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| Tweak UI | |
|---|---|
 Tweak UI running on Windows XP | |
| Original author | Raymond Chen |
| Developer | Microsoft |
| Initial release | 1996; 30 years ago (1996) |
| Stable release | 2.10 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
Tweak UI is a freeapplication, released in 1996 byMicrosoft for customizing theMicrosoft Windows operating system'suser interface. Tweak UI modifies theWindows Registry in the same way as a user could edit it manually with a program such asRegEdit, but provides a simplegraphical user interface that does not need knowledge of the registry structure, is quicker and easier to use, and not susceptible to registry damage due to user error.
Tweak UI was formerly downloadable free of charge from Microsoft's website. It is one of Microsoft's many non-supportedPowerToys.
Tweak UI started as acontrol panelapplet available for download on Microsoft's website, released shortly after the release ofWindows 95. It was originally written by Raymond Chen and later included in Microsoft's PowerToys collection, a set of tools developed by Microsoft's Shell Development Team.[1]
An updated version of Tweak UI was included on the installation disc forWindows 98. According to Chen, this was deemed a "disaster" because it resulted in additional work for Microsoft's product-support teams when diagnosing problems.[2]
With the release ofWindows XP, the Tweak UI applet was retooled and re-released on Microsoft's website as a separateexecutable, TweakUI.exe. It was again updated to version 2.10 for Windows XP Service Pack 1 andWindows Server 2003. Chen also wrote an updatedWindows Vista version of the utility, but it was not released as it violated the policy of not making available unsupported software.[3]
An unofficial 64-bit version of Tweak UI was created byNeoSmart Technologies for Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.[4]