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Microsoft Experiments With PowerToys Command Palette Dock for Windows 11

The prototype builds on the Command Palette launcher as an opt-in layer for quick access to tools.

Overview

  • The proposed Command Palette Dock is an optional menu-bar-style UI that surfaces glanceable system metrics, media controls, and pinned shortcuts.
  • It is not part of Windows 11 itself or the main PowerToys release, and Microsoft has not committed to shipping it.
  • The dock can be positioned on the top, left, right, or bottom edge of the screen and supports three pin regions labeled start, center, and end.
  • Users would be able to customize styling and theme behavior and reorder extensions across regions.
  • Developers can try the experiment by compiling the dedicated PowerToys GitHub branch in Visual Studio as Microsoft collects feedback.