Mark The Spark

Usefull stuff?

82 posts in this topic

From a few other threads I've picked up a few useful programs. Therefore I thought a 'share your stuff' thread may produce a few more! My current favorite utilities : MWSNAP from mirek, http://www.mirekw.com/winfreeware/mwsnap.html This is a little screen grabber for windows that allows you to stick cursers on it where you want, very useful for when writting operation manuals. Free! Openoffice, MS office clone http://www.openoffice.org/ free,libra,gratis.... http://forums.mrplc.com/index.php?autocom=downloads&showfile=605 Pdl's Com port setting util, very useful where an old DOS or W9x program wants to see a 'real' serial port. Grisoft AVG - free, I must stick this on a few PC's a week once I've rid them of Norton or Mcwhatsit http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1 So what gems do you all have to share????

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http://www.7-zip.org/ Free ZIPer that also covers other formats (RAR, CAB, ISO, ARJ, LZH, CHM,..0 http://www.irfanview.com/ free picture viewer/converter/resizer and more, does batch processing (crop bunch of screenshots for manuals) http://www.cutepdf.com/ free PDF printer driver, no ads, watermarks or nag screens, free for personal and business use http://www.accesspdf.com/pdftk/ free PDF tool kit (split or merge PDFs etc.) http://curveexpert.webhop.net/ Curve Expert (fits curve using number of functions) http://nch.com.au/wavepad/index.html Audio Editor http://biphome.spray.se/mason40/index.html Split File http://www.progecad.com/ AutoCAD Clone http://dict.leo.org/ Online English German Translation http://www.google.com/ Google http://mail.google.com/ Google Mail http://earth.google.com/ online Globe with maps, directions and more http://moon.google.com/ just don't zoom in too close http://free.grisoft.com/ Anti Virus http://www.hijackthis.de/ Hijack This http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ Ad Aware

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Two tools I use A LOT, weekly at least: LL-Solver is a useful tool for converting between 16-bit binary, decimal, and hex. This tool was designed as a direct result of working with Omron PLCs, however it is also useful with other PLCs that use 16-bit or 8-bit data. Can be set to use 0 to 65535 or -32768 to +32767, enter in either binary, hex or decimal, pressing = fills in the other values. Freeware. Scale tool: Input the Raw and Engineering ranges, and Scale Tool will scale Raw to Engineering OR Engineering to Raw... plus more. Freeware. I included both in a ZIP available for download at the download section. Angry IP Scanner: perfect tool for scanning networks for IPs. Freeware. Mail Checker is a Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP utility that lets you check your e-mail server automatically at regular intervals. When mail arrives, it shows a systray notification and can play a sound or start your e-mail program. It supports only POP3 mail servers. Mail Checker can stay on at all time, since it leaves a small footprint (500kB) in memory. Simple, small, I like it. Freeware. That's it for now.

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Convert: (enuff said) http://joshmadison.net/software/convert/ NetScan: (works great for getting MAC ID's for Cognex Vision Cameras) http://www.softperfect.com/products/networkscanner/manual/ Super Mon Serial 5.5: Best tool to DEBUG RS-232 comms or ASCII comms between two devices. http://forums.mrplc.com/index.php?autocom=downloads&showfile=575 -

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Some more goodies WhoAmI provides quick verification of Internet Connectivity Diagnostics on your system, such as your operating system version (OS), TCP/IP status, Local IP, External IP, Gateway, DNS and Web Access. WhoAmI is a 'no install' program, just download WhoAmI.exe and run to see your results. No installation is required. Freeware. DAEMON Tools is a virtual cd/dvd-rom emulator. It is able to emulate nearly all known copy protections on the market today. It installs as an ordinary DVD/CD ROM player and can load DVD/CD images through the systray. Freeware. Desktop restore. I use this tool cause my laptop runs of a different resolution than my LCD at the office. When I got on a job I always had to re-arrange icons, vice versa when I got back at the office. This tools lets you save icon arrangements for a specific resolution and lets you restore a layout. Freeware. Syncback. I use this tool to synchronise my portable 40GB USB disk with our server at the office. Extensive configurations possible, synchronise, backup, restore - too much to list here. In a few clicks I have got a mirror of the office server files so I am never emptyhanded on a job and can provide support and have access to all projects wherever I go. Freeware. EncryptOnClick is a program that lets you securely encrypt and decrypt files. Use it sometimes to encrpyt files on customer PCs.

