Summary of the Pull Request

Adds a new DSC v3 resource, layouts (Microsoft.PowerToys/FancyZonesLayouts), to PowerToys.DSC.exe that makes FancyZones layouts deployable via dsc.exe and winget configure. Until now, DSC only controlled the FancyZones settings (activation, appearance, behavior) — the layouts themselves could only be created through the FancyZones editor.

The resource manages the four portable layout files FancyZones keeps next to its settings: custom layouts, layout templates, quick layout hotkeys and default layouts. Layouts are authored with friendly, camel-cased property names, and layout identifiers may be given with or without braces:

resources:

  - name: Deploy FancyZones layouts

    type: Microsoft.PowerToys/FancyZonesLayouts

    properties:

      layouts:

        custom:

          - uuid: "{5C4F1A20-9B3E-4C7D-8E2F-1A2B3C4D5E6F}"

            name: Two columns 70/30

            grid:

              rows: 1

              columns: 2

              rowsPercentage: [10000]

              columnsPercentage: [7000, 3000]

              cellChildMap: [[0, 1]]

          - uuid: "{8F0B6D3E-2C41-4A5B-9D7E-0F1A2B3C4D5E}"

            name: Reference window

            canvas:

              refWidth: 1920

              refHeight: 1080

              zones:

                - { x: 0, y: 0, width: 1280, height: 1080 }

                - { x: 1280, y: 0, width: 640, height: 1080 }

        templates:

          - { type: priority-grid, zoneCount: 3 }

        hotkeys:

          - { key: 1, layoutId: "{5C4F1A20-9B3E-4C7D-8E2F-1A2B3C4D5E6F}" }

        defaults:

          horizontal: { type: custom, uuid: "{5C4F1A20-9B3E-4C7D-8E2F-1A2B3C4D5E6F}" }

          vertical: { type: rows, zoneCount: 2 }

The resource supports get/set/test/export/schema/manifest. Every section is optional: a section that is present replaces the whole layout file it maps to (declarative desired state), a section that is omitted is left unmanaged, so a configuration can, for example, assign hotkeys without touching the layouts created in the editor. Files are written through the same serialization context the FancyZones editor uses, so DSC-written files are indistinguishable from editor-written ones, and a running FancyZones instance picks them up immediately through its existing file watchers (no restart required).

PR Checklist

• [x] Closes: #50544


• [ ] Communication: I've discussed this with core contributors already. If the work hasn't been agreed, this work might be rejected


• [x] Tests: Added/updated and all pass (47 new tests in PowerToys.DSC.UnitTests: command tests, end-to-end get/set/test/export tests against a temporary data folder, and converter unit tests; the full DSC suite passes with 179 tests)


• [x] Localization: All end-user-facing strings can be localized (new strings InvalidLayoutsError and LayoutsWarning added to PowerToys.DSC Resources.resx; the generated DSC manifest description is deliberately not localized, matching the existing settings and profile resources)


• [x] Dev docs: Added/updated (doc/dsc/layouts-resource.md, doc/dsc/overview.md, doc/dsc/modules/FancyZones.md, doc/devdocs/core/settings/dsc-configure.md)


• [ ] New binaries: Added on the required places — n/a: no new binaries; the resource lives in the existing PowerToys.DSC.exe. PowerToys.DSC.csproj gains a project reference to FancyZonesEditorCommon, whose PowerToys.FancyZonesEditorCommon.dll already ships in the installation root as a dependency of the FancyZones CLI. The additional generated manifest (microsoft.powertoys.FancyZones.layouts.dsc.resource.json) is picked up automatically by the installer's unfiltered DSCModules\ component glob (generateAllFileComponents.ps1)
  
  
  • [ ] JSON for signing for new binaries — n/a
    
  
  
  • [ ] WXS for installer for new binaries and localization folder — n/a
    
  
  
  • [ ] YML for CI pipeline for new test projects — n/a: tests were added to the existing PowerToys.DSC.UnitTests project. The manifest generation scripts (.pipelines/generateDscManifests.ps1, tools/build/generate-dsc-manifests.ps1) and the post-build target in PowerToys.DSC.csproj now also generate the layouts manifest
    
  
  
  • [ ] YML for signed pipeline — n/a
    
  
  
  
  


• [ ] Documentation updated: If checked, please file a pull request on our docs repo and link it here: #xxx
  ## Detailed Description of the Pull Request / Additional comments

Validation Steps Performed