Important software for Windows
Download from internet
-
Avast - free antivirus.
-
Dropbox - sync folders across multiple devices.
-
KeePass - password manager.
- Change font:
- Tools > Options... > Interface (2) > Fonts and tick Custom list font.
- Change font to Hack.
- Change font size to
20
.
-
Node.js - runs JavaScript on the command-line.
- Useful npm modules:
npm i cheerio@1.0.0-rc.6
- jQuery alternative for Node.js.
- @1.0.0-rc.12 is problematic
- @1.0.0-rc.3 minimum version that worked
- @1.0.0-rc.7 starts breaking
npm i console.table
- console.table method for Node.js.
npm i glob@8.0.3
- match files using patterns.
- @9.0.2 is problematic
- @8.0.3 minimum version that worked
npm i jsdom@9.12.0
- DOM for Node.js.
- @21.0.0 is problematic
- @9.5.0 minimum version that worked
- @10.0.0 starts breaking
npm install --global mocha
- unit testing.
-
nircmd.exe - speak text using command-line (programmatically)
-
Notepad++ - text editor with syntax highlighting.
- Initial setup:
- Settings > Preferences... > General > Toolbar and choose Fluent UI: large.
- Settings > Preferences... > Dark Mode and choose Dark mode.
- Settings > Preferences... > Margins/Border/Edge > Vertical Edge Settings and type
80
.
- Settings > Preferences... > Language > Tab Settings and change Tab size to
2
.
- Settings > Preferences... > Language > Tab Settings and tick Replace by space.
- Settings > Preferences... > Cloud & Link > Clickable Link Settings and untick Enable.
- View and tick Word wrap.
- View and tick Document List.
- View and tick Folder as workspace.
- View > Show Symbol and tick Show White Space and TAB.
- View > Show Symbol and tick Show Wrap Symbol.
- Settings > Style Configurator... > Global Styles : Global override > Font Style > Font name : and choose Hack.
- Settings > Style Configurator... > Global Styles : Global override and tick Enable global font.
- Acceptable theme:
Settings > Style Configurator... > Select theme :
- DarkModeDefault
- Default
- Deep Black
- Plastic Code Wrap
- Vibrant Ink
-
FastCopy - sync folders, fast file/folder copier.
-
Mozilla Firefox - web browser.
- Initial setup:
- Right click Mozilla Firefox logo then Bookmarks Toolbar > Always Show.
- Right click Mozilla Firefox logo then Customize Toolbar... and tick Title Bar.
- Useful extension:
- Hamburger menu > Add-ons and themes > Extensions > Find more add-ons and search for
Video DownloadHelper
then click Add to Firefox.
-
AutoHotkey - automation scripting language.
-
FileZilla - FTP client.
- When installing:
- decline install Google Chrome browser.
- decline install Brave browser.
- Default transfer type binary:
- Edit > Settings... > Transfers > FTP File Types > Default transfer type: and choose Binary.
-
Google Chrome - web browser.
- Initial setup:
- 3 vertical dots > Settings > Appearance and tick Show bookmarks bar.
-
Canon printer G2010 - driver and scan utility.
- When installing:
- untick My ImageGarden.
- untick Easy-WebPrint EX.
-
IrfanView - image viewer.
-
LilyPond - create beautiful music sheet and MIDI file.
-
Foxit PDF Reader - view PDF file, screenshot whole page.
- When installing:
- untick Plugin used to open PDF files inside browser.
- untick Show PDF files in browsers.
- choose Don't install a free 14 day trial of Foxit PDF Editor.
-
PDFtk Server - combine several PDF files into a single PDF file.
-
Greenshot - screenshot editor with auto-crop, upload to imgur.com.
- When installing:
- untick Start Greenshot with Windows start.
-
K-Lite Codec Pack Mega - video player.
- After installing:
- open Media Player Classic.
- View > Options... > Tweaks and tick Show preview on seek bar
-
MuseScore - convert MIDI file to MP3 file.
-
Synthesia - play MIDI file.
-
ShareX - screen recording.
- When installing:
- untick Show "Upload with ShareX" button in Windows Explorer context menu.
- untick Create a send to shorcut.
- untick Run ShareX when Windows starts.
-
ExpressVPN - VPN (Virtual Private Network).
-
GIMP - image editor.
-
SeaTools - display information about Seagate drive and test the Seagate drive.
-
Seagate Drive Detect (drivedetect.exe) - display information about Seagate drive and find firmware/support page.
-
Everything - a very quick file/folder search (search by name) .
- When installing:
- untick Start Everything on system startup.
-
Icaros - show thumbnail for video file in Windows Explorer.
- When installing:
- tick Activate Icaros.
-
FFmpeg Library for Audacity - Audacity needs this library to extract audio from video.
-
Audacity - extract audio from video.
-
OpenShot - video editor.
Windows built-in
- OneDrive - sync folders across multiple devices.
- Paint - basic image editor.
- Magnifier - magnify screen.
- Command Prompt (Windows Terminal) - execute command line.
- Change text style:
- right click title bar > Settings > Command Prompt > Appearance.
- change Font face to Hack.
- change Font size to
12
.
- Notepad - basic text editor.
- Calculator - basic calculator.
- Clock - timer, alarm, stopwatch.
- Control Panel - old Control Panel.
- Microsoft Edge - Bing search and chat with AI.
- Microsoft Whiteboard - whiteboard.
- Surface - check Surface Pen battery level.
- Sticky Notes - sticky notes.
- Microsoft Word - quickly open Printer Properties.
- Disk Management - partition hard drive, check drive letter of external drive.