Posts Tagged: ‘Utility’

VuePrint – Since 1995 (2022-04)

March 27, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Everyone has their favorite image viewer program.  Let me tell you a little bit about mine.  I’ve been using VuePrint as my default viewer for more than twenty years.  When I first started using the program, it was shareware that sold for ten dollars.  Five years ago, the author quit updating VuePrint and released the program as freeware.  It was originally released in 1995 and hasn’t been updated since 2007.

You may wonder why I keep using such an old, outdated program.  The answer is simple.  It is very fast and it still works better than most other image viewers.  It isn’t an image editor, but you can crop images, convert image formats and reduce the size of images for e‑mailing.

The program does one thing very well.  If you’ve got a lot of images, you can browse through them extremely fast.  Just press the space bar for the next image or the backspace key for the previous image.  Press the “t” key to view thumbnails.  Press “d” to delete the picture.  It’s easy and fast.

Other minor functions are the typical ones found with most image viewers.  You can flip, rotate, mirror, adjust contrast and brightness, etc.  You can also use the program as a movie viewer, but it’s not the best.  After all, it hasn’t been updated for fifteen years.

The program was originally coded for Windows XP.  Every time there is a Windows update, I expect the program to no longer function.  It still works perfectly with Windows 11.  If you’ve got a lot of pictures to edit, I’ve found that this program is great at quickly viewing and deleting the bad ones.  Then you can edit as needed in your graphics editor.

Did I mention that this program is fast?  If you’ve got a lot of pictures on your hard drive, why not download it and give it a try?  Even though it is an old program, I think you might find it useful.  You can download VuePrint here.

Thanks for reading and keep on clicking.

Windows Calculator

November 8, 2020 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
by Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

It’s official.  I’m 26,501 days old.  No, I didn’t have another birthday.  Those days convert to 72 years, 6 months, 2 weeks, 6 days.  I don’t know how many hours.  Why is this information important?  It isn’t, but it is an example of what the Windows calculator can compute.

The Windows Calculator has evolved from the simple arithmetic program that was first included in Windows 1.0.  Over the years it has become a useful, full featured application that is overlooked by many users.  It includes different modes, date calculations and several useful conversion functions.

First time use of the calculator opens it in Standard Mode.  You will see all of the normal numerical keys, memory buttons and mathematical function keys.  Additionally, there is a small icon to the right of the info bar.  This toggles the program to always stay on top.  Clicking again turns to function off.  On the far right is a clock icon.  Clicking it opens or closes the history function.

There are four modes:
1) Standard Mode – for basic math operations like adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing, as well as for finding square roots, calculating percentages, and working with fractions.
2) Scientific Mode – expands on the Standard mode, giving you the additional functions you’d find on a typical scientific calculator.  In addition to the Standard mode operators, it contains functions like log, modulo, exponent, trigonometric degrees, and SIN, COS, and TAN.
3) Programmer Mode – adds the ability to switch between different number systems: binary, decimal, hexadecimal and octal.
4) Date Calculation Mode – lets you calculate the difference between two specific dates.  I used this mode to find the data in my opening paragraph.

There are also several Converter Calculators:
• Currency
• Volume
• Length
• Weight and Mass
• Temperature
• Energy
• Area
• Speed
• Time
• Power
• Data
• Pressure
• Angle
These all work similarly.  Select the convert “from” and the convert “to” measurements.  Then type the number you want to convert.  Answers instantly show up.

There are many specialized calculators you can install, but the Windows Calculator will fill most user’s needs.  It is included free with your Windows installation.  You should probably use it more often than you do.

If you like the program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

Online Design Sites – Originally Published February 2020

February 16, 2020 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

I know it looks a little grainy.  I know it looks a little tacky.  I know you probably said, “What the heck is Tiny doing now?”  Yes, I’m talking about the front page of this months newsletter.

There are a lot of online sites for designing things.  What is great about many of them is the fact that you don’t have to download and install software on your computer.  Some have been discussed at club meetings.  This month, I’d like to pass on a few that I use fairly often.

Create Word Clouds lets you make an image made of words that together resemble a cloudy shape.  The size of a word shows how important it is e.g. how often it appears in a text.  I’ve used it to create the heading image for “Big Words That You Will Probably Never Use” in the monthly newsletter.  I’ve also made a “history” header which I occasionally use.  It is easy to use.  Just type in, or copy and paste, your words.  Click “generate” and download your image.

