Microsoft PowerToys 0.94.0

What's new in this version:

Highlights:
- For an in-depth look at the latest changes, visit the release blog
- PowerToys Settings added a Settings search with fuzzy matching, suggestions, a results page, and UX polish to make finding options faster
- A comprehensive hotkey conflict detection system was introduced in Settings to surface and help resolve conflicting shortcuts. Note that the default hotkey settings (Win+Ctrl+Shift+T, Win+Ctrl+V, Win+Ctrl+T, Win+Shift+T) may overlap with existing Windows system shortcuts. This is expected. You can resolve the conflict by assigning different hotkeys
- Mouse Utilities added a “Gliding cursor” accessibility feature to Mouse Pointer Crosshairs for single‑button cursor movement and clicking
- The installer was upgraded to WiX 5 after WiX 3 reached end-of-life; this move improved installer security, reliability, and community support
- Tons of bug fixes and improvements for Command Palette, including visual updates and new support for filters on ListPages (handy for extension developers)
- Hosts Editor now has a “No leading spaces” option so active host entries can start at column 0 even if others are disabled
- Context menu registration was moved from the installer to runtime to avoid loading disabled modules (runtime registrations)
- Quick Accent now supports Maltese, and frequently used accents appear first (and are remembered across sessions)

Always On Top:
- Fixed the border hover cursor so it shows the arrow instead of the wait cursor

Command Palette:
- Applied single-click activation only to pointer input; keyboard always activates immediately
- Let context menus open at the cursor by removing window-bound constraints
- Made error messages clearer with timestamps, HRESULTs, and full details for easier diagnosis
- Prevented crashes and improved robustness when updating providers without commands
- Ensured the Settings window reliably comes to the front when opened
- Replaced the Clipboard History icon with a colorful Fluent icon
- Hardened ContentIcon to avoid duplicate parenting and improve diagnostics
- Standardized null checks using C# pattern matching for safer behavior
- Improved accessibility by focusing the activation shortcut dialog and making text reachable
- Moved the extension SDK to a stable Windows SDK and cleaned up message namespaces
- Added path shortcuts: ~ to home, and / or \ to system root, plus UNC support
- Fixed a race in cancellation handling to avoid InvalidOperationException
- Aligned separator styling with WinUI 3 for consistent visuals
- Added ARM64 PDBs to the Extensions SDK NuGet for better debugging
- Added single-select filters to DynamicListPage and updated Windows Services sample
- Updated main page placeholder text to better describe what can be searched
- Removed explicit WinAppSDK/WebView2 dependencies from toolkit and API
- Added a local keyboard hook to handle the GoBack key reliably
- Propagated alias changes safely and resolved conflicts across view models
- Allowed providers to override Dispose with a virtual method
- Fixed memory leaks by cleaning up removed or cancelled list items
- Sorted DateTime extension results by relevance for better usability
- Reduced search text “jiggling” by avoiding redundant change notifications
- Centralized automation notifications in a UIHelper for better accessibility
- Preserved Adaptive Card action types during trimming via DynamicDependency
- Added an acrylic backdrop and refined styling to the context menu
- Prevented disposed pages and Settings windows from handling stale messages
- Made the extension API easier to evolve without breaking clients
- Added “evil” sample pages to help reproduce tricky bugs
- Fixed WinGet trim-safety issues by replacing LINQ with manual iteration
- Cancelled stale list fetches to avoid older results overwriting newer ones in CmdPal

Command Palette extensions:
- Improved empty states and ranking logic for multiple extensions
- Added app icons to the All Apps "Run" context command when available
- Restored missing builtin icons by standardizing extension dependencies
- Unblocked local deployment by adding WinAppSDK to two sample extensions

Hosts File Editor:
- Added a "No leading spaces" option so active hosts entries can start at column 0 even when others are disabled

Image Resizer:
- Fixed Image Resizer localization by installing satellite resources under the WinUI 3 apps culture path

Mouse Utilities:
- Introduced "Gliding cursor" to control the pointer and click with a single hotkey for better accessibility

Mouse Without Borders:
- Blocked Easy Mouse from switching machines during fullscreen apps, with an allow-list for exceptions

Peek:
- Added Visual Studio shared project file types to XML preview and fixed bgcode handler registration
- Fixes bgcode preview handler registration and events for reliable previews

PowerRename:
- Changed the Explorer accelerator key to PowErRename to avoid clashing with the New menu

Quick Accent:
- Remembered character usage across sessions so frequently used accents appear first
- Added Maltese language support with specific characters and the Euro symbol
- Reduced GPU usage issues by making the window Topmost only when the picker is visible

Settings:
- Added telemetry to track usage of the new shortcut conflict detection workflow
- Moved the shutdown action from the title bar to a footer menu item with confirmation
- Implemented comprehensive hotkey conflict detection with a dedicated resolution dialog
- Added branded visuals for Office and Copilot keys in the KeyVisual control
- Introduced Settings search with fuzzy matching and navigation to specific controls
- Corrected Spanish localization so product names like Awake remain in English across Settings and OOBE
- Simplified the Advanced Paste description in Settings for quicker reading and consistent capitalization
- Localized conflict messages in the conflict window and dialog

Installer:
- Upgraded the installer to WiX 5 with silent "Files in Use" handling for smoother winget installs
- Switched Win10 context menu modules to runtime registration and added cleanup on uninstall to avoid stale entries

Documentation:
- Adds docs for building the installer locally and testing winget installs
- Fixed a broken style guide link in developer documentation

Development:
- Excluded test and coverage DLLs from BinSkim scans to cut false positives and speed up security analysis
- Simplified NOTICE maintenance by removing version numbers and filtering out Microsoft/System packages
- Improved NuGet dependency validation to prevent package downgrades and catch issues during restore
- Updated UTF.Unknown to a modern version to improve compatibility without breaking changes
- Refreshed package catalog in CI before installing dependencies to prevent Linux workflow failures
- Refactored CmdPal tests with dependency injection and added coverage for queries and settings
- Added unit tests to verify Close on Enter swaps Copy/Save as expected
- Added accessibility IDs to CmdPal UI for stable UI tests
- Rewrote system command tests with a new test base and cleaner patterns
- Added unit tests for WebSearch and Shell extensions with mockable settings
- Added unit tests and abstractions for Apps and Bookmarks extensions
- Cleans up AI‑generated tests; adds meaningful query tests across extensions
- Removed the obsolete debug dialog from Settings for a smoother developer loop