The Best Must-Have Programs for Windows

 
   
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* Unless otherwise indicated everything here is free.
Defraggler
Eusing
CCleaner
Xleaner - Addictive Tips says it's stronger than CCleaner
Advanced SystemCare
WinPatrol
IOBit Uninstaller Batch Uninstall - less granular than Revo (below) but batch is the clincher
Revo Uninstaller
FileHippo Updater
Xentient Labels (see preview instead of generic file extension type tabs)
Ad-Aware
ProcessHacker
AVG
WizMouse - lets you scroll where that's not enabled
WinWarden - allows transparency and other manipulations
StartClock - changes "Start" button to a clock
TaskSwitchXP Pro - Alt+Tab replacement - not for Windows 7
PickMeApp - reinstalls programs with all preferences and settings intact

___________________________
Nitro
Adobe - can't write in PDF's (like Nitro can) but can copy text
Launchy
Google Desktop
PDFsam - Free, open source PDF split and merge ("sam")
Dexpot - multiple desktops
ReNamer - Batch re-namer with rules - very useful
Find duplicate files - LifeHacker recommended:
Fast Duplicate File Finder - checks duplicates so they can be deleted or moved with one click

EasyDuplicateFinder - clearer interface
Also WinMerge is a good option for all kinds of files
F.lux adjusts screen brightness according to the time of day or night - I really like this (the degree of change can be altered according to taste)
TheSage is a really good desktop dictionary and thesaurus
Fences - really nice organizer for desktop shortcuts

Media
uMusic - Makes WAV files from mp3 and images
Audacity
Free YouTube to MP3 Converter
FreeRip - Free CD Ripper
uTIPu - Screencasts with audio, drawing and notes
TeamViewer - best free remote access program

LogMeIn

Hamachi - LogMeIn's VPN - LogMeIn gives you a trial of "Pro" then locks you out unless you buy

Visual
PhotoWipe - takes things out of photos (From AllMyApps)
________________________________
Orzeszek - Really simple timer
CoolTimer - looks nicer than Orzeszek (above) and has more options but also more buggy and harder to use
Yahoo Widgets

Misc.
CalendarLabs - Online free, customizable, downloadable calendars in .rtf format

Online resources
WhatTheFont - Upload images to identify fonts
_________________________________
Untested but interesting:
ProcessKO (From CNet: ProcessKO is a small utility that can quickly kill a running process or application, especially when Task Manager can't.)
Process Explorer 

Firefox Addons!

xpi
Profile


To download and install the latest version of Firefox click here.


If you are impatient or don't want the tutorial, scroll down to the end of the post for a list of the most useful add-ons.  Otherwise keep reading.

The most important add-ons in my opinion are the following:

Toolbar Buttons add many extra button options to Firefox (too many to list).  All these extras are labeled so it's clear what they all are.
They can be accessed by right-clicking just under the URL address bar. Click on "Customize" and a window will pop up.  Once this window is open any icon can be dragged from here to the top left corner of the browser where the existing icons are.  Also icons can be dragged INTO this window.  A good example of why this is useful is the following:

I never use the "home icon" and I would rather not have valuable space taken up with an icon I never use.  You can simply drag the icon into the open additional buttons window and it won't appear as a functioning icon in the browser.  Because it is stored in the buttons window you can drag it (or any other icon in or out at will)

NB all additional buttons which you download will be found in this toolbar buttons window - usually at the end.
If you maximize the window you won't be able to drag and drop, so just make sure it doesn't take up the whole screen and that the browser toolbar is in view before doing any dragging and dropping.

IE tab plus - allows you to open Internet Explorer INSIDE Firefox for any sites (often those with video or foreign languages) which don't work fully in Firefox.  With this add-on you never have to open IE directly even when you need it.

Quick Restart restarts the browser much faster than the re-start button available in the Toolbar Buttons add-on.  It's recognizable by the darker blue and the more angular arrows.
Like the "Save and Exit" button it saves all open tab(s) when re-starting.  It's useful when you download add-ons which require a restart to install.

Showcase allows you to see all open tabs and gives you the option of closing them while in the show all view.  I find it really useful whenever I have enough tabs open so that I can't read their labels/when they go beyond the end of the visible part of the tabs strip in the browser.
* FOXTAB has a slicker interface and more viewing options than Showcase.


