My Journey to Getting Crop and Lock Working in Windows with PowerToys
Honestly, if you’re like me, you’ve probably tried to figure out how to crop or lock parts of application windows on Windows without diving into fiddly resizing or juggling multiple monitors. I kept hearing about PowerToys’ ‘Crop and Lock’ — but finding it in the menus and actually getting it to work was quite the saga. Let me tell you, it’s not immediately obvious, and the default options aren’t exactly front and centre. After a few evenings of trial and error, I finally cracked it — here’s what made a difference.
Getting PowerToys from the Microsoft Store (or GitHub)
If you haven’t installed it yet, the first step is to grab PowerToys. The simplest way is via the Microsoft Store — just search for “PowerToys” and install it. Sometimes, the Store can be a bit flaky if it refuses to load or won’t update, but that’s a separate issue. Alternatively, you can download the latest release directly from GitHub (https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases), which might be preferable if you want the latest features or beta versions. Once installed, it’s a good idea to run PowerToys as an administrator, especially if you hit permission issues. Also, it doesn’t always start automatically—check in Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) to see if it’s running in the background. If not, start it manually and see if the Crop and Lock toggle appears after an update.
Locating and enabling the Crop and Lock module
This was the trickiest part for me — Crop and Lock isn’t on the main dashboard of PowerToys. Instead, it’s tucked away under General or sometimes under Experimental Features, depending on your version. If you don’t see it immediately, peek into those sections. Once you find it — which isn’t always straightforward — there’s a toggle called Enable Crop and Lock. Make sure it’s switched On. If it’s off, the feature won’t work at all, regardless of what else you do. Sometimes, the toggle defaults to off, so double-check. If it’s not responding, try turning it off and on again, or restart PowerToys. A quick Windows restart can also help ‘refresh’ things, especially if features aren’t appearing as they should.
Adjusting your shortcuts — because defaults might not suit
Once enabled, you can set your own hotkey to trigger cropping. Usually, it’s Windows + Control + Shift + T by default, but honestly, that combo felt a bit awkward for me. You can change it in the settings — just click the Shortcut field next to the Crop and Lock module, then press your preferred key combo. I went with Win + Alt + C — felt more natural and didn’t interfere with other shortcuts. Just remember, if you choose a common combo already in use, it might not work, or could trigger other commands, so it’s worth testing first.
How to crop and lock parts of your windows — the real deal
This part took some trial and error. Once you press your shortcut, the screen dims slightly — an overlay appears, and your mouse turns into a crosshair. You can then draw a rectangle around the part of a window you want to crop or lock. When you release, that region gets “locked” in place, allowing you to move or resize it as a smaller window. It’s not always perfect — resizing the original window can shift or mess up the crop — but it’s handy for keeping important sections visible, like a chat box on a webpage or a specific part of a report.
Just keep in mind, it’s not cropping the app’s content per se; it’s overlaying a mask that stays fixed over that area. If the original window moves or resizes, your crop may need readjusting. Think of it as a screenshot overlay that stays put — great for quick references when juggling multiple tasks, without manually resizing everything. You can toggle the feature on again by pressing the shortcut, or clear your crops through the right-click menu on the PowerToys icon in the system tray — there’s an option to remove all crops if needed.
Limitations I encountered and what to watch out for
It’s not all smooth sailing. Some apps — especially Chrome with hardware acceleration — can behave unpredictably when cropped. Also, resizing or moving the original window might throw off the overlay, so you may need to recrop periodically. To remove a crop, just trigger the shortcut again or right-click the PowerToys icon and select Clear Crops. Remember, cropping only overlays a mask; it doesn’t alter the app’s actual content. Resizing, moving, or restarting the app can disrupt the overlay. For full functionality, PowerToys might need to be run as an administrator, especially when cropping windows with higher permissions.
Another thing to note is that on some setups, the Crop and Lock option might be greyed out or missing. Usually, this is due to outdated PowerToys versions or certain OEM restrictions. To fix that, update PowerToys to the latest release, run it with admin rights, or check your device’s firmware—some BIOS or OEM security settings can disable features. Also, if your device uses BitLocker encryption, cropping might trigger warnings or require temporarily disabling encryption, so back up your recovery keys first.
Quick summary
After much tinkering, I finally got Crop and Lock to behave reasonably well. It’s a bit tucked away and not foolproof in all cases, but for quick snippets or locking parts of a window in place, it’s a real lifesaver. Just make sure PowerToys is updated, the feature is enabled, and your shortcuts don’t clash with other commands. Keep an eye on how apps respond—some may not play nicely with overlays, but for most basic tasks, it does the job.
Double-check your PowerToys version, confirm the Crop and Lock module is active, and test your shortcuts before relying on them during busy days. Don’t forget to save your custom keybindings! Hopefully, this saves you some of the hassle I went through. Good luck cropping, locking, and staying organised!