Updated June 30, 2021
Microsoft developers have always like to create handy system utilities that add more functionally to the Windows operating system. They call them PowerToys and are released as a stand-alone program with File Explorer add-ons. And as always, these programs are entirely free.
It is kind of like Déjà vu for me with the PowerToys for Windows 10. I hate to admit it, and I'm going to show my age here, but I have used the two (2) previous versions of PowerToys. The first version was PowerToys for Windows 95. The second version was PowerToys for Windows XP. TweakUI (Windows 95 / Windows XP) and Command Prompt Here (Windows 95) / Open Command Windows Here (Windows XP) were two (2) of my favorites.
PowerToys have always been a cool collection of handy utilities that you wonder why they were not part of Windows, to begin with. If fact, some of the functionality of the PowerToys do get built into later releases of Windows.
The third version, PowerToys for Windows 10, currently has nine (9) utilities (as of 6/28/21) included, and there are plans to add even more. As more features are added, I will update this article.
Note: Starting with version 0.37, Windows 10 PowerToys will require Windows 10 version 1903 or greater.
And since the Windows 10 PowerToys are all inside of one program, updates and new features will be easy to get installed. There is even an update button that takes you to the website so you can check for new releases.
The PowerToys General Settings includes all of the options for all of the actual PowerToys. This means that there is only one place to enable/disable and configure the settings for the various programs.
Now you have to keep in mind that the PowerToys is an open-source project, and the code is freely available. That is why the installer is over on the developer website GitHub, which, by the way, Microsoft owns.
The following is a list of the PowerToys for Windows 10 versions, the date released, and the utilities included. They are:
v0.12 - Released on 10/29/19
FancyZones - This is a utility that allows you to create zones (predefined areas for program windows) on your desktop for the various programs you run.
For example, you can create a layout that has a separate zone for your e-mail program, word processor, and spreadsheet, all neatly arranged on your desktop. This program is beneficial if you have multiple monitors and want to keep all of your running programs organized.
PowerRename - This utility does just what its name implies; it renames files. But it has so many options that it can be used in so many different ways.
You change just the file names or only the file extensions. You can exclude files, folders, and sub-folders. It is the swiss army knife of file renaming.
Shortcut Guide - This cool little utility shows you what Windows logo key 
shortcuts you can use at any given time.
You just hold down the Windows logo key for a preset amount of time, and the screen appears with the available shortcuts you can use. If you find these shortcuts handy, we have a complete list of Windows logo key shortcuts for Windows 10.
v0.16 - Released 3/31/20
File Explorer Preview Pane add-ons - This utility adds two (2) more file types that can be previewed using the Preview Pane inside of the File Explorer.
The two (2) file types are Markdown (.md) files - a lightweight markup language with plain-text-formatting syntax, similar to HTML and Scalable Vector Graphics (.SVG) files - an XML based vector image format.
Image Resizer - This utility is similar to the one for Windows XP, but this version has way more features. Right-click on one or more images, and you will get a context menu. Left-click on Resize pictures, and you get the Image Resizer screen.
There are several picture sizes to choose from, or you can create a custom size. Left-click on the Settings link, and you get even more options for resizing your images. A must-have for anybody that does photo editing.
v0.18 - Released 5/19/20
Keyboard Manager - This utility allows you to remap a single key on your keyboard to another. You can also map current keyboard shortcuts to different key combinations.
Keep in mind that when remapping keyboard shortcuts, you are limited to a combination of two keys.
PowerToys Run - This utility can perform all sorts of different functions. Type a couple of letters, and PowerToys Run will display a list of programs, folders, and files with the letter(s) in their name(s).
It can also search for running processes, run shell commands, and do simple math calculations.
v0.20 - Released 7/31/20
Color Picker - This utility will display the color of anything you place your mouse cursor over in both HEX and RGB values. You can copy the color value to the clipboard by left-clicking on the object.
You can change the hotkey shortcut used to bring up Color Picker, and the values (HEX or RGB) copied to the clipboard. And if you have a scroll wheel on your mouse, you can use it to bring up a magnifier window to get an even more detailed color pick.
v0.41.2 - Released 6/28/21
Awake - This utility will keep your Windows 10 computer from going asleep. This is really handy when you are doing updates and upgrades. No more do you have to create a special power plan to keep your computer awake.
Remember that if your computer goes to sleep, anything it was doing, like performing a Windows 10 Feature update, will be paused. So when you need to prevent your computer from going asleep, Awake can be the perfect solution.
If you would like to give the PowerToys a try, I include two (2) links at the bottom of this article. The Windows 10 PowerToys are only available for the 64-bit versions of Windows 10. As I told you before, the PowerToys download is on GitHub, and for an average Windows 10 user may be kind of hard to find.
The first link is to the PowerToys project description page. It has an overview of all of the programs included in the PowerToys.
There is a download link on that page, but it is labeled Supported. That is why I have also included a link to the download page.
Windows 10 PowerToys on GitHub - Description page
Windows 10 PowerToys on GitHub - Download page