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Syncback is AWESOME, I use it to sync my PLC programs to my network server. Also if two guys is working on the same project, both of you will have the latest and greatest revision. Normal in my case, I might be working on the PLC, robot and vision, while another guy is working on the HMI. However both of us have each other's programs in case one of us is gone on our laptop using syncback....it's sweet... Here is another. Startup Control Panel http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml By the way...this is an AWESOME thread. -

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I use synchronize it for syncronizing my file between home,USB stick and work. I would use a regular version control system to do what chakorules uses syncback for. For that I would use QVCS for smaller software projects. http://www.grigsoft.com/winsin.htm One of the other guys at work likes compare it too. I have it, I just don't use it that much. Scilab is a great engineering tool. It does have a learning curve but all math packages do. www.scilab.org Finally, LINUX. Linux works very well and has saved us a lot of money. The startup control panel looks interesting.

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http://www.skype.com/ VoIP phone

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I thought this was an AWESOME COMPANY....until eBAY bought it.... Now they are setting the bait...."Free Calls until 2007". Do you know what is going to happen in 2007? It's ain't going to be FREE anymore since eBay owns it...mark my word.

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it is free now and that is still usefull, we can revisit this topic in 6 months... http://wordweb.info/free/ nice English thesaurus and dictionary

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Some websites offering CAD downloads: http://www.ab.com/e-tools/index.shtml http://www.meau.com/eprise/main/sites/publ...ematics/default http://www.omron.ca/ http://www.hammondmfg.com/index.htm http://www.hoffmanonline.com/ http://www.ralstonmetal.com/ http://www.enclosureinfo.com/cad_search.cfm?sitename=corp http://www.web2cad.com/ (lots of brands)