˙ʞooqǝɔɐɟ uo sʇsod ǝʞɐɯ ı uǝɥʍ ʇoן ɐ bɹo˙ʇxǝʇdıןɟ ǝsn ı It is a fun little site that does only one thing.  Whatever you type is converted to “upside down” text.  Then just simply copy and paste to whatever medium you are using.  The only minor quibble I have with the site is that it doesn’t retain capital letters.

If you need to make a logo, DesignEvo is a site with more that 10,000 templates that you can use to design it in a few minutes.  Just pick a category, add a name and slogan (both optional), pick an icon and download your new logo.  You also have the option to change the font.

One of mah favo’ite sites is Th’ Dialeckizer. This hyar site has a simple corncepp.  Type o’ past whutevah yer hankerin’ t’say into th’ text box.  Then seleck a dialeck fum sevahal catego’ies: Redneck, Jive, Cockney, Elmer Fudd, Swedish Chef, Mo’on, Pig Latin, Hacker o’ Censo’.  Yo’ kin also inter a URL address an’ translate an intire web page.  Redneck is th’ dialeck ah use most offen.

Almost all of the buttons and information tabs on the club’s web site were made on ImageFu.com.  Like all the links in this article, it is free and easy to use.  There are several options for text, coloring and shape.  After you’ve finished your design, click the “download” button.  Da Button Factory is another site that does the same thing.

I got the idea for this article after I stumbled across The Pulp‑O‑Mizer web site.  Although, the obvious purpose is to sell merchandise, I immediately thought it would be fun to do something for the club newsletter.  I designed the cover page in less than fifteen minutes without having to look at any instructions.  The reason it doesn’t look so great is because I expanded it to fit the page.  It wasn’t the best resolution.  You can see that it looks a lot better in the picture accompanying this article.  I probably won’t use this site again.

That’s all for this month. Thanks for reading.

Rufus – Originally Published January 2020

January 31, 2020 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
by Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

Do you ever need to create USB installation media from bootable ISOs?  Do you need to work on a system that doesn’t have an OS installed?  Do you need to flash a BIOS or other firmware?  There are several utilities you can use for these and other USB purposes.  For several years, I’ve been using Rufus.

Rufus is a small utility that helps format and create bootable USB flash drives, such as USB keys, memory sticks, etc.  In today’s world of computing, laptops and PCs are often shipped without DVD drives and Blu-ray players.  In their absence, Rufus plays a powerful role in helping users to turn their flash drives into a form of reusable DVDs.

It can be especially useful for cases where:
• you need to create USB installation media from bootable ISOs.
• you need to work on a system that doesn’t have an OS installed.
• you need to flash a BIOS or other firmware from DOS.
• you want to run a low-level utility.

Using Rufus is easy.  To create a new bootable USB flash drive, simply browse and load your ISO file.  Click start, sit back and watch it work.  There are a few of customization options.  You can change the file system type, edit the volume label, disable quick format or enable disk checking on the USB drive to scan for bad blocks.  Advanced options allow you to manipulate cluster size and partition scheme.

Rufus supports both GPT and UEFI boot systems.  Depending on the ISO file and how Rufus loads it, there may be additional features and options.  For example, selecting a Windows installation ISO, you may be prompted create a Windows installation disk or setup Windows To Go.

Keep in mind that any device you plan to use with Rufus will be formatted and all content will be destroyed.  An excellent feature of the program is that only removable drives are listed under available devices.  You can’t accidentally format any of your fixed drives.

Rufus does not have to be installed.  Just download the file and extract the program.  It runs on Windows 7 or later.  The program is 1.23KB and runs really fast.

Like most of the software I review for my lagniappe column, Rufus has a price I really like.  The cost is zero.  Unlike most freeware, there is not even a donate button on the website.  The developer explains it like this: “Let me ask you this then: Would you pay $0.99/€0.99 for a utility that simply creates bootable USBs? Or would you just pick one of the many free alternatives? Heck, even I would not pay $0.99/€0.99 for this, despite being acutely aware of the cost associated with its development. So, even if I could try to cash in on the success of Rufus, I see it better to try to benefit millions of users, by providing a free application, instead of just a few thousands with a paid one.”

You can download the program from the Rufus Home Page.  I also recommend that you peruse the FAQ page.  It is not only informative, but is also interesting.

If you like the program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

Who Is This Domain – Originally Published July 2019

July 7, 2019 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
by Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

Have you ever been surfing the web and gotten curious about the sites domain information?  Normally, you would have to open another browser tab and go to one of the many look‑up sites, type in the domain and get the information.  Alternatively, you could install an extension (on most browsers) to do the same thing.  If you do a web search, you will find many programs to accomplish the task.

