Files
PowerToys/doc/devdocs/modules
Noraa Junker 6c9fb8ce52 [Shortcut Guide] Add Windows key hold activation options (#49661)
## Summary of the Pull Request

Adds configurable Windows-key hold activation to Shortcut Guide while
keeping the regular activation shortcut independent.

Users can choose to disable Windows-key activation, show taskbar
indicators, or open the full Shortcut Guide. Full-guide mode also
supports a configurable hold duration and optional close-on-release
behavior.

<img width="1099" height="611" alt="image"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e0fe4c0f-3bef-43f8-a526-d22caf9e484e"
/>


## PR Checklist

- [ ] Closes: N/A
- [x] **Communication:** The UX and behavior were discussed before
implementation
- [x] **Tests:** Added/updated and all pass
- [x] **Localization:** All end-user-facing strings can be localized
- [x] **Dev docs:** Added/updated
- [ ] **New binaries:** Not applicable
- [ ] **Documentation updated:** Not applicable

## Detailed Description of the Pull Request / Additional comments

- Adds Off, taskbar-indicator, and full-guide Windows-key actions to
Settings.
- Adds a 100–5,000 ms hold-duration setting and a full-guide
close-on-release option.
- Handles left and right Windows keys and suppresses Start after an
activated hold.
- Routes Windows-key holds through a dedicated event so custom
activation shortcuts remain independent.
- Clears previous pressed-key registrations before refreshing them to
prevent duplicate long-press callbacks.
- Preserves compatibility with the existing `press_time` setting and
documents the new options.

## Validation Steps Performed

- Built the affected ARM64 Debug Settings, Runner, Shortcut Guide
module-interface, and Shortcut Guide UI projects.
- `ShortcutGuide.UnitTests`: 7/7 passed.
- Targeted Settings tests: 12/12 passed.
- Manually verified Off, taskbar-indicator, full-guide close-on-release,
and full-guide persistent modes.
- Verified configured hold thresholds, both Windows keys, Start
suppression, and regular-shortcut independence.
- Validated the final Settings XAML layout in the running Settings app.

---------

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: copilot-swe-agent[bot] <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Muyuan Li (from Dev Box) <muyuanli@microsoft.com>
Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot-Session: 2b3acca3-e49b-4936-8fb9-6f669bd449db
2026-08-13 22:27:39 +02:00
..

PowerToys Modules

This section contains documentation for individual PowerToys modules, including their architecture, implementation details, and debugging tools.

Available Modules

Module Description
Advanced Paste Tool for enhanced clipboard pasting with formatting options
Always on Top Tool for pinning windows to stay on top of other windows
Awake Tool to keep your computer awake without modifying power settings
Color Picker Tool for selecting and managing colors from the screen
Command Not Found Tool suggesting package installations for missing commands
Crop and Lock Tool for cropping application windows into smaller windows or thumbnails
Environment Variables Tool for managing user and system environment variables
FancyZones (debugging tools) Window manager utility for custom window layouts
File Explorer add-ons Extensions for enhancing Windows File Explorer functionality
File Locksmith Tool for finding processes that lock files
Hosts File Editor Tool for managing the system hosts file
Image Resizer Tool for quickly resizing images within File Explorer
Keyboard Manager Tool for remapping keys and keyboard shortcuts
Mouse Utilities Collection of tools to enhance mouse and cursor functionality
Mouse Without Borders Tool for controlling multiple computers with a single mouse and keyboard
NewPlus Context menu extension for creating new files in File Explorer
Peek File preview utility for quick file content viewing
Power Rename Bulk file renaming tool with search and replace functionality
PowerToys Run (deprecation soon) Quick application launcher and search utility
Quick Accent Tool for quickly inserting accented characters and special symbols
Registry Preview Tool for visualizing and editing Registry files
Screen Ruler Tool for measuring pixel distances and color boundaries on screen
Shortcut Guide Tool for displaying Windows keyboard shortcuts when holding the Windows key
Text Extractor Tool for extracting text from images and screenshots
Workspaces Tool for saving and restoring window layouts for different projects
ZoomIt Screen zoom and annotation tool

Adding New Module Documentation

When adding documentation for a new module:

  1. Create a dedicated markdown file for the module (e.g., modulename.md)
  2. If the module has specialized debugging tools, consider creating a separate tools document (e.g., modulename-tools.md)
  3. Update this index with links to the new documentation
  4. Follow the existing documentation structure for consistency