Best FREE Software (Used and Rated by Loungers)

[ErikJan]

1-4a-rename is my favorite renamer... never ever found anything it couldn't do...

http://www.1-4a.com/rename/

[Gloria E]

Hi All,

I am a huge fan of FREEWARE. Why pay for something when you can get reasonable quality for free!!

I would (hopefully) like this thread to become a place that compiles a good list of applications and programs that are COMPLETELY FREE (and without ad-ware and spyware). If this thread takes off, and if I can get some participation in it, it would be a great resource for getting access to tried and tested freeware that has a rating (from us) that can be trusted. In order to do this I would like to request that when you post a freeware program in this thread, please follow these simple guidelines...

1. It must be a program that you have installed and worked with recently (in order to give fair and honest comments about it)
2. Provide a safe/trusted link where the program can be downloaded

Many thanks for your input, co-operation and willingness. If this thread works...it will be a great resource for ALL of us in this lounge.

CHEERS!!!

Let me be the first to start...

=========================================================
1. SYNCBACK (Ver:3.2.20)
2. Links:
HomePage: http://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html
Easy Download Site: http://www.snapfiles.com/get/Syncback.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Great idea. How about including the requirements in the post?

Gloria E

[HansV]

What do you mean, Gloria?

[viking33]

Hans,
I think what Gloria means is including the OS, so readers would know if they
were running the required OS before trying to download the software.

Although, it could be checked on that program's download page,
as to just what OS it runs on.

[Dave Davison]

Here also is a multi function freebie that I have found easy to use. http://www.dvdsmith.com/any-dvd-converter.html
especially for making back up copies of DVD's etc. Cheers DD

[Gloria E]

What do you mean, Gloria?

I meant asking that the OS requirement be posted along with the name of the software. I know you can find that out by viewing the download page, but this would avoid that extra step.

[JoeP]

The only problem with posting OS requirements is that the requirement can change with a new release or update. You are much better off doing the extra step and reading it at the vendor site.

Joe

[Rudi]

Hi Gloria,

It may seem to be convenient to add the requirements here, but i agree with Joe. Software requirements change very quickly with new updates. Since you need to follow the link to download the software from the destination site, it would be easier to review the specs there since it would be far more accurate and updated. I find that I always read up about the program before I download it, inevitably checking things like OS and pros/cons. :)

[Gloria E]

Hi Gloria,

It may seem to be convenient to add the requirements here, but i agree with Joe. Software requirements change very quickly with new updates. Since you need to follow the link to download the software from the destination site, it would be easier to review the specs there since it would be far more accurate and updated. I find that I always read up about the program before I download it, inevitably checking things like OS and pros/cons. :)

I agree with both you and Joe, but I've yet to notice a requirement for a required OS to change (except to refer to an update). But, I see your point and withdraw my suggestion.

[Timelord]

Does anyone know of a free software (a good one) that will break a multi-page tiff into single pages tiffs? 1 file per page. Thanks

[stuck]

The usual suspects for image handling are IrfanView and Faststone Image Viewer. Can't check if they can do what you ask though as I don't have a multi-page TIFF to hand.

Ken

[HansV]

A general viewer with many other features: FastStone Image Viewer (Create menu > Multi-page file splitter).
A dedicated tool: Tiff Splitter.
Or if you like command line software: ImageMagick.

[Bigaldoc]

File or Folder Comparison.

I periodically need to compare text files, such as .TXT or .HTML (and others) to check for differences in content.

Also, I have directories (folders) full of files on more than one hard drive or machine, such as desktop and laptop. I occasionally need to compare those folders to see if I've copied the latest to one or the other.

I've been using the free WinMerge for a few years and it's been mentioned in other Lounge threads.

Today, thanks to Hans, I learned of another free one called KDiff3.

I've (so far) briefly looked at KDiff3 and it seems pretty close to WinMerge but that's only a short run today. Neither will compare word processor files because of embedded coding. BOTH are operable in 32 or 64 bit Windows 7.

[agibsonsw]

If building and testing a web-site locally, it is a nightmare to test the sending of an email. I have achieved this previously but it took many attempts, and several dead-ends with different SMTP servers.

Test Mail Server Tool is a superb small application to achieve this testing - pain free. I installed it, configured it, and confirmed the sending of an email within about two minutes

[Dave Davison]

Bargain of the year, DVD Fab for free up till midnight tonight.....Cheers Dave
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/dvdfab- ... the+Day%29

[Rudi]

Multiple PDF Printer 1.4.1

This little app will print all your PDF files in one go. If you have a bulk load of PDF’s you need to print then this app is a time saver, No need to open Adobe Acrobat every time you need to print a document just drag the file from Windows Explorer to Multiple PDF Printers (MPP) file list and just simply click the Print All button.

http://www.freewarefiles.com/Multiple-P ... 24346.html

[AlanMiller]

A little lightweight (84KB) freebie I use quite a bit e.g. to extract text from diagnostic/error dialog boxes:

JOCR is a little program that can capture an image from any part of the desktop and perform optical character recognition (convert images to text) on the contents. It is free to download and use but it uses a resource provided with MS Office, and requires that Microsoft Office 2003 or higher be installed on the machine where it is used.

jocr.png

Alan

[Rudi]

Talking about OCR's, I use this one quite a lot, esp for PDF documents. Its a great find and works well. Simple interface and pretty accurate.
See the app here: http://www.paperfile.net/

[silverback]

I like a free application called ProcessLasso.
It stops processes hogging CPU and provides lots of facilites for advanced users to tune their PC.
It provides regular updates.

After a while, it has a small nag screen, but it's not intrusive.
Silverback

[Rudi]

I do a LOT of screen captures in my daily work... I have gone through several freeware screen captors and a few stand out as excellent. This one however I'd like to streess due to its editor. It has the perfect set of arrows, text boxes and annotation features to add to the screenshot...VERY good pick!

See here: http://www.screenpresso.com/