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Important software for Windows
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Important software for Windows

Contents

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  1. Avast - Free antivirus.
  2. Dropbox - Sync folders across multiple devices.
  3. KeePass - Password manager.
    • Change font
      1. Tools > Options... > Interface (2) > Fonts and tick Custom list font.
      2. Change font to Hack.
      3. Change font size to 20.
  4. Node.js - Run JavaScript on the command-line.
    • Currently using node v24.16.0.
    • Currently using npm v11.17.0.
    • Useful commands
      • npm list -g - list all global modules for example mocha and npm.
      • npm list - list all modules.
    • Useful npm modules
      1. npm i chalk@4.1.2 - colourise command-line.
        • Currently using @4.1.2.
      2. 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.
        • Currently using @1.0.0-rc.6.
      3. npm i glob@8.0.3 - match files using patterns.
        • @9.0.2 is problematic.
        • @8.0.3 minimum version that worked.
        • Currently using @8.0.3.
      4. 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.
        • Currently using @9.12.0.
      5. npm i -g mocha - unit testing.
        • Currently using @11.7.6.
        • Location is %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\npm.
      6. npm i https://cdn.sheetjs.com/xlsx-0.20.3/xlsx-0.20.3.tgz - Convert XLSX file to JSON.
        • Currently using @0.20.3.
  5. nircmd.exe - Speak text using command-line (programmatically). Show tray balloon.
  6. Notepad++ - Text editor with syntax highlighting.
    • Initial setup
      1. View:
        1. Tick Word wrap.
        2. Tick Document List.
        3. Tick Folder as workspace.
      2. View > Show Symbol:
        1. Tick Show Space and Tab.
        2. Tick Show Wrap Symbol.
      3. Settings > Preferences...:
        1. Toolbar and choose Fluent UI: large.
        2. Editing 1 > Caret Settings and change Width to 3.
        3. Dark Mode and choose Dark mode.
        4. Margins/Border/Edge > Vertical Edge Settings and type 80.
        5. Language and untick Make language menu compact.
        6. Language and Available Items are only these:
          • AutoIt
          • Batch
          • CSS
          • HTML
          • Java
          • JavaScript
          • LaTeX
          • None (Normal Text)
          • PHP
          • Python
          • Visual Basic
          • XML
        7. Indentation and change Indent size to 2.
        8. Indentation and change Indent using to Space character(s).
        9. Cloud & Link > Clickable Link Settings and untick Enable.
      4. Settings > Style Configurator... > Global Styles : Global override:
        1. Font Style > Font name: and choose Hack.
    • Acceptable theme (Settings > Style Configurator... > Select theme):
      • DarkModeDefault
      • Default
      • Deep Black
      • Vibrant Ink
    • Plugins > Plugins Admin...:
      • Customize Toolbar
    • To exclude some file extensions during Find in Files, use this Filters: *.* !*.pdf !*.png !*.jpg !*.gif !*.zip !*.mp3 !*.xlsx
  7. FastCopy - Sync folders, fast file/folder copier.
    • Installed at
      • %USERPROFILE%\app\FastCopy.
    • Change font
      1. Option > Font Settings > Change Main Font.
      2. Change font to Hack.
      3. Change font size to 11.
      4. Click OK.
  8. Mozilla Firefox - Web browser.
    • Initial setup
      1. Right click tab bar:
        1. Bookmarks Toolbar > Always Show.
        2. Customize Toolbar... and tick Title Bar. Then click Done.
    • Useful extension
      1. Hamburger menu > Extensions > Find more add-ons and search for Video DownloadHelper then click Add to Firefox.
    • about:config
      1. browser.ml.chat.shortcuts and set tofalse.
  9. AutoHotkey - Automation scripting language.
  10. WinSCP - FTP client.
  11. Google Chrome - Web browser.
    • Initial setup
      1. 3 vertical dots > Settings > Appearance:
        1. Tick Show bookmarks bar.
        2. Untick Show tab search button.
        3. Untick Show tab group in bookmarks bar.
        4. Untick Automatically pin new tab groups created on any device to the bookmarks bar.
  12. Canon printer G2010 - Driver and scan utility.
    • When installing
      1. Untick My ImageGarden.