What if you wanted to look up many sites?  What if you wanted to look up these same sites a month from now?  If the answer is yes, I have another question.  How would you like to get the information without installing any software on your computer?

Whois This Domain is a small domain registration lookup utility that allows you to easily get information about any registered domain.  It connects to the WHOIS server and retrieves the record of the domain.  It supports both generic and country code domains.

The utility doesn’t require an installation.  Simply put the executable file anywhere and run it.  After you run the program, you will be able to choose one or more domains.  I haven’t tested if there is a maximum number of sites you can check at one time.  When you’ve selected your site(s), click the OK button and you will get your domain report.

For this article, I’ve used one of my websites, the club website and Mr. Fixits website for demonstration purposes. I hope Tom doesn’t mind because it would be a pain to change the screenshots.  The report is straightforward.  The upper window lists each site and gives information that most people want to quickly know.  The lower window gives more detailed information on whichever site is highlighted.

    

This program is extremely easy to use.  It only takes 59KB of space on your hard drive, opens quickly and runs fast.  One of the best features is that you can save domain lists that you may want to look up in the future.  You can also save to a CSV (spreadsheet) file.  One other option is to view an HTML report.  This opens the domain list in your default browser making the data easy to read.

There are many times you might want to use this program.  If you remember when the club lost its dot com domain, I often checked to see if the usurper had relinquished control.  It was then easy for us to regain control.  I often check sites I am browsing to see who really owns them.  I also have a list saved of all my domain names.  It makes it easy to check if I need to renew them.  Finally, I have another list of domains that I would like to buy.  I’m pretty sure I’ll never get Tiny.com, but I keep checking.

Did I mention the cost of this utility?  It will set you back a grand total of $0.00.  Like many freeware authors, donations are accepted.  The program runs on any version of Windows from Windows 2000 through Windows 10.  Download Whois This Domain and give it a try.  I think you might find it useful.

If you like the program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

FileMenu Tools – 2019-02

May 12, 2019 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
by Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

Mr. Spock was right.  Computers can be really efficient if you have the proper programs to do the job.  There is a truly efficient utility program that I’ve been using for more than ten years.  I first reviewed this program in July 2013.  The program has gotten even better since then.  FileMenu Tools lets you customize the right click menu of Windows Explorer.  The program adds utilities to perform operations on files and folders and adds customized commands that let you run external applications, copy or move to a specific folder or delete specific file types.

Click to enlarge.

With the built in commands you can:
• Run With Parameters – Runs a program with parameters you input in a dialog box.
• Command Line From Here – Opens a command line window.
• Copy/Move – No need to cut and paste. You can also use filters in file selection.
• Duplicate Files – Make a copy in the same folder.
• Pack to Folder – Moves all the selected elements to new sub‑folder in the current folder.
• Copy Path/Name/Content – Copies the selected item(s) to the clipboard.
• Attributes – You can view and change them without opening a properties dialog box.
• Find and Replace – Lets you find or replace a text for all the files in a selected folder.
• Advanced Rename – With lots of options.
• Change Icon – Quickly and easily change folder options.
• Advanced Delete – lets you delete specific file types in a folder.
• Synchronize Two Folders – Lets you synchronize two folders quickly and easily.
• Shred Files – Overwrites several times so it is impossible to recover the file in the future.
• Send to Mail Recipient – Lets you send an e-mail with selected elements as attachments.

These are about half of the FileMenu commands you can select from.  In the configuration menu, a simple check mark will turn off the commands you don’t want to use.  If you can’t find the FileMenu function you need, then just add a customized command to run external applications, copy/move to a specific folder or delete specific file types.

FileMenu Tools lets you configure the “Send to” sub‑menu.  You can add new items, change the properties of the existing items or delete them.  You also can disable existing “Send to” items in order to hide them from the menu.

FileMenu Tools will also let you enable/disable the commands which are added to the context menu of the Windows Explorer by other programs.  This is the only function that is not one hundred percent reliable.  When it works, it works well, but it doesn’t catch all of the programs that add to your right click menu.

FileMenu Tools is a 7.3MB download and runs on all Windows platforms.  Did I mention the price?  This program is freeware and costs nothing.  (There is a pro version available for a small charge.)  I’m pretty sure that Mr. Spock would say, “Fascinating is a word I use for the unexpected.  In this case, I should think ‘interesting’ would suffice.”

