PowerToys Explores New Command Palette Dock for Enhanced Windows UI
The PowerToys development team is exploring a new optional user interface feature for Windows, referred to as the Command Palette Dock. This proposed feature aims to provide users with quick access to tools, system resource monitoring, and other functionalities by integrating with the existing Command Palette. Currently in an early proof-of-concept stage, Microsoft is actively collecting user feedback to guide its development.
Feature Overview
The Command Palette Dock is envisioned as a customizable UI element designed to be pinnable to any edge of the display—top, left, right, or bottom.
Its primary objective is to allow users to pin existing PowerToys extensions directly to the dock, thereby providing immediate access and eliminating the need to open the Command Palette separately.
The feature is intended to facilitate quick access to desired information, such as active resource monitoring.
Microsoft has released concept images for the dock, describing its default configuration as similar to menu bars found on macOS or Linux distributions. These often display information like RAM usage, CPU temperature, and application shortcuts. The Command Palette launcher, introduced last year, serves as a foundation, providing quick access to commands, applications, and development tools, drawing comparisons to Apple's Spotlight in macOS.
Customization Options
Niels Laute, a senior product manager at Microsoft, stated that the dock is designed for high configurability. Users are expected to have the ability to:
- Adjust the dock's position on the screen, pinning it to the top, left, right, or bottom edge.
- Arrange and reorder extensions within three distinct regions: start, center, and end.
- Customize visual aspects, including its background, styling, and overall theme behavior.
Development Status and Feedback
The feature is presently in an early proof-of-concept stage and has not been finalized for release.
Microsoft is actively gathering feedback on GitHub to inform its future development and determine user interest.
Developers interested in experimenting with an early version can import a dedicated project from Microsoft's PowerToys GitHub repository into Visual Studio, as a dedicated branch for testing is available. The feature is not yet included in the main PowerToys release.