It seems like Microsoft is eliminating customising possibilities with every new version of Windows. An open source solution called Windhawk makes an effort to revive and add new Windows customizations. Windhawk was created by Ramen Software, known for other tools like Textify and 7+ Taskbar Tweaker, to streamline the process of making adjustments to programmes and the operating system.
An example is the developers’ own taskbar tweaker for Windows. Understanding some of the inner workings of the operating system, such as process injection or function hooking, is required to develop such an app. All programmers who want to build customizations must learn and comprehend these. Without having to construct these additional features, Windhawk was developed as a core for customizations to which anyone may contribute.
The modular design of Windhawk is one of its key concepts. Users of Windhawk can download and install mods and tweaks that developers have created on their systems. You can run Windhawk as a portable programme or with an installation. The program’s primary interface lists a number of highlighted improvements, including Dark Mode for Notepad, mouse-over volume controls, and mouse-wheel scrolling for Chrome and Edge tabs.
All currently offered mods are displayed when “browse for mods” is clicked. Other notable changes included in these are the ability to turn off grouping on the taskbar, providing the ability to rearrange taskbar thumbnails with the left mouse, and adding text labels for apps in Windows 11. A new page with installation options, the source code, and a preview of the tweak may be accessed by clicking the details button. The mods that are available list compatibility details, but not all of them do.
On the local system, a fork option is available to create a customised version of a mod. Users can disable any development-related features in the Windhawk interface in the settings if they don’t want them there.
A warning that changes may harm the system, violate privacy, or inflict other harm is displayed when you click install. To continue with the installation or cancel it, select “accept risk and install.” Installations proceed quickly and silently. To once more remove the mod from the system, the install button transforms into an uninstall button. The system adjustments could take a while to take effect.
