5 Handy Built-In Windows Apps You Probably Didn’t Know Exist

It should come as no surprise that Windows is a massive operating system. Most people use it mainly to download and install apps or games like your web browser or other productivity apps. However, just beneath the surface lies a veritable playground of hidden features and apps that you may never have known existed unless you were told about them. Some of them have been around for ages, while others were released relatively recently. Microsoft is always adding new features, and these can range from limited usefulness to game-changing functionality, depending on what you do with your PC. 

Most of the hidden apps and functions in Windows are meant for power users. They usually involve things like opening the Command Prompt, and while these niche features are genuinely useful, we have our doubts that people want to spend all their time there. Thus, when it comes to useful Windows tools, some of the best options are sometimes the ones hidden in plain sight and not the ones that involve extensive command-line memorization. That’s why computers evolved to have a graphical user interface in the first place: to make things easier. 

That is precisely the kind of hidden Windows apps we want to talk about in this article. All the apps below are built directly into the OS, so you should already have them installed. In the unlikely event that you don’t, they’ll be available directly from Microsoft for free as first-party downloads. 

Windows Sandbox is a truly interesting application. Unlike most hidden apps, Windows Sandbox does have a bit of a limitation in that it’s not available on the Home edition of Windows 10 or 11. It is, however, available on all other versions. It also has a fairly complex setup process, as you have to enable several things in order to use it. Once everything is in place and turned on, it’ll run like any regular application. You can find the install instructions here if you need them.

So, what does this piece of software actually do? It’s almost like a virtual machine designed to run things that you don’t want to run on your regular computer. For instance, if you receive a questionable attachment in your email, you can open it in Windows Sandbox. Should the attachment contain malware, it would be contained within Sandbox, unable to escape to your system. You then close Sandbox to dispose of the threat and delete that email. 

Any instance where you want to keep your PC safe from a potential threat actor is a good use case for Windows Sandbox. You can use it to surf potentially dangerous websites, install and run untrusted applications, or perform any other task where you don’t really trust the results. Then, when done, simply close it, and it’s like those bad apps or websites were never there. 

Clipboard History is a simple app that you can access easily. On your keyboard, hit the Windows Key and V together to bring it up. Flip the setting on, and you’re good to go. This little tool remembers what you copy to your clipboard so you can find it later in case you need it again. That’s about all it does, and since it’s easy to set up, it’s an easy recommendation. It’s not like it hurts anything. 

The tool competes with a limited lineup of similar tools, like AutoHotKey and ClipboardFusion. Web browsers also have a variety of extensions that can manage the clipboard within the browser, which is what I used to do when I copied and pasted more things for work. However, in a rarity for Microsoft, the existing Clipboard History tool simply works. It pops up when you need it, houses just about everything you’ve ever pasted (once you turn history on), and since it’s a first-party tool, you can avoid another download, which some people prefer. 

In addition, Windows has a small set of options for the clipboard. You can find these by opening Windows Settings, navigating to System, and then Clipboard. There isn’t much here, but you can delete your clipboard history and, if you use linked devices, have your clipboard automatically sync to them. 

Microsoft Print to PDF doesn’t sound like much, but it’s arguably the easiest way to turn any file you have into a PDF. Since PDFs are used across the Internet and in businesses, government, and academia, the Print to PDF feature is an excellent trick to know. This should be enabled on your Windows PC by default. If it isn’t, you may have to enable the feature in Settings. It’s not too hard: Head to Windows Settings, then Bluetooth and devices, and then Printers and scanners. The setting should be there. 

When you use the function, it works simply. You can determine the size of the PDF and a few other settings, but really, all you need to do is set any document to print, select the Print to PDF feature, and hit the print button. The PDF will save to your PC and be ready to send wherever it needs to go. There are some limitations to this, but you can work around them with some clever thinking. For example, you can edit a document before turning it into a PDF, thereby avoiding the need to edit the PDF itself. 

Should you need to edit the PDF after it’s been made, there are plenty of PDF editors available on every platform. So, while PDFs can occasionally be a pain to work with, creating one out of a different file, including images, is super easy with Microsoft’s Print to PDF. 

At some point, nearly everyone on a computer will need to type a character and have no idea how to do it. The most common fix I know is to go to Google, search for the character, and then copy and paste it where you need it. I’m not lying when I say that’s how I’ve made every British pound symbol I’ve ever had to use. Microsoft has an easier way, though; it’s called the Character Map, or CharMap for short. 

This app is on your PC and ready for use right now. Open the Start Menu and type “charmap.” The Character Map option will show, and you can click to open it. Once open, find whatever symbol you want and double-click it to load it into the text box. From there, you can copy and paste it where you need it. There’s also an option to search for characters or change the character set with the associated dropdown box. 

For me, the coolest thing about CharMap is at the bottom of the window, where you’ll find the keyboard shortcut to make the key. This is quite literally how I learned that Alt+0151 makes an em dash, which occurred right before the Internet decided that em dashes were a sign of AI (they’re not). It’s a surprisingly powerful tool once you get used to it. 

Microsoft’s Phone Link is arguably the best built-in app many people don’t use. This nifty tool lets you connect to your Android phone or iPhone, and once connected, gives you plenty of ways to interact with your phone. The most common feature is that it can send and receive texts, allowing you to read and answer them without picking up your phone. I use this functionality to chat with my wife every day while we’re both at work (she uses it on her computer at work). You can also take phone calls through the app, treating it like a voice call on any app like Slack or Discord.

However, the true power lies in its other features. Your phone’s gallery is visible in Phone Link, giving you access to photos without sending them to yourself. It also allows you to mirror your phone to your computer and use any app on your phone. This is more useful on paper than in practice, but it’s still a neat concept considering mirroring to a PC used to be quite difficult. Should you misplace your phone, you can also sound your ringer for 20 seconds to find it. 

The feature I find most useful is the notifications. Specifically, I use the app to field my email notifications, and then I open a browser tab if needed. It’s powerful, and a lot of people still don’t know it exists. 

The good news is that Windows includes a ton of tricks and apps, so there was plenty to choose from. For this list, the major focus was on picking apps that were relatively easy to use and could improve the user experience. As the title implies, the apps also had to be installed on Windows devices natively as part of the operating system, so aside from some basic setup, these apps should be available to everyone running Windows immediately. 

Unfortunately, that means some tools had to be omitted that would’ve been obvious inclusions. That includes power user-friendly tools like PowerToys, which should probably be a pre-installed app at this point because it’s incredibly useful, especially if you have ultrawide or multiple monitors. Other tools like Quick Assist also require installation from the Microsoft Store. So, while these are easy to get, the fact that they aren’t installed natively means they were disqualified from the list. 

The above tools are easy to enable and use. Should you decide to explore more, browsing the Windows Settings app will give you a bunch of options to enable and try out. For some of the more niche things, open the Start Menu and type “Turn Windows features on or off,” where you can find even more options. Make sure to back up your system before messing around too much, just in case.