Download FileMenu Tools and give it a test.  I’m pretty sure that you’ll like it.

If you like the program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

Winaero Tweaker – Originally Published March 2019

March 3, 2019 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
by Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

I’ll admit it.  Sometimes I suffer from mild OCD.  It kicked in again the other day when I was looking at my desktop and saw all those useless little arrows on my icons.  You know the ones I mean.  They indicate that the icon is just a shortcut to open a program.  I already knew that.  After all, it was me that put the shortcut there to begin with.  I remembered reviewing a program years ago.  In the December 2014 newsletter, I told everyone about my experiences with the Windows Shortcut Arrow EditorWindows Shortcut Arrow Editor.  It was a simple utility that did only one thing ‑ removed the shortcut arrow.  I plugged in my backup drive, went to the proper folder and found that the program only supported Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8.

I opened the developers website and sadly, I found that this simple utility was no longer there.  Instead, I found this message, “After years of development, I decided to release an all‑in‑one application which will include most options available in my free Winaero apps and extend it as much as possible.  I would like to introduce Winaero Tweaker ‑ universal tweaker software which supports Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.”  Although I am not a fan of all‑in‑tweaking programs, I decided to download and give it a try.

An apt one word description of the software is “awesome”.  It actually makes changes to the Windows Registry without opening a registry editor.  This makes it far less likely that the user will make irrecoverable changes to their computer.  When you download and install the program, it will detect your operating system and display the appropriate interface.  (Note: I have only tested the software on Windows 10 machines.

All the possible tweaks are organized by category, such as Appearance, Behavior, Desktop and Taskbar, etc.  At the very top, Winaero Tweaker also provides your basic system information.  The various options are all described with clear language.  Clicking an option will give you greater detail.  Each tweak also has a link that says, “See in detail how this tweak works.”  Clicking the link will take you to the Winaero website for a detailed description of what the program will change on your system.  There is also an option in the “File Menu” to reset to defaults.

Another useful section is the “Bookmarks” where you can add tweaks that you use most often.  For instance, many users like to change their screen colors, themes, etc.  There are far too many tweaks for me to explain them all in this short article.  For a complete list check out the developer’s web site: The list of Winaero Tweaker featuresWinaero Tweaker features.

The program is freeware.  You can download Winaero Tweaker by downloading the ZIP filedownloading the ZIP file.  Extract all the file from the ZIP and run WinaeroTweaker.exc.  The FAQs have indicated that this might change in the future.  If that happens, I will give some serious consideration to purchasing it.

By to way, my desktop looks a lot better without all those shortcut arrow.

If you like the program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

Smart Tools – Originally Published February 2019

February 3, 2019 Posted by Tiny

From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch

This month I’m going to do a different type of review.  By different, I mean a review is for a paid application.  Before you say a bad word and click away from the web page or throw your newsletter in the trash, the paid part is only for a compilation of applications.  The individual programs can be downloaded separately from Smart Tools co. in the Google Play Store.  I’ve included a link for the free individual version of each tool.

Smart Tools® is a complete package of six individual apps (sets).  There are a total of fifteen tools.  There is a Pro version for each set that combines each application in the group.  I’ve included the current prices for the Pro version of each group.  The breakdown of each set is as follows:

Set 1: Length, Angle, Level, Thread; Smart Ruler Pro $1.50
Set 2: Distance, Height, Width, Area; Smart Measure Pro $1.50
Set 3: Compass, Metal Detector, GPS; Smart Compass Pro $1.99
Set 4: Sound Level Meter, Vibrometer; Sound Meter Pro $1.50
Set 5: Flashlight, Magnifier, Mirror; Smart Light Pro $1.50
Set 6: Unit Converter; Unit Converter Pro $1.99

For reasons of article length, I’m not going to do an in depth review of each app.  They all seem to be fairly accurate.  All of the apps are easy to use and have FAQs.  Many of them have an on‑line tutorial.  Most have high Play Store user rating.

The app that I personally use the most is the Magnifier.  My eyes are getting old and I find that I have to use it quite often.  It uses your phones camera to focus which might sometimes take a few seconds.  One of the nice features is that you can take a screen shot of what you have magnified.

I also often open the Sound Level Meter.  Usually it is when I am talking with someone and they mention that it is noisy.  It is kind of fun to be able to tell them how many decibels the sound level actually is.  Then I can tell them it is as loud as a subway train, busy street, rock music and more.  You can also record the sound.  I guess this might be useful if you’re calling the police to complain about your neighbors loud party.

