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Is there an built-in way or ways in Windows to show (alphabetically ideally) all the programs/applications that are installed on my Windows PC that can then be saved as a PDF or Word document for future reference, rather than carrying out a manual search for each and every program?

Please note: I am looking for inbuilt ways rather than using 3rd party software to achieve the objective.

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  • @techie007 That question solely relies on the use of additional 3rd party software, and doesn't ask for inbuilt ways within Windows to achieve the same objective, as answered by Taylor Gibb.
    – Simon
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 14:41
  • One of the answers (superuser.com/a/293674/23133) gives a way using the inbuilt WMI features of Windows. Perhaps remove your request for a 3rd party utility and demand all answers be in-built if that's what you actually want. Otherwise, it's a dupe IMO.
    – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 14:42
  • @techie007 Yes thats true :)
    – Simon
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 14:45
  • @techie007 ok I shall. Actually the reason I included 3rd party in the beginning was because I thought it might not be possible.
    – Simon
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 14:47
  • @techie007 Done, please kindly remove duplicate question.
    – Simon
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 14:56

2 Answers 2

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This is a cool problem to solve using PowerShell.

Firstly you need to open PowerShell. You can do this by pressing the Windows + R keyboard combination, typing powershell into the run box and pressing enter.

Now simply type the following into the PowerShell Window.

Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Select-Object -Property Name > C:\apps.txt

For a CSV just use the following (note i used some aliases to shorten the command but it still does the same thing):

gwmi -Class Win32_Product | select -Property Name | Export-CSV "C:\apps.csv"

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  • if you want to get really fancy you can even export it to a CSV file so that you can compare lists at a later point in time to see what you dont have installed.
    – Taylor Gibb
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 14:10
  • Thanks for that, I agree if there is an inbuilt way then it should have first priority. Can a CSV file be opened with MS Excel or similar ?
    – Simon
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 14:20
  • @Simon indeed it can. Please mark this answer as correct if it helped you.
    – Taylor Gibb
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 14:25
  • I have never used CSV files before, so just needed clarification. I usually wait a couple of days before marking a correct answer (if you don't mind) :)
    – Simon
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 14:29
  • @Simon Sure, you can wait if you want. I updated the answer to include a command that exports your programs to a CSV. You can then simply open the file from Excel.
    – Taylor Gibb
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 14:31
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Funny...Isn't 3rd party software basically anything which didn't come bundled in the OS? Anyway, personally I'm a fan of WinAudit- PC Audit & Inventory Software http://winaudit.zymichost.com/index.html

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  • Yes a 3rd party software is software that doesn't come bundled with an OS
    – Simon
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 14:32
  • The question has now changed to inbuilt ways only. Thanks for answering, if you would kindly delete though.
    – Simon
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 15:05
  • It's ironic that some are hesitant to run a 3rd party application to list all the 3rd party programs installed on a system...
    – argentwolf
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 15:44
  • Not hesitant to run a third party program, the question was changed to prevent it from being a possible duplicate.
    – Simon
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 15:49

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