Embedded Files
This utility program frees you from the annoying monotony of repeatedly typing the same entries over and over. Users can create permanent folders with frequently-typed values and arrange them in meaningful groups. When you need to type one of these entries, simply hover your mouse over the ArsClip icon in the system tray at the bottom of your screen, click on the desired entry from the resulting menu, and paste instead of type. If you create records for all of your common entries, you might find that you do not need your keyboard much any more.
One of Mozilla's best-kept secrets. Mozilla's Sunbird scheduler has become almost as indispensable to me as Firefox and Thunderbird. You can use Sunbird's classification scheme or create your own categories to arrange scheduled events in ways meaningful to you (e.g., Home, School, Office). You can display or exclude as many or as few categories as you want. Sunbird also allow you to define your own floating dates along the lines of Mother's Day falling on the second day of May. It does suffer at least one significant limitation: it cannot run executable programs at a scheduled time.
PDF Converters:
CutePDF Writer along with Ghostscript
(an interpreter for the PostScript language and for PDF)
doPDF free PDF converter
These three packages allow users to convert almost any document that can be printed to paper into the portable document format (.pdf) instead. This comes in handy when you have need to convey the contents of, say, a Microsoft Word document or a PowerPoint slide show to someone who does not have Microsoft Office.
The first program, CutePDF Writer, requires the companion progam Ghostscript to be present. Users must therefore install the appropriate version (32-bit or 64-bit) of Ghostscript as the first step. After that, CutePDF Writer installs itself as a pseudo printer in the Windows control panel's "Printers and Faxes" window (XP) or "Devices and Printers" window (Win7). Finally, to actually convert a file to .pdf format, simply go through the drill of printing a file, making sure to choose the "CutePDF Writer" printer icon in the "Print" window. After you click the "Print" button, a "Save as" window will then appear with .pdf as the only file type permitted. Drill down to the desired folder, assign a meaningful file name, and click the "Save" button. Mission accomplished.
In this manner, CutePDF Writer and its silent partner Ghostwriter allow any application with a print button or print menu to save a file in .pdf format. Both programs are very easy to install and even easier to use, and they seem to work perfectly together.
Like CutePDF, doPDF installs itself as a virtual PDF printer driver that will appear in your "Printers and Faxes"/"Devices and Printers" list. Unlike CutePDF, doPDF does not require any third party programs such as GhostScript or any runtime environments like the .NET Framework. As a result, doPDF uses minimal CPU resources and memory when performing the actual conversion to PDF. Also unlike the CutePDF/Ghostscript pair, the same setup file can be used to install doPDF on both 32 and 64-bit Windows operating systems.
Doro PDF Writer works equally well on both 32-bit and 64-bit systems; the setup program automatically detects the appropriate version and installs the corresponding files. In addition, Doro PDF Writer appears to come with a version of Ghostwriter that installs automatically; there is no separate installation necessary as with CutePDF. And unlike doPDF, Doro PDF Writer does not require the user to restart the computer to install an updated version.
Best of all, Doro PDF Writer allows users to provide values for the Title, Subject, Author, Keyword, Subject, and Producer properties of the pdf file before saving it. For this reason, and because Doro PDF Writer is somewhat simpler to install than either CutePDF or doPDF, Doro PDF Writer is the clear winner. Even so, the other two are still highly functional alternatives.
PDF File Managers [Added 17 June 2012]
PDF Split and Merge (Manage multiple PDF files)
PDF Info (Edit PDF file properties: Title, Subject, Author, Keywords)
PDF24 Creator (Complete PDF manager: convert files, edit properties, split/merge files)
I consider the first two utilities above as complements to each other. As the name implies, PDF Split and Merge performs two roles. First, it can extract individual pages from multi-page pdf files. If you have some massive pdf document but want to e-mail someone just a one- or two-page extract, this software enables you to do so. Secondly, it also enables you to do the converse: join multiple pdf documents under one roof. For example, if you have five or six pdf documents you wish to e-mail to someone, this utility allows you to consolidate all of those files into one single e-mail attachment.
PDF Info has one single function: it allows users to edit the property fields of PDF files. That is, you can type in your own entries for the Author, Title, Subject, Keywords, and/or Creator fields. Simple yet effective. (Note: you will have to tolerate a small nag screen every time you open this software, but that is a small price to pay for this useful freebie.) Best of all, both PDF Info and PDF Split and Merge preserve fillable form features of the original document.
PDF24 Creator, on the other hand, is a comprehensive utility that allows users to perform just about any task on pdf files that are likely to arise. It will convert files such as plain text (file extension .txt) or Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) files into pdf files. And like PDF Info, it allows users to set the Author, Title, Subject, and Keywords properties of any pdf documents. Like PDF Split and Merge, it allows users to extract and consolidate individual pdf files from and into multi-page pdf documents.
Alas, be aware that PDF24 Creator does not preserve fillable form features of the original document(s). If fillable forms are essential, then you must instead use PDF Info and/or PDF Split and Merge.
Projeto Finanx FX12C Financial Calculator
Projeto Finanx FX12C is an open source Java program that perfectly emulates the classic HP-12C financial calculator. No installation required: just unzip the files to the folder of your choice. Looks and acts just like the HP-12C. Renegotiating your home mortgage? Feed in the loan amount, loan duration, and monthly interest rate; this calculator will instantly report the corresponding monthly payment. Once you become familiar with HP's famous—some might say infamous—Reverse Polish notation (RPN), this might be the only calculator you will ever need.
Rename is a context-oriented program to rename files in bulk. To open the program, you select the file or files you wish to rename, right-click with your mouse, and then click the "Rename file(s) menu..." option from the resulting context menu. You can then add or delete prefixes or suffixes of any length; modify any string within the file names; incorporate dates into the file names; number file names sequentially; and change the time and/or date stamp and/or attribute of all selected files. In addition, you can save your actions into script files for frequent re-use. A very handy and useful utility.
This very nice little program allows to to easily re-arrange the items in the task bar at the bottom of your Windows screen. It is aimed at fussbudgets like me who want their tool bar programs to appear in a certain order (e.g., Windows Explorer always first followed in turn by a web browser and then the text editor, etc.) This application allows users to rearrange without having to remember to open program windows in the desired sequence.
As much as I hate to admit to using any Microsoft product other than Windows itself, I confess that I prefer Windows' own Character Map utility over any other I have seen. Character maps come in handy when you want to type a character that does not appear on the keyboard like fractions (¼, ½, and ¾), the symbol for cents (¢), the symbol for degrees (°), etc.
The Windows Character Map has two particular features that I find useful. First, it enables users to view characters by meaningful subgroups such as currency symbols, punctuation marks, numerical values, mathematical operators, etc. Secondly, it provides a search capability for specific characters. For example, typing the letters "quot" in the search field will display twelve different quotation marks from which to choose.
This utility will not exactly transform your life, but it can be useful on certain occasions. [Added 11 July 2010]
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