PaulSpoerry.com

Searching through several menus to find commonly used applications and utilities can be quite annoying.  Today we will look at a program that adds extra functionality for faster computing and increased productivity.

Extensoft helps you avoid the annoyances by offering an unofficial Windows upgrade.  Extensions for Windows includes Enhanced Windows Explorer, Desktop Recorder, Keyboard Shortcut Manager, and Disk Analyzer utilities just to name a few.   This is a handy package of very useful, easy to access upgrades that can increase your productivity.  Lets look at some of the extensions and some of their stand-alone utilities which are available for free.

After installing the Extension For Windows package you decide which components you want to include and update them.

Much like the way Shell Menu Tools works, Extensions also integrates into Explorer so we can easily access their functions from context menus.

In this example we are easily able to access the Disk Analyzer utility to find what is taking up hard drive space.  This extension is also available as a free stand alone utility.

Another very cool feature to point out is the Explorer Extension which really enhances the Windows Explorer experience and allows for configuration for easier navigation.

We can easily go in and change various options for each extension from the Extension pack interface.  You can also tweak options while individual utilities are running.

Conclusion

Extensions For Windows is definitely a nice addition for the Windows power user who would like most of the features available easily rather than spending time downloading separate applications for each feature.  Extensoft offers a free 90 day trial for their package which contains 12 extensions and is only $19.95 after that.  They also offer these free stand alone utilities.

• Free Screen Capturer
• Free Disk Usage Analyzer
• Free Extended Task Manager
• Free Video Converter

Download Extensions For Windows Work On Vista & XP (32 & 64 bit)

Source: How-To Geek

Executor is a multi purpose launcher and a more advanced and customizable version of windows run. It allows you to pretty much ignore your start menu and do all kinds of time saving stuff from the Executor itself.

No doubt I’ve been in love with a similar application called Launchy for quite some time. Launchy is a free windows and linux utility designed to help you forget about your start menu, the icons on your desktop, and even your file manager. It indexes the programs in your start menu and can launch your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes!

Many have come, but Launchy still stands as the king. But Executor brings with it many features that Launchy doesn’t have and it might be time to make a switch.

One of the major differences between the two is Executor’s emphasis on keywords. Although it does text search for just about anything, Executor gives priority to user-assigned keywords for launching apps, documents, and folders. What’s more, you can assign a keyboard shortcut to any keyword for quick launches without even invoking Executor. It’s also has a small footprint on your system clocking in at just about 10 megs.

Read the rest of this entry »

I have a serious, SERIOUS issue with the fact that everything I paste into any document always retains the format of the place I copied it from. Drives me outta my mind. Visual Studio has special formatting… so if I paste it into a business or technical design document it throws off the formatting of the document. If I copy something from the Internet, it throws off the formatting. I can’t tell you how sick I am of typing Paste Special as unformatted text – by default this action requires using your mouse too… no keyboard shortcut. Check this out, I lifted it straight from Microsoft and you can see it on their page if you want to see the original text.

When you copy and paste formatted text into a Microsoft Word 2002 document, the Paste Options smart tag appears, which provides an option to paste the text without the formatting. This is handy if, for example, you don’t want to mix formatting styles in your document.

However, there are a couple of reasons why you might not want to use the Paste Options smart tag. First, if you’re like me, you frequently use the keyboard to copy (CTRL+C) and paste (CTRL+V) text. This means that to use the Paste Options smart tag, you must remove your hand from the keyboard, use the mouse to click the Paste Options smart tag and select an option, and then return your hand to the keyboard to continue working. If, like me, you do this operation a couple of dozen times a day, it can represent a substantial interruption in your work flow. Second, the Paste Options smart tag isn’t available in earlier versions of Word. You could use the Paste Special option on the Edit menu to paste unformatted text, but then you are back to using extra mouse clicks.

Create and run the macro

First let’s create the macro, which will allow us to paste unformatted text from the Clipboard into your documents. If you’ve never created a macro before, this one provides both a good learning experience and a useful function.

To create the macro to cut and paste without formatting

1. Start Word.
2. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Macros to display the Macros dialog box.
3. In the Macro name box, type PasteUnformattedText.
4. Make sure that All active templates and documents is displayed in the Macros in list, and then click Create. The Microsoft Visual Basic� Editor is displayed.Note: If you need to learn about the Visual Basic Editor, see the Power User Corner column Managing Macros with the Visual Basic Editor.
5. Directly above the End Sub statement in the PasteUnformattedText�subroutine, type the following line of code: Selection.PasteSpecial DataType: =wdPasteText
6. On the File menu, click Close and Return to Microsoft Word.

Now you need to instruct Word to run the PasteUnformatedText macro each time you press the CTRL+V keyboard shortcut.

To run the macro each time you press CTRL+V

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
2. Click the Keyboard button.
3. Make sure the Save changes in box displays Normal.dot.
4. In the Categories list, click Macros.
5. In the Macros list, click PasteUnformattedText.
6. Click in the Press new shortcut key box, press and hold the CTRL key, and then press and hold the V key at the same time. The Press new shortcut key box displays Ctrl+V.
7. Click Assign. Click Close and then click Close again.

That’s it! Now, every time you press CTRL+V, Word pastes text from the Clipboard without the formatting.

If you ever want to return the CTRL+V keyboard shortcut to its default behavior, it’s very easy to do.

To return the CTRL+V shortcut to its default behavior

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
2. Click the Keyboard button.
3. Make sure the Save changes in box displays Normal.dot.
4. In the Categories list, click Macros.
5. In the Macros list, click PasteUnformattedText.
6. In the Current keys box, click Ctrl+V and then click Remove.
7. Click Close, and then click Close again.

The CTRL+V keyboard shortcut now pastes text and any formatting from the Clipboard by default. However, the PasteUnformattedText macro is still available if you ever want to use it again.