With every new version of Windows, Microsoft tries yet again to give us a fast, simple, and customizable way to open, save, and view the files stored on our PCs. From what I've seen of Windows 7, we can't expect any revolutionary changes to Windows Explorer and the standard folder windows and dialog boxes.
I guess I've gotten so used to the same-old Explorer views that it's a genuine eye-opener when a free program such as Code Sector's Direct Folders gives file and folder management a whole new perspective. The program adds an icon to the taskbar's notification area that lets you jump quickly to your recently opened documents, favorite folders, and just about any other location on your PC.
The Direct Folders utility lets you access files, folders, and other locations by clicking an icon in the taskbar notification area.
(Credit: Code Sector)The program also enlarges folder windows and standard Open, Save, and other dialog boxes to let you view more items without scrolling. Above the window, Direct Folders places an information box that shows the complete folder path of the selected item along with the amount of free space on the disk. Select any part of the folder path to jump to that location. Double-click an empty area of folder windows and dialog boxes to open the Direct Folders menu.
See the complete folder path of the item selected in folder windows and common dialog boxes in the Direct Folders window above the standard dialog.
(Credit: Code Sector)You can customize your Direct Folders shortcuts by clicking the program's taskbar icon and selecting Configure. The Organize Favorites tab lets you change the destination of your shortcuts, the icon they use, and even give the shortcut an alternative destination that you reach by Shift-clicking it.
Customize your Direct Folders shortcuts via the program's Configure dialog box.
(Credit: Code Sector)Other configuration options let you change the number of shortcuts the program displays on its menu, assign keyboard shortcuts for the items, change the number of recent items, resize file dialogs, and set the default view and sort option for specific folders. You can also add applications you want to track via the program and customize their recent-items lists.
The Pro version of the utility costs 14.95 euros and adds the ability to check the amount of free space on each of your PC's drives from the Save dialog, change each application's default Save folder, and automatically select the last file opened in that folder. You can also create subfolders for folders on the main Direct Folders menu.
There's nothing particularly earth-shattering in Direct Folders--just a lot of nice file and folder touches that make working in Windows a little quicker and easier. Makes you wonder why Microsoft couldn't have built some of these time-savers directly into Windows' common dialogs.
Many users laud iTunes for its easy-to-use interface and seamless integration with the iPod, but the digital-music jukebox isn't perfect. One of the chief complaints about the software is its inability to automatically monitor folders for new music. Not that adding new music in the program is difficult--simply open it up, click File, then select Add Folder to Library.
But going through this process each time you add music to a folder on your hard drive can be tedious, especially if you organize your digital media in various locations. Wouldn't it be much simpler if you could monitor exactly the folders you want (and none of the ones you don't) by just opening an app? Even better: let the software do it automatically in the background and you won't even need to lift a finger after the initial setup. This tutorial will help you do just that.
Cost: Free, but a one-time 7.50 Euro registration fee will be required for truly automatic monitoring
Level: Beginner
Time commitment: 5 to 10 minutes to set up folders
System requirements: Windows
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CNET)
Everyone knows they should back up their data, but a surprisingly small percentage of people actually do. Unfortunately, when the big crash finally comes or you experience a hard-drive failure, that's usually the time you realize you should have been backing up all along. There are a number of programs that make it easier to regularly back up your hard drive, but in my experience, many require several steps to get the job done.
Nero's BackItUp and Burn ($39.99), released yesterday, attempts to make the whole process easier for everyone. Using an intuitive tabbed interface and simple controls, just about anyone can pick up BackItUp and Burn and start a regular schedule for backups or folder syncing in only a few clicks. The software even offers the option of sending you an e-mail notification when automated backups are complete.
It's incredibly easy to set up a backup schedule so you never have to worry about your data again
(Credit: CNET)BackItUp and Burn also includes full burning capabilities (as the name suggests), letting you burn your music, videos, data, and pictures to CD, DVD, or Blue-ray Discs so you have a hard copy of your most important personal files. Nero offers a free Gigabyte of online storage for a three-month trial, but you'll need to buy a subscription (there are three tiers to choose from) if you want to store more data in the cloud. You can pay as little as $7.49 for 5GB of storage for three months, or as much as $59.99 for 25GB of storage for a year. You should be aware that this program requires the latest Microsoft .NET Framework in order to run (you will be prompted to download during install). You also will have the choice of installing the Ask Toolbar during install.
