Microsoft today released a new version of its open-source PowerToys toolkit for Windows 10 with improvements and fixes for issues affecting search results displayed from the PowerToys Run launcher when running as admin.
PowerToys 0.18.2, released today, also addresses a bug that causes the built-in launcher to run everything as admin when PowerToys itself is running as admin.
Microsoft also fixed a bug that caused PowerToys Run to not detect new apps and applications in the Windows 10 PATH.
Last but not least, among the highlights of this release, is that PowerToys 0.18.2 fixes the watereffect causing PowerToys Run to run in an elevated state when starting PowerToys as an administrator.
Full list of improvements and fixes
- #3223 – Does not detect some apps
- #3180 – “PowerToys run” shows Notepad and Notepad++ twice (This has been partially fixed, and will be fully fixed in 0.19)
- #3599 – Does not detect Evernote
- #3532 – No camera is running
- #3215 – When PowerToys is run as admin, everything that starts during Run runs with admin privileges
- #3646 – PowerToys Run does not show files or folders when running in admin mode
- This version also added generated symbols for additional debugging capability.
PowerToys Run development and features
Microsoft's PowerToys Run app first appeared as a work-in-progress in January under the name PowerLauncher.
The launcher is designed to replace various application launch options available on the Windows platform, such as the Win + R shortcut, Windows Search via the Win + S shortcut, and the built-in search bar, as well as third-party launchers such as Launchy, Listary, Executor, and Wox.
Two months later, at the Build 2020 developer conference, Microsoft announced the release of PowerToys Run, the new macOS Spotlight-like app launcher for Windows 10 users, version 1903 or later.
When searching for applications using PowerToys run, you can open the selected application as admin using the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Enter, open the containing folder in File Explorer with Ctrl + Shift + E, and copy the path of the file or folder with Ctrl + C.
