There are a lot of software solutions (many of them free) to various tasks that we perform regularly as students and researchers. This page is meant to record the kinds of software that Wheaton students have found most useful. If you add your own, be sure to include a link to a source and whether or not the program is free.
Many of the programs listed below are written in Java. To install Java, go to http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp, download Java for your operating system, and install it. This goes for Windows, Mac, or Linux.
- WordReference (http://www.wordreference.com/, free) is a web-based dictionary that automatically parses french forms. Also features auto-completion as you are typing the french word.
Study vocabulary (in any language)
- JMemorize (http://sourceforge.net/projects/jmemorize/, free and open source) is a Java flash card program that keeps track of what you have studied, allows you to create categories so you can study words from different sources, makes it easy to import lists of words and export them to CSV files that can be edited in Excel, etc.
- Pauker (http://pauker.sourceforge.net/, free and open source) is a flash card program. It is a solid program and very usable but less sophisticated and customizable than JMemorize.
- Anki (http://ichi2.net/anki/, free and open source) is similar to JMemorize. It keeps track of your learning and brings more difficult words to your attention more frequently than words that are easy for you. Two features set it apart from JMemorize. First, you can tell the program that a word is easy, medium or difficult, so you can tell the program not to quiz you on a familiar word for awhile. Second, from Anki you can access vocabulary lists in many languages and subjects (including biblical Greek and Hebrew) that other people have created. And not only does Anki support Mac, Windows, and Linux, some mobile devices (such as the iPhone) can run it.
- Auto Hot Key (http://www.autohotkey.com/, free): This handy application will let you cut down dramatically on the number of keystrokes you need to make to render certain words.
Create PDF Files from Any Program
While some operating systems (Mac OS X?) and programs offer PDF export natively (such as OpenOffice Writer), you can create a PDF from any program using a PDF printer. The following are all free.
If you just want to highlight and make notes on PDF files, Mac comes with Preview, which offers this functionality. Windows does not have such a program.
- PDF X-Change Viewer (http://www.docu-track.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer, free download but not open source) offers extensive annotation features but is designed to encourage you to buy a full version.
- Mendeley (http://www.mendeley.com/, free download but not open source) is what Picasa is to photos or iTunes to music. Tell it where your PDF files are (such as in a folder), and it will create a database of them and organize them based on the metadata in the PDF file (such as author and publication information). You can add tags and make annotations. PDF files that you scan will need to be edited to have the correct author and other publication information, but files from EBSCOHost already have such information, so it makes this a handy way to organize, view, and annotate PDF files. There are also sharing and collaboration features.
Search for something on your computer
Aside from built-in searching of files and folders in your operating system, consider Google Desktop (http://desktop.google.com/, free but not open source). It indexes the folders you want and then you can search them like you search the web using Google.
Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/) is a free program that allows you to prepare PDF files with a text layer to read using a Kindle.