9 Excellent Built-in Windows 11 Apps and Tools You’re Ignoring—but Shouldn’t
In the digital age, our computers are extensions of our productivity, creativity, and entertainment. When we think about enhancing our Windows 11 experience, the immediate impulse often leans towards downloading third-party applications. We scour the internet for the “best” photo editors, the most efficient task managers, or the most robust note-taking tools, often overlooking the powerful arsenal already residing within our operating system. At Tech Today, we believe in unlocking the full potential of your technology, and that starts with appreciating the sophisticated, purpose-built applications that Microsoft has meticulously integrated into Windows 11. Before you embark on another app-downloading spree, let us guide you through a curated selection of often-underestimated built-in Windows 11 apps and tools that can significantly elevate your daily computing without requiring you to venture beyond your operating system’s native capabilities. These are the silent workhorses, the hidden gems, that can transform how you interact with your PC.
Unleashing the Power of Native Windows 11 Utilities
The misconception that built-in applications are inherently inferior to their third-party counterparts is a pervasive one, yet it’s a notion that severely limits the user experience. Microsoft has invested heavily in developing and refining the core tools that come with Windows 11, aiming to provide a seamless and comprehensive user experience right out of the box. These applications are not only deeply integrated with the operating system, ensuring optimal performance and stability, but they also often boast a surprising depth of functionality that rivals, and sometimes surpasses, popular external software. By understanding and utilizing these native tools, you can streamline your workflow, reduce clutter on your system, and often discover more intuitive ways to accomplish everyday tasks. Let’s dive into the transformative potential of these often-ignored Windows 11 powerhouses.
1. Snipping Tool: Precision Screen Capturing Beyond the Basics
When you think of capturing your screen, the classic “Print Screen” key might be the first thing that comes to mind. However, Windows 11’s Snipping Tool offers a far more versatile and precise approach to screen capture. This isn’t just about taking a static image of your entire display; the Snipping Tool has evolved significantly, providing advanced features that cater to a wide range of needs. From capturing specific windows to freeform selections, and even delayed screenshots, this tool empowers you to precisely document what you need, when you need it.
Advanced Capture Modes for Every Scenario
The Snipping Tool provides four distinct capture modes, each designed for a specific use case:
- Rectangular Snip: This is the most common and straightforward mode. You click and drag your mouse to draw a rectangle around the area of the screen you wish to capture. It’s perfect for isolating a specific element, a dialogue box, or a section of a webpage.
- Freeform Snip: For those times when a rectangular boundary just won’t do, the Freeform Snip allows you to draw any shape around the content you want to capture. This is incredibly useful for grabbing irregular elements or when you need to be particularly selective with your screenshot.
- Window Snip: This mode is ideal for capturing an entire application window or a specific open program. Simply click on the window you want to capture, and the Snipping Tool will automatically grab its contents, including its border. This is excellent for documenting software interfaces or capturing chat windows.
- Fullscreen Snip: While similar to the Print Screen key, the Fullscreen Snip directly captures your entire desktop, ready for immediate annotation or saving.
Annotation and Markup Made Easy
Once you’ve captured your screen, the Snipping Tool doesn’t just save the image; it opens it in an editing interface, allowing for immediate annotation. You have access to various tools:
- Pen Tool: Available in different colors and thicknesses, the Pen tool lets you draw directly onto your screenshot. This is perfect for highlighting key information, circling important areas, or even sketching quick diagrams.
- Highlighter Tool: Emphasize text or specific sections with the built-in highlighter. Choose from a range of colors to draw attention to crucial details without obscuring them.
- Eraser Tool: Made a mistake during annotation? The Eraser tool allows you to cleanly remove any marks you’ve made, ensuring your screenshots are always polished.
- Touch Writing: If you have a touchscreen device, the Snipping Tool supports touch input for more natural drawing and marking.
Delayed Capture for Tricky Timings
A particularly useful, yet often overlooked, feature is the Delay option. This allows you to set a timer (up to 10 seconds) before the screenshot is taken. This is invaluable when you need to capture menus, tooltips, or other elements that disappear when you click to take the screenshot. Simply activate the delay, open your desired menu, and the Snipping Tool will capture it after the specified time has elapsed.