Smart Tools ($2.99) can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.  Each individual app can be downloaded for free with the provided links.  I promise no more reviews of this type. Just putting so many links in the newsletter is a PITA.
Thanks for reading.

FreeFileSync – Originally Published September 2018

September 9, 2018 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
by Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

If you’re like me, you’ve got a file or two that you keep on more than one computer.  With a plethora cloud storage services, I don’t use this option as much as I used to.  There are some files that I don’t keep anywhere except on my computer(s).  One example is my passwords file.  I’ve used KeePass for many years.  I like to keep my passwords local on all my machines.  Another example is keeping backup files on a separate drive.

There are several methods of transferring files.  You could cut and paste when you make a change.  You could use the OS backup program.  Easiest of all, you could use FreeFileSync, a folder comparison and synchronization software that creates and manages backup copies of all your important files.

FreeFileSync has a fairly standard layout for a file syncing program.  There are two file comparison boxes, which display differences between your source and destination folders.  Sync locations are easily found by clicking the browse button in each comparison box.  Although I have never used it, you can also specify locations to sync by dragging and dropping them.  After you select your two locations, click either the Compare or Synchronize buttons at the top of the screen.

The software supports several different synchronization methods: Two way, Mirror, Update and Custom.  These and many other settings can be specified in the Synchronization Settings screen.

FreeFileSync has lots of other features:
• Copy locked files (via Windows VSS)
• Binary file comparison
• Automate syncs as a batch job
• Error reporting
• Long file path support
• 64-bit support
• Macros, such as %time% and %date%
• Supports SFTP (on Linux) and WebDAV (on Windows)
• and more. For a complete list, click here.

Of course, my favorite feature of the program is the cost of $0.00.  There is also a donation version that allows you to parallel copy and get automatic updates.  The program is open source software available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux.  Be careful when downloading as there is sometimes additional software bundled.  You can download FreeFileSync here.  Give it a try. You might like it.

If you like the program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

Belarc Advisor – Originally Published May 2018

May 13, 2018 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
by Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

I’ve got a lot of programs that I use to upkeep and maintain my Windows computers so that they operate smoothly.  To help me do this, it is important to know substantive information about my different machines.  I get much of this data by using Belarc Advisor.

Belarc Advisor scans your PC and builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware in the form of an HTML report that you can view in your browser.  This information includes local drive volumes, memory modules, printer information, installed licenses, installed software, multimedia information and much more.  All of your PC profile information is kept on your PC and is not uploaded to any web server.

After installation, you simply need to run Belarc Advisor and wait until the initial analysis of the computer system is completed.  This process may take time, depending on the speed of your computer, number of peripherals, programs installed, etc.  Once the analysis is completed, Belarc Advisor will display in your default web browser a Computer Profile Summary.  This is generated as an HTML file and is stored on your computer.

Depending on the number of the programs installed on your system, the length of the page and the amount of information will vary from computer to computer.  Belarc Advisor identifies and reports the following information:

• CPU(s) installed on your motherboard
• Motherboard make, model, and serial number, plus BIOS data
• Hard drive and optical drive data, including total capacity and free space, as well as volume details like the drive letter and file system
• Total amount of RAM, plus number of modules installed
• Mapped network drives
• Local user and system accounts, last logon time stamps, and locked/disabled status
• Installed printers and which port each is using
• Storage controllers
• Video card and monitor make, model, and serial number data
• USB, eSATA, and similar controller data
• Sound card or other audio hardware
• Anti-malware program installed program and definition version data, last scan time stamp, and current status
• Group policy data
• Service tag of the computer model, and possibly a support link to the manufacturer’s website
• Networking, Bluetooth, and other communication hardware and protocol data

One of my favorite features is in the programs report section.  There you can check the last time that you have opened any installed program.  This can help you decide whether you might want to uninstall old, unused software.  I run the program every month or so.  That way I always have a fairly up to date report of my system(s).  The information doesn’t usually change too much.  I haven’t included any screenshots of my computers.  You can find many pictures with an internet search.

I like this program and have been using it for several years.  After installation, it only uses a little over 6MB of space on my hard drive.  Belarc Advisor runs on Windows 10, 8.1, 7, Vista and XP SP3.  Both 32‑bit and 64‑bit Windows Operating Systems are supported.  The license allows for free personal use only.  You can download Belarc Advisor from this link.

If you like the program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.