microsoft / microsoft/PowerToys

Command Palette Dial

Open
#45,864 3 comments 2 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
Idea-Enhancement Product-Command Palette
Dominant language
C
Stars
139k
Forks
8.6k
PR merge metrics
PR metrics pending

Description

### Description of the new feature / enhancement

Add a mouse-first way to access Command Palette features and common actions via a cursor-centered radial menu, triggered by a global shortcut and/or mouse gesture. The dial should be user-customizable and support both launching CmdPal commands and context-aware actions (for example, opening CmdPal prefilled with selected text).

- Radial menu (or dial) that appears centered at the current mouse cursor position.
- Invoked by:
- a global keyboard shortcut, and/or
- a mouse action/gesture (configurable).
- User-customizable items:
- shortcuts to Command Palette commands
- common actions (e.g., open CmdPal, open specific built-in extensions, run pinned commands)
- Contextual operations:
- open CmdPal with selected text (when available)
- optionally pass another context (focused app/window, current file path, etc.) where supported;
- non-CmdPal actions to increase the utility of the radial menu (Copy to clipboard, Paste from clipboard) or utilize other PTs (Paste as plain text)

- Click modes:
- Clicks to invoke (open the dial and click to item or subitem to activate it);
- Point to invoke (open the dial by holding the action key and activate by releasing on the target command).

- Display modes:
- Circles;
- Segments.

- Sub menu navigation:
- Orbit (show submenus in outer layers);
- Stacking (replace current menu with the submenu, and use central button as go back).

- Number of items in a layer
- Fixed / min, max?

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f1d5df2e-8fe3-45c5-a64e-1db57206b878

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6c85845c-c9db-46cb-950a-6482cb6d410c

x-ref:

Contextual actions:
- https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/pull/43784
- https://github.com/jiripolasek/cocos/tree/master/src/JPSoftworks.Cocos/Services/Context

### Scenario when this would be used?

Use the Command Palette easily without taking my hands off the mouse

### Supporting information

_No response_

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

No files or tests are named; start by locating the existing Command Palette entry points and reviewing the linked contextual-actions PR and Cocos context service. Done would require an agreed scope and implementation covering the configurable radial menu, invocation modes, contextual actions, display modes, and submenu navigation.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
desktop
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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