There’s nothing better to me than a few dependable, free apps that help me get things done. Below is a quick summary of a few tools that I use in my design and development. Unfortunately, most of these are Windows-only apps but I’ll do a follow-up for Mac users as well.
All of the below applications can be installed in a “portable” format, meaning they don’t rely on registry entries or archaic, machine-centric configuration files. You can install these babies on a portable drive, in your Dropbox account, or on a floppy disk if you feel so inclined (please don’t). I prefer Dropbox, as it gives me access to these apps everywhere.
Notepad++
In my opinion, the best text editor available for Windows, hands down. Notepad++ has a simple interface and more functionality than you can shake a cat at. It’s blazing fast, has phenomenal plugin availability, and excellent syntax highlighting for most languages under the sun (even Erlang, Cobol, and Prolog!) Notepad++ has frequent releases, and can be freely downloaded from http://notepad-plus-plus.org/.
Lightscreen
While Windows does have built-in screenshot capability, it’s a pain to paste into your design tool of choice, crop, and re-save. Lightscreen simplifies the screenshot process by providing the most common options, plus a few extras. With a simple click of a button (or a designated key combination) you can snap your screen, a selected window, or a crop area and immediately save as an image file. Want to copy to clipboard and paste in Photoshop? Sure! Want to hide your mouse cursor and compress to 50% JPG? No problem! Want to … well, I can’t think of anything funny at the moment, but you get the point. Download this free screenshot tool from http://portableapps.com/apps/utilities/lightscreen_portable.
7-Zip
Not much to say here. Sometimes you need to zip up some files to send someone, and sometimes you need to unzip some files you received. 7-Zip is an excellent free archive manager that handles all of the important formats, and does so well. In fact, the only thing that 7-Zip can’t zip and unzip is your pants, but I hear they’re working on that. Download 7-Zip from http://portableapps.com/apps/utilities/7-zip_portable.
FileZilla FTP
FileZilla is a lightweight, free FTP client. There are a lot of paid FTP clients out there; I have used many, and I’ve never been happy with them. What really became most important to me was the ability to migrate my configuration and account connection data between multiple computers. FileZilla, paired with Dropbox, allows me to do just that. Whether I’m at work, at home, or at an internet café in Mos Eisley, I can open up FileZilla and be logged into one of my many FTP servers with a few clicks of a button. For added security, I complement FileZilla with TrueCrypt, which allows me to pack up and encrypt the app, guaranteeing nobody will have access to my configuration. FileZilla can be downloaded for free from http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/filezilla_portable.
IcoFX
I don’t have to create icons that often, but when I do, this simple little app gets the job done. A quick export of my source art from Photoshop as a PNG file, open in IcoFX and BAM, icon file at the click of a button. IcoFX has some other great features (which admittedly I don’t use), but it’s a full-featured icon suite in a small download. Keep it handy for those times when you just need a Windows icon or a web favicon. IcoFX can be downloaded for free from http://portableapps.com/apps/graphics_pictures/icofx_portable.
Dropbox
I’ve mentioned Dropbox a million times, but with good reason. I absolutely couldn’t live without it. I keep my important documents in it, I keep my work in it, and I keep my apps in it. Dropbox is by far the best tool I use, and I urge you to try it for a while. Every person I’ve suggested it to thanks me often for the recommendation. I wrote about it a few days ago: The Infamous Dropbox. If you’re already convinced, then go get started with Dropbox now.
Honorable Mentions
Firefox Portable, Blender 3D Portable, GIMP Portable, IrfanView Portable, VLC Media Player Portable, Foxit PDF Reader Portable, ClamWin Antivirus Portable, Toucan Backup Portable. All of these portable apps (plus tons more) are available for free download at http://www.portableapps.com.
, and it proves a great piece of inspiration. For every project there is a particular style of type that just “fits”, and so today’s post on Tweeda.com is dedicated to those silly little letters that communicate so much-in information and aesthetics.
