PowerToys 0.69 with Registry Preview tool released

Microsoft released PowerToys 0.69, the latest version of its open source tools collection for Windows, today. The new version includes the Registry Preview tool, and options to change the user-scope of the installation.

Existing users may run a check for updates in the PowerToys settings to update the application to the latest version. Installers are also provided on the official GitHub repository of the project.

Registry Preview

The main feature of the PowerToys 0.69 release is the new Registry Preview tool. We mentioned it back in March 2023 already, when it was first announced by PowerToys' development team. Back then, only screenshots existed. Now, all PowerToys users may make use of the application.

Registry Preview is a helper tool for Registry files. These files, with the .reg extension, make changes to the Windows Registry when executed on a Windows machine. They can be loaded into any plain text editor, and display what they do then using a simple syntax.

Registry Preview visualizes these instructions in its interface. It displays the contents of any Registry file on the left side in its interface, and information about keys and values on the right.

Values are only displayed when keys are selected on the right. There is no option to display all values right away, and it may lead to a bit of clicking to find out about these.

While that may be useful already, especially for larger Registry files, it also comes with editing capabilities.

The left pane, which displays the contents of the Registry file, supports direct edits. Users of the application may add, delete or change content. It takes just a second to change a specific value, or paste another line into the file to include it in the execution.

A save option is available to save edited Registry files, and there is an option to write the content to the Registry.

The Registry Preview tool lacks a syntax checker. Mistakes are not highlighted by it, which is a big problem; this can be tested by removing a character, e.g., a bracket, from the Registry file. While this leads to the removal of these instructions on the right side, there is no alert of any kind about the problem.

Registry Preview needs a bit of work, but it is a useful tool for Windows administrators and users, who work with Registry files regularly. It needs an error checking functionality though.

PowerToys 0.69 includes a large number of additional fixes and changes. These include fixes for some of the included tools, and an ability to change the user-scope of the installation, using policies.

Full details on all of these changes are available on GitHub.

Now You: do you work with .reg files regularly?

PowerToys 0.69 with Registry Preview tool released