The Snipping Tool is a robust and efficient solution for all your screen capture needs, offering a level of control and flexibility that many users never realize they possess within Windows 11.
2. Photos App: A Powerful, Integrated Image Management Hub
The Photos app in Windows 11 is far more than just a simple viewer for your pictures. It’s a comprehensive digital asset manager that allows you to organize, edit, and share your photo and video collections with impressive ease. Many users default to cloud-based storage solutions or third-party photo editors, often forgetting the robust capabilities built directly into their operating system. The Photos app offers a streamlined experience, especially if your media is stored locally or integrated with OneDrive.
Intelligent Organization and Automatic Enhancements
Upon launching the Photos app, you’re greeted with a clean, intuitive interface that automatically scans your designated folders for images and videos. It then presents them in a visually appealing gallery format. Beyond simple viewing, the app offers:
- Automatic Organization: Photos are automatically sorted by date, allowing you to easily scroll through your memories chronologically. You can also create custom albums to group specific events or subjects.
- People and Places Tagging (with AI): While not as advanced as dedicated professional software, the Photos app does leverage AI to recognize faces, allowing you to tag people and group photos by individual. It also utilizes location data (if available) to help you organize by place.
- Automatic Enhancements: With a single click, the Photos app can apply automatic adjustments to your photos, improving brightness, contrast, and color balance. This is a quick way to make your snapshots look more appealing without delving into complex editing.
Built-in Editing Suite for Quick Touch-ups
The editing capabilities of the Photos app are surprisingly powerful for a built-in tool:
- Basic Adjustments: You can fine-tune brightness, exposure, color, and clarity. Sliders make it easy to make precise adjustments.
- Filters: A selection of creative filters can be applied to your photos to give them a different mood or aesthetic.
- Cropping and Rotating: Easily crop your images to improve composition or remove unwanted elements. Rotation and straightening tools help correct tilted horizons.
- Red-Eye Removal: A common issue with flash photography, the red-eye removal tool can effectively fix this problem with just a few clicks.
- Drawing and Text: You can add simple text overlays or draw directly onto your photos, similar to the annotation features in the Snipping Tool, making it easy to add captions or personal touches.
- Video Editing: The Photos app also includes a basic video editor. You can trim clips, add text, music, and even apply filters to your videos, making it a convenient tool for creating short, shareable video content without needing dedicated video editing software.
The Photos app is your all-in-one solution for managing and enhancing your visual memories. Its seamless integration with Windows 11 makes it an incredibly efficient choice for everyday photo and video tasks.
3. Microsoft Paint 3D: Beyond Basic Drawing, into the Third Dimension
While the classic Microsoft Paint has been a staple for simple image editing for decades, its successor, Paint 3D, offers a significantly expanded creative canvas. This application bridges the gap between 2D drawing and 3D modeling, opening up a world of possibilities for users of all skill levels. It’s an incredibly accessible tool for anyone looking to explore 3D creation or add a unique dimension to their 2D artwork.
Exploring 2D and 3D Creation
Paint 3D provides a user-friendly interface that encourages experimentation:
- 2D Brushes and Tools: It retains familiar 2D drawing tools like brushes, pencils, and fill buckets, but with enhanced options for texture, opacity, and brush effects. You can still create traditional 2D artwork with precision.
- 3D Shapes and Objects: The core of Paint 3D lies in its 3D capabilities. You can insert pre-made 3D shapes like cubes, spheres, and cones, and then manipulate them in three-dimensional space. You can resize, rotate, and move these objects with intuitive controls.
- 3D Doodle and Brushes: For more organic 3D creation, the 3D Doodle tools allow you to draw freehand in 3D space. The Soft Edges, Hard Edges, and Sketchbook brushes let you create unique 3D forms.
- Text in 3D: You can add text to your creations and then extrude it into 3D objects, giving your labels and titles depth and visual impact.
