlights

• Most of the work for running natively on ARM64 has been included in the repo. Thanks @snickler!
• Uses of the obsolete WebBrowser control were replaced with WebView 2.
• All uses of .NET core were removed. PowerToys now runs on .NET framework 6.
• Settings no longer runs on XAML Islands and is now running on WinUI 3, fixing many bugs related to XAML islands.

General

• Spell checking fixes in the code. Thanks @jsoref!
• Fix for a CI error related to spell checking due to a GitHub API change. Thanks @jsoref!
• Fixed the documentation references to GitHub. Thanks @Cyl18!

ARM64

• Prepare solution and property files for ARM64 port. Thanks @snickler!
• Port unhandled exception handler to ARM64. Thanks @snickler!
• Port of the Settings projects to ARM64. Thanks @snickler!
• Port of most of the PowerToys to ARM64. Thanks @snickler!
• Port of the debug utilities to ARM64.

Always on Top

• Fix for topmost state of the window resetting for some applications. (This was a hotfix for 0.57)

ColorPicker

• The CIEXYZ format is now properly show in upper case.

FancyZones

• Restore rounded corners on Windows 11 and add a setting to control this behavior. (This was a hotfix for 0.57)
• Fixed an edge case where the Windows Terminal window wouldn’t be snapped when opened. (This was a hotfix for 0.57)
• Improved narrator support in the Grid Editor. (This was a hotfix for 0.57)
• Fixed a bug when restoring rounded corners on Windows 11. (This was a hotfix for 0.57)
• Fix for windows not being resized correctly on different dpi settings. (This was a hotfix for 0.57)
• Removed resolution from the screen identifier so zones aren’t reset when resolution changes.
• Scale the canvas layout when editing according to new scaling/resolution.
• Shipping a new tool to help debug windows interactions with FancyZones.

File explorer

• Fix for a crash in dev file preview if the settings file hadn’t been created yet. (This was a hotfix for 0.57)
• New file types were added to dev file preview (“.reg”, “.xslt”, “.xsd”, “.wsdl”, “.ino”, “.pde”, “.razor”). Thanks @Aaron-Junker!
• Fix an existing “file still in use” issue in dev file preview. Thanks @Aaron-Junker!
• Dev file preview is now able to interpret file extensions in a case-insensitive way. Thanks @Aaron-Junker!
• SVG and markdown viewers no longer use WebBrowser and use WebView2 instead.
• Markdown preview now respects the dark mode settings on Windows. Thanks @davidegiacometti!

Mouse utility

• Fix for the bug causing shortcuts set on icons to not activate when a mouse utility was active on specific monitor configurations.

PowerToys Run

• Fix for PowerToys Run using high CPU and memory when updating its settings. (This was a hotfix for 0.57)
• Add the “Run as different user” feature to the Program, Shell, and Search plugins. Thanks @htcfreek! (This was a hotfix for 0.57)
• Fix for a WindowWalker crash when a Virtual Desktop registry key is not set. Thanks @htcfreek! (This was a hotfix for 0.57)
• Fix for VS Code Workspaces not using the user’s path variable right after an install or update. Thanks @ricardosantos9521! (This was a hotfix for 0.57)
• Fix for the System plugin causing PowerToys Run to be slow when many network interfaces exist. Thanks @htcfreek! (This was a hotfix for 0.57)
• Fix for the Program plugin not showing special shortcuts with empty targets, like Control Panel. (This was a hotfix for 0.57)
• Additional logging for the Terminal plugin. Thanks @davidegiacometti! (This was a hotfix for 0.57)
• Web Search and URI plugins have better code for detecting the default browser now.
• Fix for the Services plugin not manipulating service names with spaces correctly. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
• Fix for the Terminal plugin not recognizing profiles correctly. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
• Fix for latest VSCode insiders build not showing up in the VSCode Workspaces plugin. Thanks @JacobDeuchert!
• Increased floating number precision in the Unit Converter plugin.
• VSCode Workspaces now finds portable installations of VS Code. Thanks @harvastum
• Fixed an issue starting PowerToys Run when the desktop is not initialized. Thanks @davidegiacometti!

Settings

• Settings now runs on WinUI3 instead of XAML islands.
• Settings no longer runs as an administrator when runner is started as an administrator.

Runner

• Use sensible default times for rechecking for an update, to avoid writing to the logs in a loop. (This was a hotfix for 0.57)
• Runner cleans up the update directory if the installation is up to date. Thanks @davidegiacometti!

Installer

• Distribute a signed .msi inside the .exe installer bootstrapper. (This was a hotfix for 0.57)
• Removed the .NET core dependency from the installer.
• Partial support for an ARM64 installer.
• Updated the .NET framework to 6.0.4.
• Force update all files on reinstall/update, to try and fix installation issues.

Development

• PowerToys no longer takes a dependency on .NET core.
• WinUI3 is a new dependency. Settings now targets win10-x64 and win10-arm64 due to this.