If you install Tabs Open Relative (Doesn't seem to work with 3.6.8) any new tab will always appear right next to the tab you have open now.  I have found this very handy.  (Obviously this is not a button but an enhanced function so you don't click on anything it just works)

This doesn't seem to work in the latest version of Firefox - try TabKit instead - it does all this and more.

Another really useful add-on is Undo Closed Tabs.  This tab, as its name suggests either opens the most recently closed tab (if you simply press on the icon) or, if you press the arrow to the side of the icon  - if you have closed more than one tab - you will see a list of your most recently closed icons.  Click on any one listed and it will re-open.

TabMixPlus - needed for the "Duplicate tab" right-click option.  This add-on also enables close by clicking the pinwheel (center button).


BarTab - so that only the last open tabs opens and all the others are waiting in the background for faster start-up time.

DoubleClick to close tab - really useful

More useful that Colorful Tabs is FabTabs which take a screenshot of the site and makes the tab the color of the predominant or most distinctive color on the site, so all tabs from the same site will be the same color.  I find it more helpful than Colorful Tabs. Actually CHROMA TABS PLUS seems to do this even better.

Black Canvas - Automatically inserts HTML signatures into Gmail messages based on which address you are sending from - can manage up to four signatures per address.

Resizeable TextArea extension. It lets you re-size most  text areas on pop-ups

Advanced Search - more tools to narrow search (from Addictive Tips)

Vacuum Places defragments (vacuum) the Places database

Jason

---------------

Here are some others:

Firefox "noscript"

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722

Firefox "print preview" toolbar button

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1778

  Firefox "save session"

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4199

Firefox "session manager"

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2324

Firefox "cooliris preview"

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2207


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** "Why Firefox?"

First of all it's free and open  source - good reasons to support it.  But Internet Explorer (IE) is also  free and so that on its own doesn't explain why an ordinary user should  use Firefox.

------------

** A number of websites explain why Firefox  is better.  Here  is one and here  is another.

Apart from the inherent advantages, a huge  plus with Firefox - because it is open source and anyone can make  add-ons and enhancements - is that thousands of developers have made  add-ons for the browser.  I plan in the next coupe of posts to take you  though the most essential add-ons which, the cumulative effect of which  is to make Firefox not just better but to put it in a class of its own.

------
 Older comment about "Duplicate Tab" MixTabPlus's right click has a duplicate tab option which performs the following function as well:
 Doesn't work with 3.6.x - Duplicate  tab is a really useful tab which duplicates the whole history of the  selected tab into a new tab.  This is really useful when you want, say,  to visit the last and second last site you visited and may want to go  back further in the browsing history of that tab.  If you simply press  "Control" + "T" or hit the "new tab" icon, firstly you will have to  manually enter the address.  But more importantly the new tab won't have  any of the browsing history you might want to access.
But with  the Duplicate Tab button you just click the button and the tab you're in  duplicates itself with all its history.
--
Another older comment:

Can now simply select option to  start with tabs from last time so don't need this. The "Save and  Exit" button saves the session and will reopen all the same  window(s) next time you open the browser.
(If you use Sandboxie  the browser won't remember your opened tab(s) if you terminate the  programs it's running or empty the relevant sandbox)




      

OCR from screenshot converter

Freeware
From:
OCR Image to Ascii Desktop Converter 1.0.0 download page:
http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Programming/Misc__Programming_Tools/OCR_Image_to_Ascii_Desktop_Converter_Download.html

I found this at:
http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Best/free-screen-ocr.html

How to Create Mail Merge with GMail

Talks you through step-by-step – even has a video

Looks good

http://www.labnol.org/software/mail-merge-with-gmail/13289/

 

My tags: GMail GDocs MailMerge Mail Merge

Automation all the way! - Free stuff from CNet Downloads

I am currently checking out automation and script writing programs.
I would love to be able to create a script which would, say on a weekly basis:
1. Check my maintenance programs for updates and install any updates (e.g. Ccleaner, Eusing, Advanced System Care, Defraggler, Ad-Aware and my anti-virus program - I'm currently using Panda Cloud Anitvirus)
3. Run CHKDSK (Error checking) as well
2. Run all the above automatically on a schedule
the result of all this would be that Windows maintenance will become completely automated and I won't have to spend time and energy on it.
If you have a number of PC's the above would be a huge time saving.
Here's what I'm checking out now (free programs from CNET Downloads with good star ratings and reviews and one program from LifeHacker)
Auto Hotkey
PhraseExpress
RemoteKeys
Auto m8
Heretic
Of note is Sikuli which allows scripting to be done using screenshots - I want to check this out as well:
http://groups.csail.mit.edu/uid/sikuli/
http://lifehacker.com/5459673/sikuli-automates-almost-anything-using-screenshots