  13. IrfanView - Image viewer and resizer.
    • When installing
      1. Click Uncheck all.
    • To resize image: Image > Resize/Resample...
  14. LilyPond - Create beautiful music sheet and MIDI file.
  15. Foxit PDF Reader - View PDF file, screenshot whole page.
    • Initial setup
      1. File > Skins > Select Mode and choose Dark.
  16. PDFtk Server - Combine several PDF files into a single PDF file.
    • To combine PDF files: 
      MKDIR output
pdftk *.pdf cat output output\combined.pdf
REM PAUSE
EXIT
      .
  17. Greenshot - Screenshot editor with auto-crop, upload to imgur.com.
    • When installing
      1. Untick Start Greenshot with Windows start.
    • Initial setup
      1. Make icon bigger:
        1. Taskbar > Greenshot > Preferences... > General > Icon size and set to 32.
        2. Click Ok.
        3. Taskbar > Greenshot > Exit and restart Greenshot.
  18. K-Lite Codec Pack Mega - Video player.
  19. VLC - Video player.
    • Change Video Output Module
      • Tools > Preferences > Show settings and tick All.
      • Then Video > Output modules and choose OpenGL video output for Windows and then click Save.
  20. MuseScore - Convert MIDI file to MP3 file.
  21. Synthesia - Play MIDI file.
  22. ShareX - Screen recording.
    • When installing:
      1. Untick Show "Upload with ShareX" button in Windows Explorer context menu.
      2. Untick Create a send to shorcut.
      3. Untick Run ShareX when Windows starts.
  23. Mozilla VPN - VPN (Virtual Private Network).
  24. GIMP - Image editor.
  25. SeaTools - Display information about Seagate drive and test the Seagate drive.
  26. Seagate Drive Detect (drivedetect.exe) - Display information about Seagate drive and find firmware/support page.
    • Installed at
      • %USERPROFILE%\app\Seagate.
  27. Everything - A very quick file/folder search (search by name) .
    • When installing:
      1. Untick Start Everything on system startup.
  28. Icaros - Show thumbnail for video file in Windows Explorer.
    • When installing:
      1. Tick Activate Icaros.
  29. FFmpeg Library for Audacity - Audacity needs this library to extract audio from video.
  30. Audacity - Extract audio from video.
  31. OpenShot - Video editor.
  32. gifsicle - Resize animated GIF.
    • Installed at
      • %USERPROFILE%\app\gifsicle-1.95-win64.
    • Reference
    • Resizing: 
      gifsicle.exe --resize-width 300 input.gif > output.gif
      .
  33. Synthesizer V Studio Basic - Sing MIDI.
  34. Zoom Workplace - Online meeting.
  35. WizTree - Disk space analyzer.
  36. Python - Python programming language.
    • To install, click View in Store > Install.
    • Useful Python packages
      1. pip install gTTS - Google Text-to-Speech.
      2. pip install --upgrade wheel - required for playsound.
      3. pip install playsound==1.2.2 - playing sounds.
  37. Rufus - Create bootable USB drives and download Windows ISO.
  38. Shotcut - Video editor.
  39. Apple Devices - Transfer file(s) to iPad.
    • To install, click View in Store > Install.
  40. 7-Zip - Create ZIP file.
  41. yt-dlp - Download YouTube video.
    • Installed at
      • %USERPROFILE%\app\yt-dlp.
    • To download YouTube video: 
      yt-dlp.exe --js-runtimes node "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-Al5BRKFk8"
PAUSE
      .
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Windows built-in

  1. OneDrive - Sync folders across multiple devices.
  2. Paint - Basic image editor.
  3. Magnifier - Magnify screen.
  4. Command Prompt (Windows Terminal) - Execute command line.
    • Change text style:
      1. Right click title bar > Settings > Command Prompt > Appearance.
      2. Change Font face to Hack.
      3. Change Font size to 20.
      4. Click Save.
    • Change window size:
      1. Right click title bar > Settings > Startup > Launch size.
      2. Change Columns to 60.
      3. Change Rows to 10.
      4. Click Save.
  5. Notepad - Basic text editor.
  6. Calculator - Basic calculator.
  7. Clock - Timer, alarm, stopwatch.
  8. Control Panel - Old Control Panel.
  9. Microsoft Edge - Bing search and chat with AI.
  10. Microsoft Whiteboard - Whiteboard.
  11. Surface - Check Surface Pen battery level.
  12. Sticky Notes - Sticky notes.
  13. Disk Management - Partition hard drive, check drive letter of external drive.
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