Rating: 4.5

Version tested: 1.0.0.2

Description: CFDButton installs a button in the Windows common file open/save dialog that adds a number of functions that can be accessed from (almost) any windows program. These include quick access to favorite user-defined folders, quick access to a list of previously accessed (history) folders, and the ability to create custom filters for visible files names/file extensions.

Whether you’ve got dozens or hundreds of folders set up to store your files, chances are that you (or any random PC user) will only be using a handful of folders 90% of the time. CFDButton allows you to define those folders you use the most as favorites for quick access in any Windows open/save dialog, which can be extremely practical and will most certainly speed up your work and save you time. (In fact this program is one of the entries in the Donationcoder Nov 2007 programming challenge entitled "The Getting Organized Experiment" where the objective was to create apps that help people be more productive with their time).

Here is a quick summary of the main functions that this program can do:

• Allow you to define favorite directories as indicated above that can be easily selected using the CFDButton within the open/save dialog.
• Filter by any file type (extension) you want, even file types that are not available as selectable choices. In fact, you could even define filters that are not based on extension, such as all filenames that contain a certain string (for example, you could define *template* as a filter and it will display all file names that contain the string "template" in them).
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Rating: 5 pick

Version tested: 2.8.0

Description: CondecInstaller can display a list of all audio and video codecs installed on your system as well as analyse media files to identify the codecs needed to play them. It can also download codecs from the author’s website for easy installation.

[Note: this is an updated review of my CodecInstaller v2.5.6 review published in Jul 2007 that reflects the changes and new features in the latest version 2.8.0].

We’ve all had this experience: a media file that shows video but no audio, or vice versa, or simply returns a codec unavailable or unidentified format message or somesuch. CodecInstaller can help you identify the codec(s) you need as well as download and install them easily.

I’ve been looking at this program for a while. Here are some notes on this software:

• Codec detection: will display all installed codecs within 3 tabs; audio, video, and other. In the list view the name of the codec is shown as well as the company, version, and install path; you can zoom in on any single codec for more detailed info.
• File analysis: point it to a media file and it will tell you the audio and video codecs needed for playback, or at least give you a very good guess (this function is very reminiscent of programs like MediaInfo or AVICodec).
• Codec Download: allows you to quickly and easily pick codecs from a list and download their installers. Connects to the author’s (Jockersoft’s) own site and not a third party site, which means you will likely get what you think you’re getting. Includes a good description of the codecs or codec packs on offer. Read more »

Rating: 4.5

Version tested: 1.1

Description: Global Spellchecker can check the spelling and/or display the meaning of any text that you can select within any application. It uses the MS Word dictionary and thesaurus as its reference.

If you have MS Word installed then you already have a world-class language reference installed on your machine. Global Spellchecker allows you to access that resouce globally from any application for both spell checking and meaning/thesaurus reference. Here are some notes on this program:

• How it works: select any text, copy it (using right-mouseclick or CTRL-C), then launch “Global Spellchecker” from the ’Quicklaunch’ menu (or define a keyboard shortcut; see below). A popup window will be displayed on the bottom left corner of the screen that shows the meaning and spelling of the word. Spelling options are displayed in a numbered list, and you can click 1-9 to grab the desired spelling in order to paste it back into your document.
• Note: Global Spellchecker apprently opens an invisible MS Word document to perform the spellcheck. By default it will keep an instance of MS Word running in the background, which will speed up its operation but otherwise needlessly (in my opinion) take up resources. Make sure to go to the programs setting (from the startmenu) and check the “close word document after spell check” in the settings.

Why I like this program:

• The above regarding MS Word notwithstanding, Global Spellchecker will only be loaded into memory when invoked; unlike other global spelling checkers, it will not be otherwise running in the background and using up your computer’s resources.
• If you have made custom additions to your MS Word dictionary, these become automatically available to you globally using Global Spellchecker.
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Rating: 4

Version tested: 1.2

Description: FastKake creates a large number of shortcuts that give control over most of Windows functions, including many that you do not normally expect to control using shortcuts such as muting the volume or closing all open windows.

What do you give the geek who has everything? An Iphone? The “Kindle” ebook reader from Amazon? How about something really original such as a bunch of shortcuts that deliver full control of Windows? In which case you’re in luck as FastKake creates 69 shortcuts that perform most Windows functions you could think of. Many of these are simple shortcuts to programs such as the calculator or character map, while others access interesting Windows functions such as launching the “safely remove hardware” prompt, ejecting the cd drive, or force-shutting down the computer. Here are some notes on this program:

• Some of my favorite shortcuts: “unplug” (launches the ’safely remove hardware’ prompt), mute, find (launches desktop search), run (launches the run prompt), close all windows, end a process (interesting at the very least), run screensaver, disable/enable screensaver, system restore (for those who can never find it when they need it I presume), sendto (opens the send-to folder), standby, force shutdown, force reboot.
• How it works: running the Fastkake executable will generate a folder called ’fastkake’ on your desktop that contains the shortcuts segmented into sub folders. Note that once you run it you have to keep your Fastkake executable in place for many shortcuts to work, so place somewhere you would like to keep it. (If you move it, simply re-run the exe to update your shortcuts).
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