timActionCenter

In a supposed attempt to prevent malicious actors from injecting malware into the operating system’s core components, Microsoft is known for restricting the customization capabilities of certain UI elements that would otherwise become part of many users’ workflows.

One of them is the taskbar’s Quick Settings section. Despite its accessibility and decent selection of shortcuts to pivotal functions of the OS, those who happen to possess the necessary programming skills in C# can augment the existing framework of timActionCenter to craft a more personalized counterpart.

Once installed, the app summons a Settings cogwheel icon within the system tray area that greets users to a three row grid of buttons that let you switch between the light or dark themes, deactivate the currently set up proxy connection and enable HDR on compatible displays.

As such, developers seeking to test whether their application updates its color scheme according to the system-wide theme can do so from the comfort of the system tray. Users looking to toggle the connection to a proxy server depending on their browsing habits can do so in a more accessible fashion.

While the app does work properly in its current form, it is missing the customization options necessary to fill in the functionality gaps left behind by the other six placeholder buttons.

However, given the freely available source code, those who are passionate enough to expand on the project can make their own contributions by forking the framework and introducing the tiles that could be of use in Windows’ own Quick Settings area.

Thanks to its commendable efforts in adhering to Microsoft’s guidelines pertaining to the Fluent Design language, timActionCenter might become a strong alternative to the Quick Settings section if and when it receives the necessary updates that allow users to create their own tiles.