Texturing and Painting in 3D Space
Bringing your 3D creations to life involves applying colors and textures:
- 3D Coloring: Paint 3D offers a wide array of materials and textures that can be applied to 3D objects. You can choose from glossy, matte, metallic, and even custom textures.
- Stickers: The app includes a library of stickers, both 2D and 3D, that you can place and manipulate on your 3D models, adding intricate details and decorative elements. You can also import your own images to use as stickers.
- 3D View and Interaction: You can rotate your canvas to view your 3D creations from any angle, zoom in for detail, and even “walk” around your scene to get a real sense of its depth and form.
Importing and Exporting 3D Models
Paint 3D also serves as a gateway into the broader 3D ecosystem:
- Import 3D Models: You can import existing 3D models in formats like .FBX and .STL, allowing you to edit, re-texture, or combine them with your own creations.
- Export and Share: Your finished 3D projects can be exported in various formats, including .FBX, .OBJ, and .GLB, making them compatible with other 3D software, game engines, or even for 3D printing.
- Mixed Reality Integration: Paint 3D integrates with Windows Mixed Reality, allowing you to view and interact with your 3D creations in a mixed reality environment.
Paint 3D transforms the simple act of drawing into an engaging and accessible 3D creative experience, proving that powerful creative tools are often closer than you think.
4. Voice Recorder: Capture Ideas and Reminders Effortlessly
In our fast-paced lives, capturing thoughts, ideas, or important information on the go can be crucial. The Voice Recorder app in Windows 11 is a surprisingly capable tool for this purpose. It’s minimalist in design but effective in functionality, providing a quick and easy way to record audio directly from your PC or tablet.
Simple Interface, Effective Recording
The Voice Recorder app is designed for immediate use:
- One-Click Recording: A prominent “Record” button starts and stops your audio capture instantly. There’s no complex setup or configuration required.
- Clear Recording Indicator: A visual waveform or timer clearly indicates that recording is in progress.
- Automatic File Saving: Recordings are automatically saved in the .M4A format, making them compatible with a wide range of media players.
Basic Editing and Organization
Beyond simply recording, the Voice Recorder app offers essential features for managing your audio files:
- Trimming: You can easily trim the beginning or end of a recording to remove unwanted silences or mistakes.
- Naming and Tagging: Each recording can be given a descriptive name and tagged with markers at specific points within the audio. This is incredibly useful for lectures or interviews, allowing you to jump directly to key sections.
- Sharing: Recordings can be easily shared via email or other compatible applications directly from the Voice Recorder interface.
- Organization: All your recordings are listed within the app, making it easy to access, play, and manage your audio library.
The Voice Recorder app is a lifesaver for students, professionals, journalists, or anyone who needs to quickly capture spoken information without the hassle of opening more complex applications.
5. Steps Recorder: Documenting Processes with Visual Clarity
Troubleshooting technical issues or explaining how to perform a specific task can often be a challenge. The Steps Recorder (formerly Problem Steps Recorder) is a hidden gem in Windows 11 that makes this process incredibly simple and effective. It automatically captures screenshots of your actions as you navigate through your PC, along with a textual description of each step.
Automated Screen Capture and Documentation
The power of Steps Recorder lies in its automation:
- Step-by-Step Logging: As you perform a sequence of actions – clicking buttons, typing text, opening applications – Steps Recorder takes a screenshot of each action and records the corresponding mouse clicks and keyboard inputs.
- Automated Descriptions: Each captured image is accompanied by a clear, descriptive text entry that explains what was done at that specific step (e.g., “Click Start button,” “Type ’notepad’ in search box,” “Press Enter”).
- User Annotations: You can even add your own comments to the recorded steps, providing additional context or highlighting specific details that the automatic recording might have missed.
Generating Shareable Reports
Once you’ve finished recording your steps, Steps Recorder compiles everything into a single, easy-to-share file:
- HTML Report: The final output is an HTML file, which can be opened in any web browser. This file contains a chronological log of all your actions, complete with embedded screenshots for each step.
