Microsoft has released PowerToys 0.97, with a new mouse utility for multi-monitor setups and significant improvements to the Command Palette quick launcher.

CursorWrap, the new mouse tool added with this release, will "teleport" the mouse pointer to the opposite edge of active monitors, ensuring it instantly appears on the other side when moved beyond the top, bottom, left, or right edge.

This feature addresses a common frustration among users with multiple displays who must drag cursors across large screen distances.

"If you use multiple monitors and are tired of dragging your mouse all the way across the screen, CursorWrap is here to help," said Microsoft Senior Product Manager Niels Laute.

"Cursor Wrap works with 1-9 monitors based on the logical monitor layout of the PC - for a single monitor device the cursor is wrapped for the top/bottom and left/right edges of the display - for a multi-monitor setup the cursor is wrapped on the top/bottom left/right of the displays in the logical display layout," the tool is described on the PowerToys GitHub repository.

Today's update also focuses heavily on improvements to Command Palette, a PowerToys quick launcher utility that can be opened with the Win+Alt+Space keyboard shortcut and allows users to search and execute commands without navigating via menus.

PowerToys 0.97 introduces several requested features, including direct control over other PowerToys from within Command Palette via a new built-in extension. Users can now toggle utilities like FancyZones layouts, activate the color picker, and toggle Light Switch without opening separate settings windows.

This release also integrates the Peek file preview utility into Command Palette, allowing users to preview files and folders without leaving the launcher's interface. The PowerToys team also added a new Personalization page (in the Command Palette Settings under the Personalization menu) that helps users to customize the Command Palette interface with background images and color tinting.

Additional Command Palette improvements include a built-in Remote Desktop extension for quick access to remote desktop connections and the ability to select custom search engines in Web Search extension settings.

Originally released during the Windows 95 era, Microsoft PowerToys started as a collection of small freeware tools created by Windows developers as personal projects. However, in 2019, Microsoft revived the toolset as an open-source utility pack designed to streamline tasks that previously required third-party tools.

PowerToys is available through the Microsoft Store or the official GitHub repository, which also provides a detailed changelog for each version.