Essential Windows Tools
When working, I like everything on my computer “just so.” I want to do things quickly and with minimal mental overhead. Here’s a list of (developer-centric) tools that make that possible:
- VirtuaWin. This is hands-down the best virtual desktop manager for windows. With a bit of tweaking, you can switch between desktops instantaneously by bumping your mouse pointer at the edge of the screen while holding down the control key.
- xplorer2. I use the free “lite” version. Great features:
- Tabbed views (just like your browser). Keeps the taskbar clean.
- Filter a directory listing quickly using ctrl-h.
- When in a folder, pressing F10 and enter starts a command prompt in that folder. (With a bit more tweaking, get a cygwin bash prompt.)
- Cygwin + minTTY. If you spend time on the command prompt, it’s worth it to learn your way around bash. And MinTTY’s native-windows interface – with fully resizable windows and transparency – is worth the price of admission alone. I don’t use the built-in command prompt any more, and neither should you. Great features:
- Color coded directory listings and grep results.
- Press control-r and search backwards through your command history.
- Switcheroo. Yes, I wrote it, but what of it? Switching between (and closing) running applications using incremental search keeps me from reaching for the mouse and breaking my concentration.
- Slickrun. A floating, auto-completing prompt that lets you quickly open programs, folders, and websites. With some batch-script ingenuity, the possibilities are endless. For example, I can type “vup” or “vdown” to quickly adjust the volume. Or “newmail” to write a new e-mail in Outlook. For most commands, I only have to type the first few letters. Set up tip: change the colors, make the font larger, and set it to autohide and chase your mouse cursor.
- Emacs. The One True Editor. Learning it is a commitment, but worth it. If you take the plunge, grab Ctrl2Cap and remap your caps lock key as another control key. With a bit of setup, plays very well with Cygwin.
- Winsplit Revolution. Not as essential with Windows 7’s built-in window positioning, but the fusion mode is still great.
- Password Safe. Securely encrypt a list of all your passwords. Now you only have to remember one, which lets you online banking passwords more complex and harder to brute-force. And you’ll stop using the same one everywhere.