For software that isn't tied to one machine.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

SearchMyFiles Review

Find it for sure



Excellent file search software that leverages an extremely customizable find menu to help track down very specific information. Search using a long list of conditions:
  • Contents (binary AND text)
  • Size
  • Multiple dates (last accessed, created, modified)
  • File type (hidden, compressed, encrypted, read-only, etc.)
  • Can fiind folders OR files
Often, if you know where your software ISN'T this software can save you lots of time and energy, especially with very large, dynamic databases.

These conditions make up the bulk of the program's interface but there is a "stop searching after ___ files" item at the bottom, which performs a great "parking brake"-type feature, preventing endless searching.

Non-Indexing

The program does not try to make an "index" or a breakdown of information included on a drive. This offers several advantages to this because "the quality of the index and search quality may be degraded due to the mixed content and improper word proximity" (wikipedia), a problem present in programs like the outstanding portable Everything software and non-portable DK Finder.


System Requirements
If you can run Windows 2000, you can run this software. Works with all versions of Windows after Win2K.

Download

Version: 1.15
Size: 67 k
RAM Usage: 5.3 megs
License: Freeware
Score: 8 out of 10 - In testing, was able to find files other software wouldn't. Wish there were still more options to find files including an easy way to add drives and exempted folders. Also, may scare away non-technical people.
In Kitchen Sink Collection: Yes


Tuesday, June 2, 2009

PDFTK Review

Control digital documents

In the continued effort to bring reduce paper usage with digital tools, ways to modify and rearrange digital documents are becoming increasingly important. Although the portable document format (PDF) is thought of as something you only use at the office, tools such as the Kindle are coming out that might also make this the book distribution format of choice. PDFTK is just such a program.



Although far from the smoothest software I've worked with, its packed with easy-to-use and very useful features. If you work with PDFs and don't have a lot of money for all the Adobe software out there, this program is indispensable. Even if you do, the password control system may make it required to have for your computer

Features (from the webpage):
  • Collate - allows you to rearrange (reorder, delete, & duplicate) pages in a single document and/or merge pages from multiple PDF documents.
  • Split - cut long documents up into pages (each page getting its own numbered PDF file)
  • Insert - once you've split, you can add the new pages and coallate.
  • Stamp - (a.k.a. watermark)
  • Rotate
  • Add or remove Password Protection
Unfortunately, the last update was over a year ago at the time of this writing but this software is still chock-full of useful items.

Download:
Version: 3.5.3
Size: 2.7 megs
RAM Usage: 3.5 megs
License: GPL
Score: 8 out of 10 - May scare away non-technical people -- help file is fairly sparse but most of the controls are self-expanatory.
In Kitchen Sink Collection: Yes - I use it regularly