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I stumbled upon a various collection of nice tools that all have something in common; they can be launched as stand alone executables which don't need to be installed, so ideal to carry around on your USB pen. All are free for personal use. Enjoy A43 File Management Utility A43 File Management Utility is a standalone file manager with built-in zip compression, RAR file extraction and text editing. You can easily create or open zip files by simply dragging them onto an icon, or create self-extracting exe files in the same manner. In addition A43 allows you to keep a list of favorite folders, change file dates, search for files and edit files via the built-in editor. The program does not require an installation. A43.zip Country Codes Country Codes is a small database of country codes and additional information for more than 250 countries. It displays their location (continent), ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2-3 codes and ISO number as well as IDDD (International Direct Distance Dialing) country code and flag, FIPS PUB 10-4 and TLD (Top Level Domain) code and the current time in the country. The program provides checkboxes, that allow you to copy all or just selected information to the clipboard. In addition, it provides IP to country conversion, and a handy link for each country that launches your browser with detailed information from the Internet. You can also view the location of a selected country on a world map. CountryCodes.zip cPicture LE cPicture LE is a software to view and work with your digital photos. It offers support for thumbnail browsing, EXIF display, histogram view, as well as various features to resize, rotate, crop and more. You can also remove red-eye effects, create a HTML gallery or picture index, and batch process images to perform selected operations on multiple photos at once. The program supports all popular images formats, and even view/convert various RAW formats as well (including Canon CR2), which is not often found in free image viewers. The interface is easy to use and provides access to the features with non-technical commands (I want to ...) and a modern look. cPicture LE offers several other handy features like mouseover image zooms, lossless rotation, image slideshow, command line options, color profile support and more. The program comes as standalone executable, and does not require installation - it can be run from a USB drive. cpicture.zip Drive Manager Drive Manager is a small and useful tool that makes it easy to retrieve drive information for all your drives at a glance. It runs as a standalone EXE file and displays Label, Type, Size, Used, Available, Format, Serial number and Percentage free for each local and removable drive. The information is refreshed every 20 seconds - double-clicking opens the drive in Windows Explorer. Drive Manager also allows you to create a substitute drive letter for a local folder, and to hide drives from Windows Explorer. DriveMan.zip FollowMeIP Lite FollowMeIP Lite is a plain and simple tool that displays your external IP address, even if you are behind a router or firewall. No install needed, just run the file and it will display the IP address. It can also be minimized to the system tray. FollowMeIPLite.zip FTP Wanderer FTP Wanderer is multi-threaded FTP browser, that allows you to browse and upload and download files from and to FTP sites. It features drag and drop upload/download, folder transfers, simultaneous connections, CERN proxy support, remote folder bookmarks, and resume support. The program is easy to use with an Explorer-style interface. FTP Wanderer is primarily designed for fast FTP browsing of file sites, and not for web site management. Standalone program, no install needed. ftpwanderer2.zip HTTP File Server (HFS) HTTP File Server (HFS) is an easy to use drag and drop file server for personal file sharing. It runs as a standalone executable and does not require any installation. The program is very easy to use, just drag a file into it to share it with the world. You can customize the port it is running on, specify the IP address and monitor connections from the tray icon. HFS presents the shared files on a simple HTML page, that includes the file name and size. With some HTML knowledge, you can completely customize the HTML template to meet your preference. HFS can also integrate into Windows Explorer, allowing you to easily share files from the right-click menu. hfs.zip Omziff Omziff is a standalone encryption and security utility, that allows you to encrypt/decrypt a file, using several well known encryption algorithms, including Blowfish, Cast128, Gost, IDEA, Misty1, Rijndael, and Twofish. The program also includes a password generator, a file shredder, file splitter and several other small tools. Omziff is a standalone executable and can also be used from an USB drive or similar portable media. Omziff.zip Qm - The Quick Mailer Qm is a tiny program for sending quick e-mail messages without having to load your main email client program. It features MIME attachment support, multiple authentication methods, SMTP logging and more. qm.zip Quick `n Easy FTP Server Lite Quick `n Easy FTP Server Lite is a standalone, multi threaded FTP server that offers advanced features and security. The interface is simple and intuitive, with organized sections for managing users, configuration and security settings. It supports all basic FTP commands as well as virtual directories, IP blocking, server statistics and remote administration. The server can be easily set up by inexperienced users, but also offers advanced administration options. Amazingly small, at less than 400kb. ftpserver3lite.zip SmartSniff SmartSniff is a TCP/IP packet capture program that allows you to inspect network traffic that passes through your network adapter. The two pane interface displays the captured packet and detailed information in ASCII or Hex view below. Additional features include color coding of local and remote traffic, export to HTML and more. SmartSniff can use in Windows 2000/XP Raw Sockets or WinPcap for other versions of Windows. A basic, but very small and standalone protocol analyzer. smsniff.zip StartupList StartupList creates a list off all items that are in any way related to your computer startup and are executed without any user interactions. It is not limited to the common Startup folders, but includes dozens of registry locations, as well as scheduled jobs, pending file operations and more. It also displays common Hijack points like browser default pages, Hosts file entries, Winsock layers, stopped and disabled services and much more. StartupList requires some technical knowledge and is not intended for the complete novice. It does not allow you to delete or disable any items, but provides links to the registry keys via RegEdit. StartupList.zip TreePad Lite TreePad is an intuitive and powerful personal database program, PIM and personal data search engine. It allows you to store all your notes, emails, texts, hyperlinks, etc. into a single file. With the look and feel of the familiar Windows explorer, editing, storing, browsing, searching and retrieving your data can not be easier! TreePad can be run directly from a USB stick, including data. To find any article you previously created or imported, you can browse the tree, in the same way as you browse directories/folders in the Windows explorer. Alternatively, you can use the very fast internal search engine to instantly find any item you need! treepad.zip WhoisThisDomain WhoisThisDomain enables you to view owner and registration information for any domain name. It supports generic domains as well as country code domains, and you can look up multiple domain names at once by pasting the domain names or URLs into the input window. The results can be saved to text files or exported as HTML report. Standalone program, no install needed. whoistd.zip WinAudit WinAudit allows you to perform a detailed audit of the hardware and software configuration of your computer. The resulting audit report contains details on installed software, license information, peripherals, memory usage, processor model, network settings, startup programs and more. It can be viewed from within the application, or optionally exported to text, nicely formatted web page, XML and spreadsheet formats, or sent by email. WinAudit also supports ODBC connections and can export audit data to an existing database. Very small, standalone program that works well. WinAudit.zip YamiPod YamiPod allows you to manage the content of your iPod without the need to have iTunes installed. You can copy mp3 and AAC files to/from your iPod, import and export playlists, search for songs, remove duplicates, create and edit notes and much more. The program runs completely standalone and can be copied directly to your iPod and run from there. Other features include a built-in music player, lyrics support, iPod information display (owner, serial used space etc.), adding and editing of notes and more. YamiPod.zip

