Month: February 2013

  • Black: Minimalist File Manager

    Black: Minimalist File Manager

    Black (Version: 1.40) is a no install, lightweight and less than 100KB unzipped freeware file manager. It is two pane and only supports a subset of features common to most file managers but at its size it’s a reasonable option.

    Black, File Manager

    Its basic features are copy, move, rename and delete. The rename operation can be applied to a group of files. This requires choosing the files by selecting them all (the red icon) or by right clicking a set – which turns the file names red. Rename rules include increment, counter, extension, size, time, date and case.

    The program’s search tool is not the fastest and seems to only find exact matches, including extensions, by default. See images below for search results when I searched for ‘homer’.

    Black, File Manager

    It includes shortcuts to few systems folders and the command prompt.

    Black, File Manager

    Black should run on all Windows versions.

  • Redhaven Outline: Freeware Notes Organization

    Redhaven Outline: Freeware Notes Organization

    Redhaven Outline (Version: 2.3.6.3736) is a freeware (donationware) outliner. A repository to not only write information down but to have it organized as naturally as possibly. Outlining or organizing software, much like a traditional pen and paper method, work differently for everyone and the software created for such purpose may or may not suit everyone at first or at all. First use of a software like Redhaven Outline is not necessarily easy or intuitive. Admittedly writing about such software is not very easy either, as you will notice when I describe some of Redhaven Outline’s features below.

    Redhaven Outline

    Redhaven Outline can hold and keep open several outlines or databases. One can start a new outline via its file menu, start new nodes (via right click in the node tree area) and start typing or just bring in text written elsewhere. The first line of text written in a node becomes its title so the node title gives an indication of its content, this is one example of how Redhaven Outline manages organization. Nodes can be copied and moved across an outline to better organize thoughts and notes. Nodes can be colored and use different fonts to add emphasis. Child nodes are created from text and Redhaven Outline treats new lines and tabs as child nodes automatically.

    Redhaven Outline has a good search features to find any word or phrase anywhere and using the Summary and Key Words (much like tags) fields provide a better method for future information retrieval. Using key words inside nodes is perhaps another way of maximizing an outliner’s usefulness. Searches can be saved for future re-use (see the bottom of the search dialog). There is also a ‘Build Reference Search’ that saves a search inside a node. This is another feature whose usefulness is not necessarily apparent at first or may not work for everybody because one needs to be organized about creating them to be organized later!

    Redhaven Outline

    The program can also create reports or exports outlines for external viewing. External references can be added with links to sites, files, sounds or images. Add the link or path and when needed click the Reference button to launch the file.

    There is lots to be said about any outliner but probably the best way is to use it, read its tutorial and also in this case go to http://www.youtube.com/user/RedhavenOutline to watch tutorial videos (one can also launch the video tutorials within Redhaven Outline by following the external reference links.) Redhaven Outline runs on Windows 2000 and newer.

  • Easy Sticky Notes With Simple Sticky Notes

    Easy Sticky Notes With Simple Sticky Notes

    Simple Sticky Notes (Version: 2.0.0.0) is a freeware and lightweight desktop sticky notes program.

    Simple Sticky Notes

    Double click its tray icon to create a new note. Double click in a note’s title area to roll it up, resize using its corner and hide it using the x button. The arrow button provides access to notes features such color, opacity, title edit (F2), share (on Facebook, twitter or via email), alarm, print, delete, minimize, and always on top. The Alt+N keys are another way to create new notes and there are several other shortcuts to work with and format text like bold (Ctrl+B), bullet list (Ctrl+Shift+L), double line space (Ctrl+2), Insert date and time (Ctrl+D) and others. Right clicking a highlighted text offers the same formatting options plus a search using google one.

    Simple Sticky Notes’ settings include options to show notes on program startup, changing the default new note appearance, configuring hotkeys which include interesting ones such Go to next note (Alt+G) and New note from clipboard (Alt+V), choosing a sound for the alarm, picking from one of 11 languages and importing, restoring, backing up and if required changing the default database location.

    Simple Sticky Notes runs on Windows XP and newer, including Windows 8.

  • Saint Paint Studio: Simple Freeware Image Editor

    Saint Paint Studio: Simple Freeware Image Editor

    Saint Paint Studio (Version: 18.0) is a freeware image editor. It offers many features that are comparable paid or shareware image editors. Input formats supported include bmp, jpg, gif, ico, cur, png, pcx, tiff, tga, wbmp, sps (its own native format) and perhaps interestingly avi.

    Saint Paint Studio

    The program toolbars offer the mostly standard like red-eye filter, blur, sharpen, gamma, emboss, dilate and others but with a few additions like the Symmetry Pattern that, for example, applies the Spray tool to symmetrical positions on an image with one click or drag – remember to press the Symmetry Pattern button before applying the Spray (see image)

    Paste image from clipboard, gif animation, a color palette that can be navigated through using the keyboard and reordered by RGB values, light to dark and dark to light colors are some of the other features of the program.  Various brushes can be constructed freehand and then resized, deformed, continuously applied by single clicks, rotated and converted to frames for animation. It is also possible to grab a whole image to use as a brush to apply on another.

