A big change in copy and paste is coming for some Windows users, which may make them breathe a sigh of relief.
The company has announced that it will introduce a “paste as plain text” option to Windows 11 and Windows 10 apps with PowerToys, giving users of the open source platform a much smoother experience when copying information.
Previously, PowerToys users were somewhat hampered by the lack of a full paste function that would allow users to simply copy text without preserving formatting such as size, color, or other differences.
Copy and paste PowerToys
The update was detected in Github post (opens in a new tab)where the responsible developers described how the feature, triggered by the familiar Ctrl+Win+V keystrokes (although users will be able to customize and create their own custom shortcut), will work in any application that runs PowerToys.
“It relies heavily on the work done for the ‘Text Extractor’ module and then ripping out anything that might be unnecessary. The same KeyboardMonitor is implemented and used,” the developers stated.
“Interesting logic really goes into KeyboardMonitor because that’s where the clipboard is opened/read/modified and then the ctrl+v input sequence is injected.”
There’s no word on when the Paste as Plain Text tool will start rolling out, but given the number of PowerToys users who have requested it, it could go live soon.
PowerToys is an open source toolkit for advanced Windows users, designed to bypass certain settings and perform actions that are unavailable by default. It also offers a wider range of customization options.
Since the 2019 reboot, Microsoft has regularly serviced PowerToys with new tools and features, a pattern that has been extended in the latest release.
The next PowerToys update earlier in 2022 also included some useful additions, including an “Always on Top” tool that allows users to toggle which window is in focus with a quick press of Win + Ctrl + T. Microsoft has changed also hotkey to mute webcam and microphone from Win+N to Win+Shift+Q to avoid conflict with existing Windows 11 keyboard shortcut.
The latest version of PowerToys is available through both Microsoft store (opens in a new tab) and GitHub page (opens in a new tab).
By: Neovin (opens in a new tab)