This Microsoft PowerToys repair lastly makes Internet Search usable

I do not shrink back from the truth that I like Windows 11. Is it excellent? No, however it will get quite a lot of issues proper, and in my over twenty years of Home windows expertise, it has been my favourite OS to this point (sorry Windows 7).

That stated, there are issues about Home windows 11 that generally drive me nuts. And Microsoft Edge is one in all them. Each time I do a contemporary set up of Home windows or arrange a new Windows 11 laptop, I am reminded that Microsoft would 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 must obtain a brand new net browser” as a result of Edge is a “quick, safe, and fashionable net 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 lately when utilizing its Internet Search function within the Command Palette is that it solely makes use of Edge for net searches, and ignores my default browser. This was a bug that solely affected individuals utilizing Home windows 11 24H2 (by way of XDA), and it has been driving me loopy since I began utilizing Command Palette, which solely lately launched in Might.

Fortunately, this difficulty has now been fastened within the newest PowerToys replace, PowerToys v0.92. Now, if you carry out a Internet Search within the Command Palette, it makes use of your default net browser, whether or not it is Chrome, Firefox, or every other browser as a substitute of Edge. The patch notes for the most recent replace state, “Mounted a problem the place Internet Search all the time opened Microsoft Edge as a substitute of the consumer’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 rapidly

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 net rapidly.

When you obtain PowerToys, you possibly can 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 underneath System Instruments > Command Palette. Whenever you open Command Palette, you possibly can seek for something in your PC, and if you cannot discover it, you possibly can conduct an internet search, which can now use your default browser as a substitute of Edge mechanically.

Along with fixing the Command Palette’s net search bug, the most recent model of PowerToys contains different updates for Command Palette, akin to improved efficiency, higher hotkey dealing with for a “smoother consumer expertise,” and enhanced visible readability “by styling important context objects appropriately.” If you would like to learn all of the PowerToys patch notes, you’ll find them on GitHub.

Microsoft PowerToys is accessible without spending a dime from the Microsoft Retailer. After putting in it in your Home windows 11 PC, you will unlock a wide range of useful productivity features, akin to file preview with Peek, multitasking with the All the time on Prime window instrument, deciding on any coloration in your PC utilizing the Colour 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 have to be a developer or a Home windows professional to take pleasure in its distinctive options.

Associated

5 Windows PowerToys tools I use every day to make the workday easier

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