- Troubleshooting and Guides: This makes it an invaluable tool for IT support, where users can send a clear, visual record of a problem they’re encountering. It’s also perfect for creating simple how-to guides or tutorials for friends, family, or colleagues.
For anyone who needs to document a process, explain a complex task, or provide visual evidence of a software issue, Steps Recorder is an indispensable, yet often overlooked, utility.
6. Windows Security: Comprehensive Protection Without Extra Cost
In an era where cybersecurity is paramount, many users rush to download third-party antivirus and anti-malware solutions. However, Windows Security has evolved into a robust and comprehensive cybersecurity suite that offers excellent protection for your Windows 11 PC. It’s built directly into the OS, ensuring seamless updates and a low impact on system performance.
Core Protection Features
Windows Security provides a multi-layered approach to protecting your digital life:
- Antivirus and Threat Protection: This is the core of Windows Security. It provides real-time scanning for viruses, malware, ransomware, and other threats. You can schedule full system scans or quick scans as needed.
- Firewall and Network Protection: The built-in firewall helps to block unauthorized access to your computer from the internet or your local network. It allows you to manage which applications can access the network.
- Account Protection: This feature helps secure your Microsoft accounts, offering options for signing in with Windows Hello (face recognition, fingerprint, or PIN) for more secure access.
- App and Browser Control: This module includes features like SmartScreen, which protects you from potentially malicious apps, files, and websites. You can also configure settings for Microsoft Edge and other applications to enhance their security.
- Device Security: This section provides information about your device’s security features, such as Secure Boot and hardware-based security, ensuring your hardware is configured for optimal protection.
Ransomware Protection and More
Windows Security offers advanced features to combat modern threats:
- Ransomware Protection: Through “Controlled folder access,” you can specify which folders are protected from unauthorized changes by applications, a critical defense against ransomware attacks.
- Performance and Health Reporting: This section provides insights into your device’s performance and health, helping to identify potential issues that could compromise security.
- Family Options: If you use Windows Security on a family computer, you can link to Microsoft Family Safety settings to manage your children’s online activities and screen time.
With its constant updates and deep integration, Windows Security offers a powerful and convenient first line of defense against digital threats, eliminating the need for many users to seek out alternative, potentially less integrated, security software.
7. Disk Cleanup: Reclaim Valuable Storage Space
Over time, your hard drive can accumulate a significant amount of temporary files, system logs, and other unnecessary data that consume valuable storage space. The Disk Cleanup utility is a built-in Windows tool designed to efficiently identify and remove these files, helping to optimize your PC’s performance and free up gigabytes of space.
Systematic File Identification
Disk Cleanup meticulously scans your system for various types of clutter:
- Temporary Internet Files: Files downloaded by your web browser for faster website loading.
- Downloaded Program Files: ActiveX controls and Java applets downloaded from the internet.
- Windows Error Reporting and Diagnostics: Logs and temporary files generated when errors occur.
- Recycle Bin: Files you’ve deleted but haven’t permanently removed yet.
- Temporary Files: Various temporary files created by Windows and applications.
- Thumbnails: Cached images used to display previews of files.
- Delivery Optimization Files: Files used by Windows Update to optimize delivery.
System File Cleanup for Deeper Cleaning
For a more thorough cleaning, Disk Cleanup includes the option to Clean up system files:
- Previous Windows Installations: If you’ve recently upgraded Windows, the previous installation files can take up a substantial amount of space. Disk Cleanup can safely remove these.
- Windows Upgrade Log Files: Log files generated during the Windows upgrade process.
- Windows Defender Antivirus: Updates and temporary files related to Windows Defender.
- Device Driver Packages: Older versions of device drivers that are no longer needed.
By regularly running Disk Cleanup, especially the system file cleanup option, you can significantly improve your PC’s free disk space and contribute to better overall performance.
8. Storage Sense: Automated Disk Space Management
Complementing Disk Cleanup, Storage Sense is a more modern and automated approach to managing your disk space in Windows 11. Instead of manually running a cleanup tool, Storage Sense allows you to configure automatic deletion of temporary files and other unneeded items based on predefined rules or when your storage is running low.