Auto HotKey, which I'm trying first has a lot of tutorial information online:
http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/Tutorial.htm
http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/Hotkeys.htm

http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/misc/Remap.htm
http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/misc/Remap.htm#Win9x
http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/Hotstrings.htm
http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/FAQ.htm#Startup
Also:
http://cedeq.com/blog/automation/autohotkey-tutorial/
http://www.switchonthecode.com/tutorials/creating-your-first-autohotkey-script
http://autohotkey.free.fr/docs/TutorialLaunch.htm
Jason

Keeping up to date - Update Checker from FileHippo

How many times have you been in the midst of trying to do something trivial like open certain websites or use a program, or open a file only to be told that you don’t have the most recent version of whatever program is needed to do what you want to do?

True, you can usually find the relevant update and download and install it. But isn’t it better to be pro-active and do all this when you have time and patience, not in the middle of some important or enjoyable browsing session.

There is a solution …

I discovered a really useful application by Filehippo – a reliable site which links to the most recent (as well as older) versions of most worthwhile software. The application is called “Update Checker” and can be downloaded here.

Filehippo Update Checker runs in the system tray at startup and scans your hard drive to see if you have the most up-to-date versions of pretty much all your programs.

Here (below) is the list Update Checker generated for me last time it scanned my PC. (Gray arrows = programs I already downloaded – by clicking the arrow, Green means not yet downloaded)

(Click on the image to see a larger version)

As you can see below there are different configuration options (I recommend NOT showing Beta versions)

There image below shows the options for each program – I chose different options for different programs so you can see the choices.

(Click on the image to see a larger version)

When you’re done you see a pick canary

which means you can now enjoy hassle free browsing or whatever.

It also means that you have the most secure, bug free versions of all your great free programs.

Enjoy!

Jason

Taking Control of Windows – Part 2

In Part 1 I explained some of the uses of WinWarden.   Now I want to explain what is the main use – transparency.

You might think that transparency looks really cool, but that’s not what’s best about it.  What is best about transparency is the added functionality it gives you.

You can work on one project, say editing a document and at the same time see if something else you are doing e.g. installing a program has finished by having the document on top and making it semi-transparent so that you can see what is going on behind it.

I often use transparency when I want to see some text and copy from it or modify it somewhere else.  I can simply open a text editor on top of the program , enable transparency and read the information underneath as I work on the new document.

Alternatively you might have a desktop widget which you are watching (e.g. stocks and shares, the weather etc.).  Transparency allows you to see the relevant information while you’re working on something else.

Or you may just love your desktop wallpaper and want to see it while you work.

WinWarden allows you to control the degree of transparency which is important as you may need different levels of transparency for different tasks, or depending whether what’s on top or what’s underneath is more important.

Here’s what 20% transparency looks like:

And here’s 80% transparency:

To make a window transparent, just right click on the WinWarden icon, move the mouse to “transparency” and move to the desired percentage and click (left click).

If you want WinWarden to keep that setting for that window until you override the command, right click on the WinWarden icon again and select “Remember”.

Another useful feature of WinWarden is the “Always on top” feature which keeps a window on top of all others.  I find this useful when I want to take notes say from a website.  I’ll open a Word document, and make it small.  With “Always on top” my little Word window stays put when I go back to the website (or another document) to scroll up and down, click a link or whatever.

As I said I have found this functionality really useful.  

I hope you will to.

Jason

Using Launchy and Google Desktop together

In a previous post I explained the virtues of Launchy.  (Launchy is a free program which lets you launch any program, and even folders or files really easily).

Launchy can be taught what certain abbreviations mean and this learning function is really useful.

Here’s an example.  the first time I wrote in Word, Launchy guessed many different things, among them was Microsoft Wordpad.  There’s nothing wrong with Wordpad; it’s just that I meant “Microsoft WORD”.  So I actually wrote “Microsoft Word” in the search bar which Launchy then recognized.  I selected that entry and Word opened.  I then closed Word, called up Launchy again (by hitting Left ALT + Space – the default hotkeys for Launchy) and wrote “Word".  Launchy now knew that I meant Microsoft Word because I had just used it.  In fact I don’t use other programs beginning with “w” much so just hitting “w” has Launchy guessing “Word” and I just hit enter and it opens up.

