Windows tip of the week

Find any desktop program's version details

One of the most important details you need to know for any installed Windows program is its version information, usually expressed as a number with one or more decimal points. When you know the version number, you can decide whether an upgrade is really an upgrade or whether you're better off sticking with what's installed.

For most Windows programs, you can find version information from the Help > About menu. But you can also locate these details without opening the program at all, using information stored directly in the program file itself. (Note that these instructions work only for Windows desktop programs and not for apps from the Windows Store.)

Locate the executable (*.exe) file for the program. Right-click that file and choose Properties, then click the Details tab and look for the Product Name and Product Version fields.

Want to see product details for every program on a Windows PC? For any program that was registered with a Windows installer, you'll find an entry in Control Panel > Programs > Programs & Features. Switch to Details view if necessary, then select each program in the list and look in the details pane at the bottom of the window. For an even faster view, right-click the row of headings and click the Version field.