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ok this is not really productivity tool of some sort but it sure brightens my day and puts smile on my face every now and then: http://www.heise.de/ct/schlagseite/ unfortunately text is only in German. one of my favorites is http://www.heise.de/ct/schlagseite/06/15/gross.jpg and reads something like this: "Dear colleagues, please pay closer attention. As you have seen, cast is completely removed but the arm still remains in same position. You may wonder why. The answer to this mystery is in the Registry. Only after we manually delete HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Arm Cast\Arm Rigid cast removal will be complete." ....or the pop up windows hassle known by everyone who wandered off to uncharted places in internet: http://www.heise.de/ct/schlagseite/06/12/gross.jpg reads something like : "Yess!!! I admit! I have apparitions/appearances! I see windows..., and every time I point finger and press in, image of another naked girl shows up..." "These windows are sent by devil...!"

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Two utilities I can't do without for the right click menu are FastEdit and MDFolder. FastEdit will open any file (regardless of extension) in Notepad. MDFolder is a quick way to right click and create a new folder, just right click, pick New Folder, then type in the name. As for sync utils to keep my home laptop, work laptop, and external hard drive backups all the same, I use the Microsoft SyncToy power toy. Does a good job for what I need. Used to use SynchronX. FastEdit.zip MDFolder.zip

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Both of the above mentioned functions I find very useful. The 'Open in Notepad' option can be acheived by creating a shortcut in your 'Send To' menu. The 'New Folder' option is already a right click function of Windows. How is MDFolder different?

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The MDFolder allows you to just right click on a folder and create a new subdirectory and it asks for the name. Microsoft requires you click IN the folder, pick New, then rename it.

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Excellent thread, thanks for the links!

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one of good links for travelers / frequent fliers ; http://www.seatguru.com/

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I always check SeatGuru before I reserve my flights. Want to make sure I'm in United's Economy Plus or Business class and not in a seat that doesn't lean back because of the emergency exit or other such nonsense.

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I noticed Open Office in the list but I also have PortableOpenOffice runs from a usb stick and dosen't need to be installed I find it incredibly useful actually had it given to me by another programmer but if you search for "PortableOpenOffice" you should be able to find it..

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Good thread Google Mail - http://www.gmail.com I automatically forward all of the e-mail to/from my "regular" email address to a gmail accout. This serves as an off site backup, and in a pinch I can send/receive email using my gmail account. You can sign up with a cell phone number. GMail Drive Shell extension - http://www.viksoe.dk/code/gmail.htm This program creates a virtual drive using a gmail account. Good for off site backups of critical files. Software995 - http://www.software995.com A nice set of tools including ftp, pdf, zip, and photo utilities. Free with ads, or inexpensively priced to remove ads. File Protect for DOS - http://www.f-prot.com/products/home_use/dos/ Anti-virus protection for DOS computers. Net Stumbler - http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/ Packet sniffer for wireless networks. I find it useful to use its signal strength graphics to adjust the location of wireless equipment for the best coverage. Edited by don

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http://mc-group.ca/download.htm NEC and CEC calculators

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Two more CCleaner is a perfect freeware tool to keep you computer clean. I use it for well over a year now, and it updates regularly. Works with all browsers, and besides the standard clean feauture you can also remove entries in the Remove/add programs section which are uninstalled but are still listed. Also comes with a registry clean/repair option, but very safe and not so "agressive". Have run it many times and never had a single application problem. There are many cleaners around, but this one has one feature that works great; it lets you store cookies that you want to be skipped in the cleaning process. So all cookies related to login websites I keep, like MrPLC.com so I never have to log in at my sites. At installation just remember to uncheck the Yahoo search toolbar install. Look @ LAN is a very extensive freeware network scanner. You can store profiles, and it stores scan results. I use it when I come on site at a clients network which is supposed to be exclusive for our devices. After a scan the program tells you which devices are offline, which have changed in any way and which are new. http://www.lookatlan.com/

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I find the panel schedules in excel very useful. Theres other goodies as well... www.dcengineers.com/downloads.html

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Imageshack Toolbar. The only toolbar I allow my browser to have besides Google.

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