What are your Microsoft Windows hidden gem apps
What are your Microsoft Windows hidden gem apps
You know the drill, [M]Lemmings...
I want to share TypingMasterPro cuz it is the program that helped me learn to type 2x over (QWERTY than DVORAK)
Off you go!
I will forever recommend VoidTools' Everything ever since someone first introduced it to me some few years ago.
It indexes your entire filesystem and allows you to search for files by name (and by content for text files!) and even allowing RegEx searching for file names, and filters for certain file types and the like.
Definitely PowerToys, there's some great utilities in there like a Spotlight-esque search/launch bar or a tool to rename multiple files at once.
EarTrumpet is great, too, being basically an enhanced version of the standard audio mixer that lets you change audio devices quickly.
My favourite Windows-only app is probably Foobar2000, though, it's an endlessly customisable music player with hundreds of plug-ins for nearly every conceivable use case. It takes a while to set up but once you do there's nothing better.
Not technically a program altho it can be, I recommend Privacy.sexy for mass-configuring the best settings for your respective platform (Windows/Linux/MacOS). And there are LOTS of settings to configure for Windows it seems altho thats the case as well for Mac and I can't speak to Linux
TerraCopy and FreeCommander. Fuck Windows Explorer.
TreeSize has saved me a lot of bytes over the years. Performant and visually slick. I would prefer a FOSS utility, though. Apparently, reading other comments here, there isn't an actively maintained one that isn't garbage. Oh well.
Procmon has gotten me out of a couple binds. Task Manager can only do so much for you. I've always been dubious of people who deify Task Manager as some ultimate authority of the OS that kicks ass and takes no prisoners, as I've run into several problems it couldn't solve for me. Procmon feels like the real version of that mythic Task Manager. The main thing it can do which Task Manager (to my knowledge) cannot do that I've needed several times is detect which running processes have a lock on a given file, so I can kill them.
KeePassXC is KeePass2, but not sinfully ugly. It's FOSS and equally functional as the program it aims to supplant, but it's also multiplatform (so I can use it on Linux without Mono!) and it looks like it actually has a design philosophy developed by someone who knows a thing or two about UX design. Also, it lets you auto bulk download favicons for all of your key entries. With KeePass2 I had to do that manually one by one. I was happy to do it then thinking the program was worth it, but now that I know there's a better way I feel like an idiot for putting up with it for as long as I did.
Also, just a short rant: I am so glad Windows finally has a native OpenSSH implementation that ships with the OS. Because that means good fucking riddance to PuTTY and WinSPC. I appreciate them having been there to be our secure and stable options for SSH and FTP/SFTP clients on Windows over the years. But now that I can finally do those things in the terminal with standard cross-platform tools, I no longer have to use their ugly, clumsy GUIs, their stupid .ppk key format, or WinSCP's cryptic command line args ever again, and I couldn't be happier.
Foobar2000, it is the only windows app that I miss.
Deadbeef is close but it is missing several features, it can't even encode using more than 1 cpu core lol.
DevToys, lots of good tools, handy when you don't want to decode base64 or stuff like that on a website.
MobaXTerm.
Makes dealing with lots of servers, be them Linux or Windows, much easier.
Honourable mention to Right PDF reader for helping me with previous study too. It's had a name change but it includes enough features in its free version that makes it very good for reading and marking up longwinded academic studies.
I use IPFilter Updater for Bit Torrent programs.
It updates a block list that blocks out bad actors and trackers, so there's a bigger chance you can sail the seas in peace.
Chocolatey, a command line driven package installer for Windows that works like apt-get for Linux. Replaces thousands of bloated installers with simple commands. My first step with an updated Windows install is to install Chocolatey, open command prompt, and do something like
choco install firefox notepadplusplus gimp zoom windirstat winrarto install them all silently.Rufus. It's an app that let's you create a bootable USB of a Linux distro so you can leave Windows behind.
Sharex
My favorite hidden gem has to be ear trumpet (https://eartrumpet.app/). It gives you quick access to changing app volume without going through multiple clicks.
FancyWM
If I absolutely have to use windows it works pretty well in letting me keep my workflow from Linux along with some hotkeys for cycling virtual desktops
Winutil. Makes windows usable.
Startisback++, not tried on Win11.
Firefox/Brave, VLC, 7zip, to replace the garbage apps
the Ditto clipboard manager
It lets me keep track of all my clipboard history without having to use microsoft's
only thing is I have to remember to go back and delete a password after I copy it, but luckily bitwarden can autofill most of the time
Baregrep is really great for parsing tons of logs
Notepad++ for syntax highlighting, don't even need to read the words, just look at the patterns of colours to understand the logs
WinMerge for comparing files between folders, I use it often to compare code between deployment versions
Grub
Xyplorer. A much better file system
Recently discovered subs2srs. Super useful if you are learning a language. It can take a video file of a show or movie, extract the subs, and create Anki flash cards for each line of dialogue. It can even add snapshots, audio, and video clips to the flash cards (though video can have lengthy transcodes, so I just stuck with audio/snapshot on my cards).
Well the one that keeps me needing a Windows machine for on... Ableton Live + VST plug-ins.
Musicbrains Picard is also the best metadata autotag app I've used.
"Reclaim Windows" type powershell scripts, feel like group policy and powershell are underutilized by average desktop users. A lot of the things people complain about with windows you can control with it. Primarily a debain user myself but I need Windows to run Ableton on custom hardware so it is what it is.
Librewolf - browser Syncthing / synctrayzor - file sync Notepad++ - text editor WinSCP + putty + friends - interacting with Linux Zettlr - knowledge base / markdown editor Keepassxc + browser integrations
For the sysadmins under us (and anyone that needs it): TypeClipboard
It essentially is a sort of auto-typer typing what's in the current clipboard.
Great for remote mangement and typing in the password into a login field because CTRL+V doesnt work.Total Commander, great Norton like file manager
Bulk Rename Utility
Actual Window Manager.
If you have multiple monitors it allows you to have a different virtual desktop on each monitor and jump between them independently.
f.lux, better than windows built-in function.
Balena Etcher, so that you can make a boot able Linux drive 😉 Jokes aside, Windirstat was one of my gems.
I could never afford it but Rationale is very cool for the inner logician/thinker/schizo in me
Like mentally I literally consider it a cool gem