In a similar way I taught Launchy that “g.” means Google Video, “ppt” means “Microsoft PowerPoint etc. – you get the picture. 

While Launchy can find individual documents (if you add “.doc”, “.txt” etc. to the extensions which Launch catalogs) it can’t find documents based in words that appear in the body of the document.

But that’s OK because there’s another great free utility which does that really well, as well as it does it on the web:  Google Desktop.  (Once installed, Google Desktop opens when you hit the left control button twice)

Google desktop is great at finding document names and words or phrases within documents.

Once I realized this, I had Launchy ONLY catalog programs (.exe) and program shortcuts (.lnk) and folders (.directory) because Launch, as I explained above is smart and can learn abbreviations I use it only for programs and folders.  I use Google Desktop to find individual files by file name and by words and phrases within files – a wining combo – each – Launchy and Google Desktop doing what it does best.

Jason

P.S. the search window for both Launchy and Google Desktop appear and disappear via the same key combinations.

For Launchy that is Left Alt + the Space bar - hit this combination once and the searhc window appears, hit it agina and it disappears.

For Googe Desktop that is the left "Ctrl" (Control) button - hit this combination once and the searhc window appears, hit it agina and it disappears.

P.S.  If your Launchy closes, which happens sometimes and you start it up again and discover that the directory was wiped out (if you type something and Launchy has no suggestions you know this has happened) just open Launchy and right click just under the Launchy window.  Hit “options” and “catalog” and then select “rescan catalog” and Launchy will rebuild the catalog.  (You may have to teach it again as per the explanation above)

Taking Control of Windows

As I’ve shown repeatedly in this blog, Windows can be improved in many ways.

There's a nice free program called WinWarden.  (Actually there are lots of great free programs at the same website – worth checking out)

Some things WinWarden does can be done without it.  E.g.:

You can change the shape and size of any window in Windows by clicking the middle of the three icons in the top left-hand corner of any window.

 

in particular THIS one:

And dragging the edges of the window to get the desired size.

With WInWarden you can re-size windows quickly to certain useful sizes.

Right-clicking on the WinWarden icon

 

brings up the following menu:

Hovering the mouse over “Cover” brings up another menu:

I find this very useful whenever I need to compare two documents or copy between them.

Select e.g. “Right Half” for one document and “Left Half” for another

(the menu works for the currently active window) and within a couple of clicks you have a divided screen with one document on each of the two halves of the screen.  (If you prefer “Top Half” and “Bottom Half” – same idea).

Now THIS is new … after having chosen “Right Ha;f” (or “Left Half”) right click on the WinWarden system tray menu again and hit “Remember”.  Now, even if you go to something else in the meantime, when you come back to the relevant document(s) the settings will be as before.

Here’s an example of two files locked into the right and left halves of the screen:

There are other functionality enhancements that come with WinWarden but more on that next time.

Jason

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Keeping your programs up-to-date - the easy way

Trying to keep all your programs up-to-date can seem like an endless task.

The annoyance is amplified by unwanted notifications that your don't have the latest version of some program which is needed to do what you need to do right now, usually when you have no time to mess around downloading or updating programs.

Enter FileHippo.com Update Checker - a program (in Beta although it seems to work fine) which you can have running all the time which sits in your system tray and lets you know when (and how many) updates are available for your programs. I just updated about ten programs to the latest versions. (It also notifies you when new Beta versions are available - you can turn this off if you want).

You can also customize results by right-clicking the system tray icon and selecting (not surprisingly!) "customize results".  This lets you exclude programs from FileHippo's search.  Selections can also be reversed.

Worth downloading I think.

Jason

Google Chrome vs. Firefox

Having taken Google Chrome for a test drive for a few weeks now I think I have a settled opinion (for now).

The bottom line is that I use chrome (especially the Stand-Alone Desktop Apps) quite a lot.  But there are plenty of things that Firefox (still?) does better.  See below for more

Here is my evaluation so far.

1. It's fast.  Without actually timing loading times it seems to open most sites quicker than Firefox 3.0.3 (and of course a lot quicker than Internet Explorer 7

2. It has some neat features

For example:

You can move around the tabs and change their order by dragging them out of the line of tabs and then back in, or simply across the row.