Nobody wants to lose all his or her data, but too few of us actually take the steps necessary to create regular backups. Nero's BackItUp and Burn provides novice and advanced users a way to keep music, photos, and data safe without a lot of hassle and at a fairly affordable price.
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CNET)
This freeware utility is a boon for users looking to manager their file menus. FileMenu Tools's simple interface logically presents all functions and menus. Most users should have no problem quickly learning to operate this application. A detailed Help file is available for those novices new to the file menu.
Operating FileMenu Tools merely means manipulating select pull-downs and function icons. Users choose a menu and use the Actions function list to add commands, submenus, or separators. Deleting and moving menu items also takes only a click. Clicking a menu item displays basic function descriptions and properties when available.
Adding commands is FileMenu Tools's power function. Advanced users familiar with element types, extensions, and variable manipulation won't have any problems correctly filling in all fields for new commands. Other users will find the Help file answers most questions. After just a few minutes, most will have a new command added to a favorite menu.
FileMenu Tools is another freeware application that proves helpful, high performance utilities can come at no cost. The application performs well, functions are logical presented and easily learned, and it improves on basic Windows operation.
Place your favorite folder shortcuts on the right-click menu with this handy freeware utility. Folder Guide's compact button and results window interface won't take more than a minute to understand. Even the single-page Help file is superfluous.
Operating this utility is a piece of cake. Simply click Add to create an alias and insert the folder path. A built-in browse function makes it easy to navigate to the folder. The alias is immediately available under the Folder Guide option on the right-click menu. With a click you can sort the aliases alphabetically, or reorder them using simple Up and Down buttons. Keeping different sets of aliases is easy with Export and Import functions. The program uses few resources, and the quick access to favorite folders saved them time and trouble.
If you need to visit the same two or three folders regularly, this is an interesting and effective way to jump around quickly.
Undoubtedly one of the best apps to come out of Redmond, Windows Live's freeware FolderShare is a fantastic tool for keeping folders synchronized across multiple computers and multiple platforms. Although we're just getting around to the product review now, for people who don't know what the program can do I figured this would be a good time to highlight some of the more useful and interesting features.
FolderShare gives you the power to share files and folders across computers.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Also important: FolderShare is still in beta, but sported none of the bugginess that plagues most betas.
While both the PC and the Mac versions do the same thing, which is allow you to send a file from one computer to another simply by dropping it into a folder, the Mac client surprisingly offers more on-the-fly options. To get started, download the OS-appropriate client. FolderShare then asks you to create an account when you install, and it was one of the least invasive account-creation dances I've done. There's no email with a secret link that you need to confirm, simply register and go.
FolderShare lets Mac users in on the fun, too.
(Credit: CNET Networks)All configuration tweaks were dead simple to manage, too. The online interface means that you can create new folders to share as you need, and changing a folder from manual sync to automatic syncing was a one-click affair. As mentioned above, the Mac client lets users change the computer name, toggle encryption, and manage the transfer logs. Windows users can change the computer name online, but their desktop client limits them to configuring proxy settings and ports. Fancy, but those tools are also available on the Mac.
Although I liked that FolderShare respects your default browser settings, users should realize that it's not very good for collaborative work unless both users are online simultaneously. If one of the shared computers is off or hibernating, files won't be synchronized. For users who leave their computers on all the time, though, it's a fantastic tool that re-affirms that Microsoft can, in fact, get things right.
Compared with Outlook and other commercial e-mail programs (are there any other commercial e-mail programs left?) Mozilla's free Thunderbird e-mail client has a lot going for it. Not the least of Thunderbird's time-saving features are its search capabilities.
If you don't see the search toolbar directly above the main Thunderbird window, click View > Toolbars > Search Bar. By default, you can view all your mail, all your unread mail, all mail with one of Thunderbird's five built-in labels attached (Important, Work, Personal, To Do, Later), mail from people in your address book, messages received recently, mail with attachments, and mail that the program has identified as "Not Junk."
Thunderbird's View options let you sort your mail into several prefab categories.
(Credit: Mozilla Foundation)To create your own message view, click Customize in the View drop-down menu, and choose New in the Customize Message Views dialog box, or select one of the existing views and click Edit. In the Message View Setup window, choose either "Match all of the following" or "Match any of the following," and make your selections in the location and parameters drop-down menus. Enter the text you want to search for in the text box, and click the plus sign to add additional parameters. When you're done, click OK twice. The view you just created will appear in the View box, and messages matching your selected parameters will display automatically.
