This Microsoft PowerToys repair lastly makes Net Search usable

I do not shrink back from the truth that I really like Windows 11. Is it good? No, nevertheless it will get plenty of issues proper, and in my over 20 years of Home windows expertise, it has been my favourite OS to this point (sorry Windows 7).

That mentioned, there are issues about Home windows 11 that typically drive me nuts. And Microsoft Edge is considered one of them. Each time I do a contemporary set up of Home windows or arrange a new Windows 11 laptop, I am reminded that Microsoft does not need me to put in my most well-liked browser of selection. Every time I am downloading Google Chrome it barrages me with the message that “there is not any have to obtain a brand new internet browser” as a result of Edge is a “quick, safe, and trendy internet expertise.” I do not hate Edge essentially, I’ve simply been utilizing Chrome for too lengthy, and it is already synced throughout all my gadgets.

As a fan of Microsoft’s PowerToys app, one factor that has aggravated me not too long ago when utilizing its Net Search function within the Command Palette is that it solely makes use of Edge for internet searches, and ignores my default browser. This was a bug that solely affected individuals utilizing Home windows 11 24H2 (through XDA), and it has been driving me loopy since I began utilizing Command Palette, which solely not too long ago launched in Might.

Fortunately, this challenge has now been fastened within the newest PowerToys replace, PowerToys v0.92. Now, once you carry out a Net Search within the Command Palette, it makes use of your default internet browser, whether or not it is Chrome, Firefox, or another browser as a substitute of Edge. The patch notes for the most recent replace state, “Fastened a problem the place Net Search at all times opened Microsoft Edge as a substitute of the person’s default browser on Home windows 11 24H2 and later.”

What’s Home windows Command Palette?

You’ll be able to run instructions and open apps shortly

If you happen to’re unfamiliar with Command Palette, it is a newer, extra environment friendly model of PowerToys Run. The function provides a macOS-like Highlight search to your PC, making it simple to run instructions, discover information, open apps, or search the online shortly.

When you obtain PowerToys, you’ll be able to open the Home windows Command Palette by urgent the Home windows Key + Alt + Spacebar. You’ll be able to change this keybinding to one thing extra accessible within the PowerToys settings, positioned below System Instruments > Command Palette. While you open Command Palette, you’ll be able to seek for something in your PC, and if you cannot discover it, you’ll be able to conduct an internet search, which is able to now use your default browser as a substitute of Edge robotically.

Along with fixing the Command Palette’s internet search bug, the most recent model of PowerToys consists of different updates for Command Palette, similar to improved efficiency, higher hotkey dealing with for a “smoother person expertise,” and enhanced visible readability “by styling essential context gadgets accurately.” If you would like to learn all of the PowerToys patch notes, yow will discover them on GitHub.

Microsoft PowerToys is obtainable totally free from the Microsoft Retailer. After putting in it in your Home windows 11 PC, you will unlock a wide range of useful productivity features, similar to file preview with Peek, multitasking with the All the time on Prime window device, choosing any colour in your PC utilizing the Shade Picker utility, and notably the Command Palette, much like macOS’s Highlight. If you have not tried PowerToys but, I extremely advocate giving it a shot. You do not must be a developer or a Home windows professional to take pleasure in its distinctive options.

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These PowerToys instruments have boosted my productiveness on Home windows 11, and it’s best to attempt them out too.