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@Copilot Copilot AI commented Aug 26, 2025

This PR addresses unclear and confusing setting descriptions in the PowerToys Hosts File Editor documentation that were reported in the feedback.

Changes Made

"Placement of additional content" setting:

  • Before: "Default value is Top. If Bottom is selected, the file header is moved below hosts settings to the bottom."
  • After: "Determines where new host entries are added in the hosts file. Default value is Top (new entries are added near the top of the file after the default Windows header comments). If Bottom is selected, new entries are added at the end of the file. This affects the organization of your hosts file and can impact which entries take precedence if there are conflicts."

"Consider loopback addresses as duplicates" setting:

  • Before: "Loopback addresses (like 127.0.0.1 and ::1) are considered as duplicates."
  • After: "When enabled, multiple loopback addresses (127.0.0.1, ::1) pointing to the same hostname are treated as duplicates. This prevents adding redundant entries and helps avoid conflicts. When disabled, you can add multiple loopback entries for the same hostname, which may be useful for testing different network configurations but could lead to unexpected behavior."

Issue Addressed

The original descriptions were problematic because:

  1. The "Placement of additional content" description was contradictory and didn't explain the practical consequences
  2. The "Consider loopback addresses as duplicates" description only defined what loopback addresses are, without explaining what the setting actually does or its consequences

The improved descriptions now clearly explain:

  • What each setting controls
  • What happens when different options are selected
  • The practical consequences and use cases for each choice

Fixes #4909.


💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

Co-authored-by: alvinashcraft <73072+alvinashcraft@users.noreply.github.com>
@Copilot Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] hosts file editor - description of settings is not explanatory Improve clarity of PowerToys Hosts File Editor settings descriptions Aug 26, 2025
@Copilot Copilot AI requested a review from alvinashcraft August 26, 2025 16:28
Copilot finished work on behalf of alvinashcraft August 26, 2025 16:28
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Learn Build status updates of commit f1667af:

⚠️ Validation status: warnings

For more details, please refer to the build report.

Note: Your PR may contain errors or warnings or suggestions unrelated to the files you changed. This happens when external dependencies like GitHub alias, Microsoft alias, cross repo links are updated. Please use these instructions to resolve them.

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Learn Build status updates of commit 6bf31f6:

✅ Validation status: passed

File Status Preview URL Details
hub/powertoys/hosts-file-editor.md ✅Succeeded

For more details, please refer to the build report.

@alvinashcraft alvinashcraft marked this pull request as ready for review August 26, 2025 16:47
@alvinashcraft alvinashcraft merged commit 9c3675a into docs Aug 26, 2025
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@alvinashcraft alvinashcraft deleted the copilot/fix-4909 branch August 26, 2025 16:48
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hosts file editor - description of settings is not explanatory

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