These 7 Hidden Features in Windows Will Blow Your Mind! (2026)

Howdy folks, Brett here. Despite the problems with Windows, it can't be denied that it is the most functional, feature-packed operating system on the planet. Hidden within Windows are useful features most people don't know about, which I'll show you right now. Clipboard History is a feature that I use quite a bit to paste things I've recently copied. To open it, use the keyboard shortcut which is the Windows key plus V key. It stores up to 25 items you've copied like text, images, and links. After opening it, you can use the arrow keys to navigate the list, and then hit enter on your keyboard to paste. It's as simple as that. If Clipboard History is not working for you, then you'll need to activate it in Settings by selecting System on the left, scroll down here on the right, and select Clipboard. You'll need to toggle the switch on for Clipboard History. You can also paste items in your Clipboard History from other supported devices by turning on Clipboard History across your devices. Reliability Monitor is a built-in tool with a graphical timeline of your PC's stability that logs application crashes, hardware issues, and other problems that updates over time. You can get to it in the Legacy control panel, but here's a quicker way. In Search in the taskbar, just type Reliability, select View Reliability History. It'll generate a report. When you select any date below it, it'll show you critical events, warnings, and informational events for that day. Double-clicking any of these will show you a description of the event, and in some cases, an error code that could come in handy diagnosing and troubleshooting the problem. When you enable the Activate on Hover feature, you no longer need to click on the window to interact with it. Simply hovering your mouse cursor over it activates it. This is one of those accessibility features that can be useful for everyone, especially if you're using the Windows 11 Extra Click Edition. To activate it in Settings, go to Accessibility. Scroll down to the Interactions section and select Mouse. If turned off, click on the toggle to enable Activate on Hover. There's a slider to adjust the amount of time to activate a window when the mouse cursor is hovered over it. Keep the box checked for Move Window to Top when activating for Mouse Hover. The Nearby Sharing feature is great for those times you want to send or receive a file or link on your PC with other devices in your area. It's a lot like Apple's AirDrop, but not exclusive to just Microsoft devices. In Settings, with System selected here on the left, go to Nearby Sharing. You can set it to only discover your devices only or everyone nearby. In this example, not to expose everyone in my household, I'll go with My Devices Only. When you receive files, you can change the location where those files are saved. Once enabled, if you have a file you'd like to share, right-click on it and select Share. Under Share Using, select Nearby Sharing, followed by the device you'd like to share with. If you pin your favorite programs to the taskbar, instead of clicking on them using your mouse, use the keyboard shortcut the Windows key plus a number key without having to touch your mouse. For example, here, the Microsoft Store is the number one, File Explorer is number two, the Vivaldi browser number three, and so on, ending with Excel, the number nine, and Handbrake is zero. So, if I wanted to use the keyboard shortcut to open the Brave browser, I'd press the Windows key and the number six key. And if I wanted to open Handbrake, the Windows key plus zero. Staying in the taskbar, the system tray with those tiny icons on the right side can be easily rearranged or be removed and placed in the drop-down menu instead, freeing up additional space. Just left-click on them and move them where you want to and let go. To move to the drop-down menu, left-click on the icon and drag it over the drop-down arrow and let go. You'll see it says Show Hidden Icons. These can be rearranged in here as well. If you only use one feature mentioned in this video, you should definitely enable Nightlight. It's similar to a program I used to mention in our free software series called Flux, where it dims your monitor and reduces blue light output that's easier on your eyes and can help you to sleep. To enable it in Settings, with the System tab selected, click on Display. In Brightness and Color, if Nightlight is turned off, click on the toggle to turn it on. Screen recorders don't capture it, but you will see the difference looking at your monitor. Click into it, select Turn Off Now. If you need to, there's a slider to adjust the strength. Here's what I do. I turn on Scheduled Nightlight. You can have it scheduled to automatically turn on at sunset and turn off at sunrise, or selecting set hours. You choose when Nightlight turns on and off. Let's go back to Sunset to Sunrise, and it will adjust this based on your location. In addition, to turn this feature on or off at any time outside of your scheduled hours, open the Quick Settings menu with the Windows key plus A key. Here you can easily turn it on and turn it off. Thanks for watching. Hopefully this video was useful for you. If it was, give it a thumbs up and share it with others. I'm curious, what useful features in Windows are you using? Let me know in the comments. And if you're new to our channel, subscribe and make sure to hit the bell for the latest on Windows and other tech-related stuff here on Brett in Tech.