BrightnessTray

One feature that Microsoft has yet to implement is a proper method of controlling laptop screen brightness. While a slider is available, it is rather difficult to access, and clicking the brightness tile in the Windows 10 power settings tray menu only changes it in 25% increments.

BrightnessTray provides you with a great alternative – a simple slider that can be accessed from the system tray with a single mouse click. It also offers a few extra features, and it is very easy to use.

Once you have downloaded the app, you can just launch it straight away, as no installation is necessary. It comes in the form a single, small executable file, making deployment much simpler.

You will notice that a new icon has been added to the system tray, and a brightness slider will be brought up when you click it. You can also use this app to turn off the monitor instantly whenever you want to save power.

If you right-click the tray icon, a new menu will be brought up that provides access to some extra functions. "Caffiene" mode can be enabled to keep your laptop awake, and you can also activate sleep mode manually at any time.

The program’s appearance can be customized as well, but this is a bit more complicated. If you want to hide the brightness label in the slider, you have to use the “/NoPercentageText” launch parameter; should you wish to have a static icon in the tray, you need to use the “/NoTextIcon” parameter.

It would certainly help if these customization options were more accessible, which is something I hope will be addressed in future releases.

Overall, BrightnessTray is a well-designed, lightweight utility that can prove to be invaluable for laptop users. It makes changing brightness from the desktop a lot easier, and it even offers a couple of other handy power-related features.