You can save websites or applications from the Gmail suite as stand alone desktop applications which go right to that URL and provide a nice icon on your desktop by which to identify that specific website.

I have found this handy e.g. when I want to go straight to GCal or Google Docs and instead of having to open GMail and navigate to these applications pressing on the icon takes me straight there.

(Clicking the document icon on the top right hand side and selecting "create application shortcuts" will do this)

Also, the sparse design maximizes screen real estate and gives a clean no-nonsense look.  Bycontrast opening Firefox afterwards makes one feel like it's a bit cluttered.

However this advantage is in some ways a disadvantage as a lot of the control which Firefox's fuller dashboard affords is missing from Chrome.

For some reason the way the web app works is that it makes a desktop looking program out of the web app.  This means that there are no navigation controls so if you want to open a new tab you need to remember the keyboard command "Cntrl" + "t" which then opens the chrome. browser in a separate window.  Each time you hit "Cntrl" + "t from the web app window it will open another tab in the other Google Chrome window.  This is all a little strange.  It would be more convenient if the web app window had some controls and if the new tabs opened up in the same window rather than in a different one.

There are some key areas of functionality lacking from the Chrome Browser at this point which will hopefully be addressed soon.

Firstly, whereas you can always open Internet Explorer for those (annoying) websites which only work with IE inside Firefox without opening another program or window, there is no such option for Chrome.  So I find myself having to open Firefox and copy the URL from Chrome when this happens.

The integrated Google Notebook in Firefox is really good and makes it a breeze to open and add new entries, whether URL's or highlighted text with a neat little sidebar to allow navigation between folders.

In Chrome, although the notebook can be placed in the bookmarks bar, (it appears as an icon of a page with the words "Note This" next to it) the navigation is a hassle.

Also, without the functionality of  Firefox's tabs open relative extension, Chrome opens all new tabs at the end.  So although you can drag them around, as I mentioned above, they don't open where you want them.

Also the Save and Exit and Quick Restart buttons which are so useful in Firefox are sorely missed in Chrome.  This is especially true of the former.  I find myself having simply to keep Chrome open when I have opened lots of tabs and don't want to loose the session.

More generally, you can't yet get all the essential buttons I've discussed for Firefox which is a significant drawback.

And that's not to mention all the themes and other goodies like colorful tabs which make Firefox a visually pleasing experience.  Not to mention cool enhancements like CoolIris

If lots of developers jump on the bandwagon and address the issues I mention here then Google Chrome has a bright future.  But as of now for all the reasons I mentioned above it can't be my default browser.

Worry-Free PC (as close as you can get) - Part 1 (prevention) (2000, XP, Vista)

One of my recent posts discussed the virtues of running your browser sandboxed.

I mentioned in that post that if you tell it to, a sandbox will let you download files and programs onto your PC and if you want to install software or edit and print a file you will have to let things out of the sandbox and into your PC where you are of course vulnerable to attack.

So how do you protect yourself from threats OUTSIDE the sandbox?

This post (and the next one) will discuss two different kinds of programs which might be called "before" and "after".

The "before" programs monitor your hard drive for suspicious looking activities (e.g. logging keystrokes, changes to certain files on your hard drive) and alter you to the requested changes asking you to approve or abort.

One free program which does this is ThreatFire AntiVirus (previously called "Cyberhawk"). I used to use this program but I found the warnings uninformative - which means that you are told something is wrong and can't really work out if the reported alarm is a threat or not. As a result I didn't allow some changes which needed to be made to run legitimate programs).

However, I found another free application called WinPatrol which does this job and gives you enough information to tell whether the changes that a program wants to make come from a trusted or malicious source. Win Patrol. (They have a "Plus" version which apparently tells you more, but I've been doing fine with the free version.)

Here (Diagram 1) is a screenshot of WinPatrol's control panel. (It includes options like scheduling tasks, control of which programs run at start up etc.)

Diagram 1


When WinPatrol spots something suspicious it alerts you.
Here (Diagram 2) is the alert I got when Windows Live Mesh tried to add itself to the progams running at start-up. (As it happens this change is acceptable, but if you received such a message from a program which you didn't want to allow to make this change you would simply hit the "No" button instead of the "Yes" button).

(Diagram 2)













The bonus of programs like Win Patrol (as opposed to re-active programs - see below for examples) is that they are pro-active - catching things before they happen - rather than re-active - catching problematic changes after they have happened. So WinPatrol etc. give protection in real time.

