What PowerToys’ Power Display Actually Does
Power Display is a new PowerToys monitor control that puts key screen settings right in your Windows taskbar settings area. Instead of poking at tiny physical buttons on your monitor or digging through layered Windows menus, you get a system tray icon that exposes supported display controls for each detected screen. At a minimum, you can use this display adjustment tool to raise or lower brightness with a simple slider. On supported monitors, you may also see sliders for contrast, color temperature, rotation, and even volume control, all grouped by monitor so multi-display setups are easy to manage. This taskbar-based approach means you can tweak a dim external display, fine-tune color for a presentation, or adjust audio on a connected screen without leaving your current app, streamlining everyday PowerToys features into a quick, one-click workflow.
Install or Update PowerToys to Get Power Display
To start using Power Display, you first need the latest version of Microsoft PowerToys. If PowerToys is already installed on your Windows 10 or 11 PC, open the app and check for updates from its settings interface so you’re on version 0.99.1 or later. If you’re new to PowerToys, download it from the Microsoft Store page or the official GitHub page, then complete the standard installation. Once installed, launch PowerToys and you’ll see a sidebar listing all available PowerToys features, including the new Power Display module. Updating through these official channels ensures you get the newest tools and enhancements, such as the taskbar monitor control and additional productivity utilities like window management and improved keyboard customization. After the update, Power Display will be ready to configure, and its system tray icon will become your shortcut to instant monitor adjustments.
Enable Power Display and Customize Its Taskbar Behavior
With PowerToys installed, open it and navigate to the Power Display settings page. Toggle the main switch to enable the tool so its icon appears in your system tray. From this panel, you can tailor how the PowerToys monitor control behaves. First, adjust the activation shortcut if you want a specific key combination to open the controls quickly. Next, decide which monitor settings you actually want to see: you can enable or disable sliders for brightness, contrast, color temperature, rotation, and volume depending on what your monitor supports and what you use most. You can also create and save custom profiles—useful if you swap between a bright daytime setup and a softer, low-glare nighttime configuration. These profiles can then be recalled with a couple of clicks, turning your Windows taskbar settings area into a flexible, profile-based control hub.
Adjust Multiple Monitors from the System Tray
Once Power Display is active, using it is straightforward. Click the Power Display icon in the system tray to open a compact panel showing each detected monitor, typically labeled so you can distinguish your laptop screen from external displays. For each monitor, you’ll see the available sliders: drag brightness up or down, fine-tune contrast, or modify color temperature to reduce eye strain. If your screen supports it, you can rotate the display or adjust volume directly from the same panel. The display adjustment tool applies changes immediately, so you can watch your screens respond in real time. Because each monitor has its own sliders, multi-monitor setups are no longer a chore—you can dim just one display, keep another bright, or mute audio on a specific screen, all without leaving your current application or touching a single physical button.
Other New PowerToys Features That Boost Productivity
Power Display is part of a broader update that strengthens PowerToys as a productivity toolkit. The new Grab And Move tool lets you move and resize windows by holding a modifier key and clicking anywhere in the window, instead of hunting for the title bar or edge. By default, holding Alt and left-clicking moves a window, while Alt and right-clicking resizes it horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. You can customize the activation key, disable it when Game Mode is on, and exclude specific apps. Existing tools received upgrades too: Command Palette now lets you pin favorite commands, the Keyboard Manager Editor makes editing recorded key mappings easier, and ZoomIt gains scrolling screenshots so you can capture longer content in one go. Together with taskbar-based monitor control, these improvements make PowerToys a more comprehensive way to streamline everyday Windows workflows.