When PowerToys introduced Advanced Paste last year, users were already pleased with its capabilities. The feature initially allowed pasting in various formats, including plain text and JSON, while also enabling text conversion into code through OpenAI’s technology. Now, the development team is set to enhance this functionality with a file transcoding feature, aimed at simplifying the conversion of media files into mp3 and mp4 formats.
As reported by Windows Latest, Clint Rutkas, who leads PowerToys along with several other Microsoft initiatives, recently shared images showcasing the transcoding feature in action. These visuals reveal two new options within the Advanced Paste functionality: Transcode to .mp3 and Transcode to .mp4 (H.264/AAC), each accompanied by custom keyboard shortcuts.
The primary goal of this enhancement is to streamline the process of converting media files copied to the clipboard. Users will be able to select one of the transcoding options directly within Advanced Paste, eliminating the need to resort to online audio extraction tools for mp3 conversions. Likewise, converting video files to a compressed H.264 codec with AAC audio will become a more straightforward task.
Do you need a media conversion feature?
As a dedicated PowerToys user, the news of this feature, currently in preview, is quite exciting. The ability to convert media files natively, without relying on external applications or online services, promises to enhance efficiency while safeguarding sensitive data.
Upon reviewing the shared screenshots, it is evident that users will see a circular progress bar, or progress ring, during the transcoding process, along with a cancel button to halt the operation if needed. Additionally, users can customize which transcoding options appear in Advanced Paste, allowing for flexibility in keeping one or both options active.
While the official GitHub page does not yet feature a GIF or video demonstrating the live functionality of the new feature, details from Windows Latest indicate that Advanced Paste will support two media actions: one for extracting audio from both audio and video files to save as an .mp3, and another for converting video files to .mp4 using H.264 for video and AAC for audio. Notably, the conversion process preserves the quality settings and metadata of the original file.
It would be beneficial to compare this new feature against existing web tools and third-party applications for audio extraction and .mp4 conversion. Microsoft’s documentation does note that the feature utilizes the Windows.Media.Transcoding API to facilitate these conversions.
Some users have even proposed additional features, such as converting PNG images to WEBP format. However, it seems that such developments may take time to materialize. While Advanced Paste currently offers image-to-text conversion, direct image conversion remains a feature that users will have to anticipate in the future.
