Richard’s Favorite Free Windows Programs
Updated  05/02/2020

Over the years I searched for and found some handy programs that replace or enhance existing Windows functionality, or add new features.  In addition all these utilities are free for use at home, and most are also free for use at work (so you don’t have to convince your company to buy them for you).

Here’s my list with short descriptions and links to their websites. Some were entere as far back as 2012 and may be broken.
 

Foxit Reader   https://www.foxitsoftware.com/
Smaller and faster and Adobe's Reader.
 

7-Zip   http://www.7-zip.org/
I find the 7-Zip File Manager much better than the WinZip one as it displays folder sizes and allows running programs from within it (useful for zipped install packages).
 

Notepad++     http://notepad-plus-plus.org/
The Windows native Notepad is very limited in capabilities and although there are many alternatives I use Notepad++ as it has tons of features and options, and is also designed for s/w coding including Verilog and VHDL. It is not a complete replacement, any program that calls up “notepad.exe” will still get the original program, but that’s a limitation of Windows rather than Notepad++.

 
PureText        http://www.stevemiller.net/apps/
Allows pasting of text without formatting using a keyboard shortcut (default is Win+V.  Very useful when copying formatted text between Word documents or e-mails and you want the text to take on the destination formatting rather than bring in its own.  For example in Word you can do Edit-Paste Special-Unformatted Text, but it’s much easier to press Win-V.
 

Launchy         https://download.cnet.com/Launchy/3000-2248_4-10655308.html
Very quick program launcher and more.  You bring it up pressing ALT-Space and enter search text in a box where matching entries from your Start Menu and other locations will show up.  The 2nd fastest way I know of to launch programs (if you know the name) (the fastest is to setup a keyboard shortcut through a program’s Properties box).


Wizmouse    https://antibody-software.com/web/software/software/wizmouse-makes-your-mouse-wheel-work-on-the-window-under-the-mouse/  
Allows the mouse scroll wheel to scroll the frame under the pointer without having to click on it first.

 
Console Calculator       https://download.cnet.com/Console-Calculator/3000-2053_4-75629142.html
A calculator like no other, you use it within a console window which allows you to type and revise long calculations before getting the answer.  It has recall functionality and you type in functions and numerical system (binary, hex, decimal) which can be mixed, as opposed to clicking buttons.  Very useful and fast for scientific or engineering use. By Zoesoft.
 

HxD Hexeditor          www.mh-nexus.de
It’s hard to find a good and free hex editor so here’s one that I found with lots of features and flexibility.
 

WinMerge          https://winmerge.org/
Compares files, there's a Word plugin available somewhere. Free alternative to Beyond Compare.
 

NumLocker     http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/NumLocker-Download-107584.html
Tired of having Num Lock (or Caps Lock or Scroll Lock) being toggled by accident or without your consent?  Here’s the fix.
 

Wordweb       http://wordweb.info/
English dictionary and thesaurus with the neat feature that doing ALT-Right Click on a word in almost any program will open Wordweb and search for it.
If anyone finds something similar for French please let me know.
 

Rapid Environment Editor  http://www.rapidee.com/en/history
A WAYYYY better environment variable editor.  Can be resized or maximized to the window (imagine that MS!), conveniently separates multiple entries such as the path variable, and highlights broken variables.


Unlocker        http://www.filehippo.com/download_unlocker/
Ever had a file that you couldn’t move or delete because it was locked by some mysterious and undisclosed application?  This tool will remove that lock allowing you to manipulate the file.


DiffPdf          http://www.qtrac.eu/diffpdf.html
diff-pdf          http://vslavik.github.com/diff-pdf/
Compare PDF files, good to look for differences in new revision documents.
The first one, DiffPdf, had a full GUI and displays the documents side by side. Good for text comparison but not graphics.
The second, diff-pdf, will overlay the two documents and highlight the differences. Better for graphics but it must be launched from the command line where you can invoke the viewer.  

Free Extended Task Manager         http://www.extensoft.com/?p=free_task_manager
Just a better task manager.  Among other features, hover the mouse over the graph to display the higher use processes.  It worked great for me in Win XP, but on my work Win 7 Pro 64 bit it keeps crashing, even when executed in Vista mode as suggested by the authors.


RecybleBinEx            http://www.fcleaner.com/recyclebinex
I use this to automatically remove files older than a set # days from the recycle bin.  This way I keep the newer files that I may want to restore without cluttering it forever or having to delete older files manually. Win10 has this feature now thoug.


FreeCommander      http://www.freecommander.com/

This is my favorite free for commercial use Windows Explorer replacements I’ve found.  It adds tabs, folder bookmarks/favorite, better file search, configurable keyboard shortcuts and don't have the annoying bugs in Win Explorer (though they might have their own).  This doesn't completely replace the native Windows Explorer which is still invoked by Win+E and programs that call up explorer.exe.


Screen Capturer        http://www.screencapturer.com/
Allows to easily capture the full screen, an open window, or a selection of the screen.  Great for Win XP, though similar functionality was added to Win 7.
 

Teracopy (free for home use only)    http://codesector.com/teracopy
Faster copying of large size or quantity of files, and more flexible.  But more importantly fixes two major issues with the standard Windows copy (at least in Win XP): adds a ‘No to All’ option when there’s a conflict, and will continue copying after an error is encountered.  Integrates into Windows Explorer completely replacing the standard copy.


Fastcopy         http://ipmsg.org/tools/fastcopy.html.en
For work this one can be used to speed up large file transfers, but it does not replace the built-in copy and has to be invoked manually.


TeraTerm  https://ttssh2.osdn.jp/
An alternative to Hyperterminal that comes with Windows.  TeraTerm has more features, is easier to use, and has less bugs.


PDFCreator  http://www.pdfforge.org/download
A simple program that allows you to print to PDF.


Dual Monitor Tools  http://dualmonitortool.sourceforge.net/
The dual monitor support in Windows 7 lacks a few features that these tools can add, like having different backgrounds for each monitor.


Kompozer  http://kompozer.sourceforge.net/
The web authoring tool I used for my website.


Start Menu X    http://www.startmenux.com/index.html
Alternative start menu that will show all programs by default, provide more power options like a shut down timer, and allows to categorize programs.

BrowserSelector    https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/browserselector/9P7FSLDKDXH3?hl=en-us&gl=us
Allows links from outside a browser (such as email) to be opened in a browser of your choice depending on rules you set. This is useful for sites that work better in your non-favorite browser. This is found in the MS App Store.


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