Create a custom view in Thunderbird to filter your messages with a single click.
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Save time with Thunderbird's Quick Search
Custom views are great if you know ahead of time what you'll be looking for, but you can also create a "view" on the fly by converting a search into a virtual folder. Press Alt-I, Tab to move the cursor to the search box, press Alt-down arrow to display the search-parameters drop-down menu, use the arrow keys to navigate to your desired parameter, press Tab again to select it, and type your search term. When the results appear, choose Save Search as a Folder, rename the folder and make other changes (or accept the defaults), and click OK. The folder appears in the left pane in whichever location you chose for it in the New Saved Search Folder dialog box.
Tomorrow: The perils of trying to break the Microsoft habit.
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Anyone who has shared a computer with a roommate, family member, or co-worker knows it's pretty hard to keep everything organized. But beyond having separate user accounts or personal folders, some data you have on your hard drive just isn't meant to be seen by other users. Whether it's your personal account numbers, journal entries, or other private files, a secure place to store items on your shared computer is necessary for your privacy.
A while ago I found a great Windows app for creating secure volumes called TrueCrypt. This open-source (free) program offers up multiple levels of security and several different types of encryption. It's so secure that if you forget the password to your encrypted volume, you might as well just trash it. Not even your favorite computer-fixing buddy down the hall in your dorm can crack this code...seriously. Just to give you an idea, TrueCrypt uses encryption algorithms AES-256, Blowfish (448-bit key), CAST5, Serpent, Triple DES, and Twofish, or just about any combination of these methods. Don't worry, I don't know what all that means either, but TrueCrypt offers a wizard taking you through a step-by-step process explaining how to create secure volumes, how to select your encryption type, and how to create a secure password.
Use the wizard to pick your preferred algorithm and create a password protected volume.
(Credit: CNET Networks)The big news today is that Truecrypt is now available for Mac OS X. The only catch is you'll have to download the version that is specific to your OS (Tiger or Leopard) and processor (PowerPC or Intel). I've rounded up all four Mac versions of TrueCrypt here.
Once you set up your secure folder, you can now rest assured your nosy roommate has no chance of reading your journal entries. Just remember, if you forget your password, you won't be able to read them either!
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CNET Networks)
By now most Mac users (and certainly Leopard users) know about Stacks, the new file-management feature that resides in the Dock in Mac OS X 10.5. Stacks are great for many things, like organizing a bunch of similar files or keeping all the parts of a project together. To create a stack, you just put a folder in the Dock and start grabbing files and drag them to the same folder. You get your choice of the way it displays your files when you click the folder--either in a grid or fanned out. The less-than-useful issue I noticed, is that when I have too many items in a stack, it automatically offers the overflow option of opening in the Finder. While it's still useful for a certain number of items, it seems like it could be better.
A hierarchical menu lets you get to the file you want without leaving the Dock.
(Credit: CNET Networks)I was going through my usual daily software scouting earlier this week when I came across a little software gem I think Leopard users will really like. HierarchicalDock is a free utility that makes folders in the Dock more accessible, especially if you have a lot of items in the folder. Simply choose or make a new a folder of items and drag it into the HierarchicalDock window, then drag the resulting "processed" folder to your Dock. Now, in addition to being able to use stacks, you can have multi-item folders with hierarchical menus for easier navigation. Any time you want to navigate the folder, just click on it to get a hierarchical display and drill down to the file you want to open without ever leaving the Dock.
I like most of the stuff Apple added to Leopard and Stacks is no exception--for some projects. But when I have a lot of items that I'm going to be using for a project like digital photos, for example, HierarchicalDock is the way to go.
Do you have a better program for the job? Do you think I'm crazy for not loving Stacks? Let me know in the comments!
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CNET Networks)
Leopard has now only been available for a week, so even if you waited in line to purchase the latest Mac OS, you're probably still getting used to all the new features. My personal favorite at this point is probably Spaces, because I can split up my work into different areas and quickly switch between them. The addition of Stacks is a welcome change, too, because I now have all my articles in the same place--right there on the Dock. One surprise for me, though it probably shouldn't have been, was that I soon realized I missed a certain program immediately when I went to save a document.... Read more