    Saint Paint Studio also features layer and print support. It should work on all Windows versions.

  • FreeText: Freeware Notebook

    FreeText: Freeware Notebook

    FreeText (Version: 1.1) is a lightweight, freeware notebook. It is somewhat basic and it is probably best suited for taking quick notes and be able to organize them on a simple page.

    FreeText
    FreeText offers the chance to create folders and subfolders or perhaps nodes in what it calls Logic Frames. A Logic Frame becomes a root node that can be expanded and collapsed and given a title. Inside the box that is then created one can start typing and also add comments anywhere by clicking Comment.

    Tables and images are supported. Tables are initially 4×4 but row(s) or column(s) can be deleted by highlighting and added by highlighting and using copy/paste. Images can be added from a file –  and saved to a file – and edited. The Edit button shows the list from the system’s right click context menu for images.

    FreeText does have basic find and replace and all notes are automatically saved and backed up with the frt extention in the system’s Document’s folder. Additionally they can be exported and imported via the File menu for use between machines although they still retain the same frt extension. FreeText works on XP and newer, including Windows 8.

  • PearlMountain Valentine’s Day Promotion

    PearlMountain have previously offered giveaways for many of their software here on RGdot. They have a promotion to celebrate Valentine’s Day and asked if I could mention it here:

    To celebrate the world’s most romantic Valentine’s Day, we’d love to offer ColageIt Pro on Windows and Mac, originally priced at $ 29.90, at 50% off. Besides, anyone buying CollageIt Pro for Windows can get PearlMountain Image Converter for free, saving you up to $55.90. The deadline for this deal is February 15, 2013.

    Highlighted Features:

    • Making collages is as easy as 1-2-3 with only 3 steps.
    • Various kinds of layouts and diverse templates.
    • Easily personalize collage by cropping, adjusting photo number, photo space, page margin, rotation, sparse, and so on.
    • Share collages via multiple export ways.

    Get CollageIt Pro for Windows plus the Free PearlMountain Image Converter here: http://www.collageitfree.com/promotion/valentine.html
    Get CollageIt Pro for Mac here: http://www.collageitfree.com/promotion/valentine-for-mac.html

     

  • 7 Sticky Notes: Probably The Most Complete Sticky Notes Program

    7 Sticky Notes: Probably The Most Complete Sticky Notes Program

    7 Sticky Notes (Version: 1.9.0) is an attractive, feature rich freeware desktop sticky notes program. When installing there is an option to run and use it in portable mode but it requires registering 3 files – ExTVwU.ocx, ExLVwU.ocx and EditCtlsU.ocx with the system – for it to work, this is done automatically if one chooses to proceed.

    7 Sticky Notes

    When first launched 7 Sticky Notes starts with a large note with an attached window to configure and customize it. Sticky notes like the default one and others can be customized with rich text features, background colors and transparency. There is also recurring alarms but also a sleep mode. The sleep mode lets the user hide a note for a set period or at a particular time and set an action too. It can shutdown, restart, log off, open a file (click the ‘Pick’ button and drag the mouse to a program window and 7 Sticky Notes will automatically enter it in the Action text field) or a command executed (anything that can be entered in Windows’ Run dialog).

    7 Sticky Notes has configurable hotkeys for creating new sticky notes, showing notes, hiding notes, switching desktops (see below for more) and opening its Notes Manager. Notes can be hidden and shown by clicking on the program’s tray icon as well.  It also features rollup and roll down, automatic sizing, note arrangements, file and image attachments (see below for more), themes, passwords for various actions such as opening the Notes Manager, unlocking notes, changing the program options and opening the program itself. There is also a restricted mode which locks all options and makes 7 Sticky Notes act like a static desktop. There is a backup feature and an online synchronization tool that works with DropBox, SkyDrive, Google Drive, SugarSync and basically any other service that syncs files. A full explanation is available at http://www.7stickynotes.com/help/onlinesync_whatis.php

    The file attachments feature has two modes. When a file is dragged over a sticky note an Attach pad becomes visible and a shortcut can be created to the file but also if the file is dropped into the Attach pad while holding down the Ctrl key it is added to the database and becomes part of it and is no longer just an external shortcut.

    7 Sticky Notes

    7 Sticky Notes has a notes manager where lots more than simple edits can be done to the notes. Notes can be imported, exported to files, locked, hidden, duplicated, searched, printed, copied, recycled and more.

    Others features different or unique to 7 Sticky Notes are multiple desktops, a desktop switcher and the Drop pad. Notes can be grouped and shown as desktops. Desktops are therefore basically categories or groups. Many desktops can be created, ordered, one chosen as the initial one or all shown together. Hotkeys and visual effects for switching between them are available in the program Options. The Drop pad to the right of the Notes Manager window is a sort of favorites area where sticky notes can be dropped into and batch operations such as search, print and move performed on them.

    7 Sticky Notes

    7 Sticky Notes deserves to be called impressive and should be highly rated. It runs on Windows 2000 and newer.