I also run Spybot Search and Destroy and Lavasoft's Ad-Aware (two "re-active" programs) just to make sure that nothing got through inadvertently.
(Lavasofts paid versions apparently offer real-time protection, but we're looking for FREE software)

In my next post I will discuss the free programs which remove all traces of any installed programs.

(By the way the "barking dog" sound which is set as a default can be neutralized on the control panel)

WinPatrol can run on: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista


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Navigating your open files and programs

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In my last post I highlighted some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts.

This time I want to mention an enhancement for WINDOWS XP which makes the Alt + Tab function much more useful.

First the basics. When you hit Alt + Tab on windows a window comes up which shows a small icon for each window/program open and as muc of the filename as will fit into the box below all the icons as in Diagram 1 just below (Vista is different - if you have Vista see here)

Diagram 1








This is definitely a useful device. Sometimes however you may have a number of files with similar names and the description won't tell you enough to remember which is which and the icons only show the type of application - e.g. all the Word files simply show an icon for a Word file.

There are at least two ways to get more information out of the thumbnails.

1. Install a program which works like Exposé on the Mac

I bought this program which shows you in miniature form all the open windows with a label in front showing the file name - See Diagram 2

Diagram 2



















It looks great and it does the job but ...
1. It takes up a lot of system resources, slowing your PC down
2. It costs $10 - that might not be a lot, but free is always better!

So, I found a program which gives the visual thumbnail so you can actually see what the program/file looks like, enough to remember which document or program is which.

It uses fewer system resources, doesn't freeze up the PC
AND ... it's free.

TaskSwitchXP simply replaces the standard Alt + Tab functionality showing you what you need to see when you need it but not slowing things down when you don't need it.

Here is what it looks like. (See Diagram 3) (The size and shape of the preview and file list panels can be modified according to personal preferences)

Diagram 3















It is highly configurable as the image below (Diagram 4) indicates but can be used as is. (I found the default size of the panes too small for my liking so I changed the size).

Diagram 4




















The program can be downloaded here

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SANDBOXIE or how to be sure you're surfing the web safely (For: 2000, XP, NOT Vista)

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What’s a “sandbox?” A sandbox is a program which creates an area on your hard drive and opens programs inside that area which are hermetically sealed within it unless you the user let them out. SANDBOXIE is a really good FREE sandbox program.

You can run ANY program sandboxed (see Diagram “1”) below

Diagram 1

But if you run your WEB BROWSER sandboxed then anything which your browser downloads, or any changes made to your browser settings will remain within the sandbox.

If you want to download a program or a file to your computer you need to tell Sandboxie.

The following dialog box will open and you’ll need to choose the “recover” option. (See diagram “2” below)

Diagram 2

You can control where the file gets downloaded to or just allow the default which downloads the file to your desktop.

Uploads are no problem i.e. you don’t need to open a program un-sandboxed to upload.

File opened with Sandboxie have a pound (hash) sign on either side of the program name so it’s easy to see instantly whether you’re running sandboxed or not. (See diagram “3” below)

Diagram 3

If you open a program with Sandboxie you won’t be able to print because the program is in the sandbox and so unconnected to the rest of your computer. You’ll need to open it un-sandboxed to print. If you want to print a page from your browser you can open your browser normally (i.e.not with Sandboxie) and copy the URL, go to that page and print.

I probably spend 90% of my time online within Sandboxie and only open my browser un-sandboxed to print or to change browser settings.

(By the way this means that if you want to change settings in your web browser you’ll need to open normally, without the sandbox. Changes you make will then be seen when the browser is opened sandboxed as well).

When Sandboxie is running you will see this icon

in your system tray if you have a program open or if a program has been used and the contents of the sandbox have not been deleted and this one

if the contents of the sandbox are empty.

Although this is not necessary to remain secure, you can empty the sandbox globally or the contents of a specific sandbox at anytime by right clicking on the sandbox icon in the system tray and choosing “Delete contents” (See diagram “4”) below

Diagram 4

You will then be given the option either to close the dialog box or to remove the contents of the selected sandbox. (See diagram “5” below)

Diagram 5

For convenience I re-named the “default browser” icon “Firefox” and I just use that to launch the browser sandboxed (if for whatever reason I’m not using Launchy – see my post here )

This program is free but after a month you’ll get a dialog box (see below) when you open the program which will go away if you make a donation. But the free version has full functionality.

You can download Sandboxie free program here.

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