Configurable Automatic Cleanup
Storage Sense offers granular control over how your storage is managed:
- Automatic File Deletion: You can set Storage Sense to automatically delete temporary files that your apps aren’t using.
- Recycle Bin Cleanup: Configure how often files in your Recycle Bin are automatically deleted (e.g., after 30 days).
- Downloads Folder Cleanup: You can also choose to automatically delete files from your Downloads folder if they haven’t been opened for a specified period.
- Cloud Content Management: If you use OneDrive, Storage Sense can help manage your cloud storage by marking files that haven’t been accessed recently as “online-only,” freeing up local disk space without deleting the files from the cloud.
On-Demand Cleaning
While automated, Storage Sense also allows for manual initiation of cleaning tasks. You can see a breakdown of storage usage by category, making it easy to identify what’s consuming the most space and trigger a cleanup for specific categories when needed.
Storage Sense is an intelligent feature that helps maintain optimal storage health for your PC without requiring constant user intervention.
9. Task Manager: Deep System Insight and Control
Often relegated to the role of an emergency tool to end unresponsive programs, the Task Manager in Windows 11 is a powerful diagnostic and management utility that offers deep insight into your system’s operations. It provides real-time data on processes, performance, startup applications, and more, allowing you to understand what your PC is doing at any given moment and exert granular control.
Comprehensive Process Monitoring
The Task Manager’s “Processes” tab is a detailed overview of everything running on your system:
- App Performance: See which applications are consuming CPU, memory, disk, and network resources. You can easily sort by resource usage to identify resource hogs.
- Background Processes: This tab also lists background processes, giving you visibility into system services and other applications running without a visible window.
- Ending Processes: For unresponsive applications or processes you wish to stop, the “End task” button is readily available.
Performance Analysis and Optimization
The “Performance” tab provides a visual and numerical representation of your system’s health:
- CPU, Memory, Disk, Network, GPU: Detailed graphs and statistics show the real-time utilization of your computer’s core components. This is invaluable for diagnosing performance bottlenecks or understanding hardware load.
- System Information: You can view detailed information about your hardware, including CPU speed, memory amount, disk capacity, and network adapter details.
Startup App Management
The “Startup apps” tab is crucial for optimizing your PC’s boot time:
- Disable Unnecessary Startup Programs: Many applications configure themselves to launch automatically when Windows starts, slowing down the boot process and consuming resources. Task Manager allows you to easily disable these non-essential startup items.
- Impact Assessment: Each startup item is rated for its impact on startup time (High, Medium, Low, or Not Measured), helping you make informed decisions about what to disable.
Additional Features for Advanced Users
Task Manager also offers other valuable sections:
- App History: Tracks resource usage for apps over time, giving you a historical view.
- Users: Shows which users are currently logged into your system and the resources they are consuming.
- Details: Provides a more traditional view of running processes with detailed information like PID (Process ID) and command-line arguments.
- Services: Allows you to view and manage the services running on your system, with options to start, stop, or restart them.
The Task Manager is an indispensable tool for any Windows user who wants to understand their system’s behavior, troubleshoot performance issues, and maintain optimal efficiency.
Conclusion: Re-discover Your PC’s Built-in Capabilities
As we’ve explored, Windows 11 is packed with an impressive array of built-in applications and tools that are often overlooked in favor of third-party alternatives. From advanced screen capturing with the Snipping Tool to sophisticated image management with the Photos app, creative exploration with Paint 3D, and efficient system maintenance with Disk Cleanup and Storage Sense, these native utilities offer robust functionality without the need for additional downloads or installations. Tools like Voice Recorder, Steps Recorder, and Task Manager provide essential capabilities for productivity, troubleshooting, and system oversight. Furthermore, Windows Security offers comprehensive protection that often rivals paid solutions. By taking the time to familiarize yourself with these powerful, integrated features, you can significantly enhance your computing experience, streamline your workflows, and unlock the full potential of your Windows 11 PC. At Tech Today, we encourage you to explore these hidden gems and discover how much your PC can already do, often better and more efficiently, right out of the box.