Kai Tao

This commit introduces a **new capability** for the **Always On Top** utility, enabling users to **independently configure hotkeys** for increasing and decreasing the opacity of pinned windows. Previously, these opacity shortcuts were hardcoded to share modifiers with the main pin hotkey, limiting user customization. The change updates the **Always On Top module's backend** to register and handle these new hotkeys, persists their settings, and modifies the **Settings UI** to provide dedicated controls for `Increase Opacity` and `Decrease Opacity` hotkeys. Additionally, it refines the hotkey interception logic in `dllmain.cpp` to ensure opacity changes only apply to actively pinned windows, passing through hotkeys for unpinned windows to minimize impact.

This commit introduces a **feature enhancement** to the **PowerToys Command Palette extension** for **FancyZones**, enabling users to **pin FancyZones layout application commands** to the dock. Previously, these commands lacked unique identifiers, preventing them from being pinned. The change involves assigning unique IDs to `ApplyFancyZonesLayoutCommand` instances, facilitated by new helper classes like `FancyZonesCommandIds` for ID generation and parsing, and `FancyZonesContextHelper` for context building. This significantly improves the usability of FancyZones by allowing quick access to specific layout configurations directly from the Command Palette.

This commit implements a **security fix** to prevent a **local privilege escalation vulnerability** in **PowerToys per-machine installations**. It addresses a weakness where the `DSCModules` directory had overly permissive Access Control Lists (ACLs), allowing low-privileged users to plant malicious DLLs. The fix **hardens the installer** by enforcing correct ACLs on the `DSCModules` folder via a new WiX component defined in `installer/PowerToysSetupVNext/DscResources.wxs`. This prevents **DLL hijacking** and significantly improves the security posture for users.

This commit **refactors the PowerToys Extension build process** by switching from a `PackageReference` to a **project reference** for a key dependency. This change in **dependency management** aims to ensure strict consistency of `winmd` files between the extension host and the extension itself. By using a project reference, the build system can expose SDK "first day problems" earlier, improving overall stability. This **build system improvement** is expected to **resolve issues where PowerToys extensions fail to start**, enhancing the reliability of the extension ecosystem.

This commit introduces a **maintenance fix** to the **CI/CD pipeline infrastructure** by integrating a NuGet authentication task into the `job-build-project.yml` template. This **resolves pipeline failures** that were occurring due to issues with package restoration during the build process. By ensuring proper NuGet authentication, the **build pipeline** will now reliably restore dependencies, preventing future build breaks for all projects utilizing this template. This **chore** improves the stability and reliability of the automated build system.

This commit provides a **bug fix** for **ZoomIt** addressing a critical issue where users could not save trimmed videos or initiate new recording sessions. The problem arose because the `StartRecordingAsync` function retained temporary recording stream and session objects during the save workflow, leading to file access conflicts and preventing subsequent operations. The fix ensures these resources are properly released *before* the save/trim process begins, preventing the application from entering a stuck state. This resolves core functionality for video recording and editing within the **ZoomIt** module.

This commit **fixes a bug** in the **NewPlus** module where attempting to change the status of the built-in "New" context menu item could lead to an error. It **refactors** the `NewPlusViewModel` to incorporate robust **error handling** and ensure UI state consistency when performing registry operations to enable or disable the built-in "New" option. This prevents crashes and provides a new localized error message in `Resources.resw` if registry modifications fail. As a result, users will experience a more reliable **NewPlus** feature, with accurate feedback and a stable user interface when managing the built-in "New" context menu.

This commit **reverses the activation logic** for the **Cursor Wrap** utility within the **MouseUtils** module. Previously, holding Ctrl or Shift would disable cursor wrapping; now, these modifier keys will **enable** the wrapping behavior, making it more intuitive and consistent with similar features. This **behavior adjustment** updates the core logic in `dllmain.cpp` to invert the modifier key effect. Additionally, it includes corresponding **documentation updates** in the Settings UI resource strings (`Resources.resw`) and the `MouseUtilsViewModel.cs` to reflect the new interaction model. Users will now hold Ctrl or Shift to activate cursor wrapping, aligning with expected user experience.

This commit provides a **bug fix** for the **Always On Top** PowerToy module, resolving an issue where changes to its settings would not take effect immediately. Previously, a race condition could occur between the settings worker thread and the file watcher, leading to the application of stale settings. The fix involves **refactoring** the settings management within `src/modules/alwaysontop/AlwaysOnTop/Settings.cpp` and `Settings.h` to use **atomic shared pointers** for `AlwaysOnTopSettings`. This ensures that settings are updated and read consistently across threads, preventing the use of outdated configurations. As a result, users will experience immediate application of **Always On Top** settings changes, improving the responsiveness and reliability of the feature.

This commit introduces **new capabilities** to the **PowerToys Command Palette (CmdPal) extension**, allowing users to directly control features of **Mouse Without Borders (MWB)** and **Keyboard Manager (KBM)**. Users can now toggle MWB's "Easy Mouse" functionality, trigger a reconnection for MWB, and enable or disable KBM's active state, all from within CmdPal. This **enhancement** streamlines user interaction by providing quick access to these settings, leveraging new interop events defined in `src/common/interop` for seamless communication between modules. The changes involve adding new command providers and helper services within the CmdPal extension, alongside event listeners in MWB and KBM to respond to these commands.

This commit performs a **refactoring** of the **PowerToys solution structure** by correcting the folder organization for **`MouseUtils`** projects. Specifically, it moves the `MouseUtils` projects out of the `keyboardmanager` folder where they were incorrectly nested within the `PowerToys.slnx` solution file. This **maintenance** change ensures that the **solution explorer view** accurately reflects the logical grouping of projects, improving clarity for developers. It rectifies an organizational issue that was introduced in a previous commit.

This commit **removes a "New" badge** from the **System settings page** within the application's user interface. This is a **maintenance chore** to prevent a misleading visual indicator, as no new modules were introduced in release 98 that would warrant the badge. The change **improves UI accuracy** and user experience by ensuring only genuinely new features are highlighted, avoiding confusion for users navigating the settings.

This commit **fixes a critical failure in the release pipeline** by **correcting file paths** within the `.pipelines/ESRPSigning_core.json` configuration. Specifically, it updates the references for the `KeyboardManagerEditorUI` executable and its associated DLL to their correct location within the `WinUI3Apps` directory. This **pipeline configuration bug fix** resolves a "file not found" error during the signing process, ensuring that new releases can be properly signed and deployed.

This commit significantly enhances the **developer experience** for PowerToys extension contributors by **introducing a comprehensive guide** for **local development** within the `src/modules/cmdpal/doc` directory. The new `powertoys-extension-local-development.md` document provides crucial instructions for setting up and working on extensions. Additionally, this **maintenance chore** includes the **cleanup of an unused MSIX declaration**, streamlining the project's build configuration. This work collectively improves the ease of contributing to PowerToys extensions and maintains a cleaner codebase.

This commit introduces a **new capability** to the **Copilot release note generation skill**, enabling it to accurately identify and quote co-authors in the generated release notes. This **feature enhancement** ensures that all contributors, including co-authors, receive proper attribution, improving the completeness and fairness of release documentation. The `dump-prs-since-commit.ps1` script was updated to retrieve co-author information, and associated documentation and sample outputs were adjusted to reflect this expanded attribution. The change primarily affects the **release note generation process**, leading to more comprehensive and inclusive contributor recognition.

This commit introduces a **defensive mechanism** within the **Always On Top** module to prevent potential command ID collisions in the **window system menu**. The `AlwaysOnTop.cpp` logic is updated to **deduplicate** the "Always On Top" command ID by checking for existing menu items and their ownership before injecting its own. This **bug fix** ensures that the feature's system menu entry is unique, thereby avoiding UI conflicts and ensuring reliable operation when interacting with other applications. The change primarily affects the **Always On Top** module's integration with the Windows system menu, improving its robustness and compatibility.

This commit implements a **new feature** for the **AlwaysOnTop** utility, enabling users to toggle a window's "always on top" status directly from its system context menu. This enhancement provides an alternative and more accessible interaction method for pinning windows, complementing the existing keyboard shortcut. The change involves significant updates to the **AlwaysOnTop module's core logic** in `AlwaysOnTop.cpp` for system menu integration, alongside **updates to the Settings UI** to expose a new `ShowInSystemMenu` option. This improves user experience by offering a more intuitive way to manage window pinning, with associated localization and unit test updates.

This commit performs **UI maintenance** by **removing the "new" info badge** from the **PowerToys Settings UI**. It updates `src/settings-ui/Settings.UI/SettingsXAML/Views/ShellPage.xaml` to no longer display this indicator next to the 'Input & Output' and 'Mouse Utilities' navigation items. Additionally, the `src/settings-ui/Settings.UI/ViewModels/DashboardViewModel.cs` is modified to always set the `IsNew` property to `false` during `DashboardModule` creation, effectively **disabling the "new" badge mechanism across all modules**. This change refines the user experience by indicating that these features are no longer considered recently introduced.

This commit delivers a **bug fix** for the **Settings UI** module, addressing an issue where the settings process would not properly terminate. Previously, closing secondary windows like `Scoobe`, `Oobe`, or `Shortcut Conflict` dialogs could leave the main settings process running in the background. This change ensures that the **Settings application** correctly shuts down when all its windows are closed, preventing the process from lingering and consuming system resources unnecessarily.

This commit **resolves a critical CI/CD pipeline failure** by ensuring that the `PowerToys.Common.UI.Controls.dll` is properly signed during the release process. Previously, the release pipeline would fail due to this new DLL lacking a digital signature, preventing successful builds and deployments. By updating the `.pipelines/ESRPSigning_core.json` configuration, this **maintenance fix** integrates the DLL into the existing signing workflow. This change is crucial for the **continuous integration and delivery** of PowerToys, allowing the release pipeline to pass successfully and enable future releases.