• Process Hacker icon
  • AutoHotkey icon
  • Textify icon
  • QuickLook icon
  • Cmder icon
  • +41

Surviving Windows

rabbit546 appsUpdated
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  1. An open-source Windows scripting language enabling task automation through hotkeys, macros, and keystrokes, useful for creating custom forms and automating data entry.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Tray menu
    AutoHotkey screenshot 1
    AutoHotkey screenshot 2
    +1
    AutoHotkey screenshot 3
  2. Textify icon
     Like

    Have you ever wanted to copy some text from a dialog box which doesn’t provide such functionality?

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Textify screenshot 1
    Textify screenshot 1
  3. QuickLook icon
     Like

    The Quick Look feature from Mac OS X, which allows users to preview file contents quickly by pressing the Space key, is missed. Windows doesn't have this feature. While alternatives like WinQuickLook and Seer exist, the decision was made to create a new version because the...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Preview of a shapefile (.shp) using the shapefile viewer plugin https://github.com/birderyu/QuickLook.Plugin.ShapefileViewer
    Preview of a PDF file
    Preview of a .docx file using the office plugin at https://github.com/QL-Win/QuickLook.Plugin.OfficeViewer
    +16
    Preview of an excel .xlsx file using the office plugin at https://github.com/QL-Win/QuickLook.Plugin.OfficeViewer
  4. Cmder icon
     Like

    Cmder is an open-source replacement for the Windows command-line. It relies on ConEmu icon ConEmu , extending it with the power of clink icon clink and some great looking defaults including a Monokai color scheme and custom prompt...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • clink
    • ConEmu
    • Windows Command Prompt
    • PowerShell
    Cmder screenshot 1
    Vim
    Split View
  5. CudaText icon
     Like

    CudaText is a cross-platform text editor, written in Lazarus icon Lazarus / Free Pascal icon Free Pascal.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
    Multi-selections, Replace dialog at bottom
    Dark theme, Minimap
    2 groups shown, picture file opened, JavaScript fragment in HTML
    +3
    Code Tree for Pascal lexer
    rabbit5’s note

    Light enough to use as my go-to (non-IDE) editor, has python extensions. What more can you ask for?

  6. QTTabBar icon
     Like

    QTTabBar is an extension for Windows Explorer that brings tabbed browsing to Microsoft's file browser. It comes with a number of nifty features including a favorites function for launching folders and applications, groupings of folders that can be opened together, tooltip...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Windows Explorer
    Tabbed Explorer
    QTTabBar screenshot 1
    QTTabBar screenshot 2
  7. Open-source browser with Gecko engine, supporting HTML add-ons and providing privacy features like Enhanced Tracking Protection and third-party cookie blocking.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • HUAWEI AppGallery
    • iPad
    • AppImageHub
    • Snapcraft
    • Linux Mobile
    • Flathub
    • Samsung Galaxy Store
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • Flatpak
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    • Gecko
    • F-Droid
    More protection from the start
    Firefox Desktop (Light Theme)
    Firefox Desktop (Dark Theme)
    +8
    Firefox iOS (Light Theme)
  8. Qalculate! is a multi-purpose cross-platform desktop calculator. It is simple to use but provides power and versatility normally reserved for complicated math packages, as well as useful tools for everyday needs (such as currency conversion and percent calculation).

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Main window
    History
    Keypad
    +7
    Programming
  9. Logitech SetPoint™ software lets you customize your mouse buttons, keyboard F-keys, and hot keys.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    rabbit5’s note

    The indicator popup/overlay for CapsLock changing is invaluable and is a feature missing in the apps claiming to replace this one. Being able to disable the Insert key is a bonus.

  10. Bash is the shell, or command language interpreter, that will appear in the GNU operating system. Bash is an sh-compatible shell that incorporates useful features from the Korn shell (ksh) and C shell (csh). It is intended to conform to the IEEE POSIX P1003.2/ISO 9945.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Linux Mobile
    • Mac
    Bash using the ls command
  11. USBTreeView is a Windows graphical user interface application that enables you to browse all USB controllers and connected USB devices on your computer.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    USB Device Tree Viewer (UsbTreeView) screenshot 1
    USB Device Tree Viewer (UsbTreeView) screenshot 1
    USB Device Tree Viewer (UsbTreeView) screenshot 2
  12. LightBulb icon
     Like

    Background application that adjusts screen gamma, making the colors appear warmer at night, reducing strain on your eyes.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    LightBulb screenshot 1
    LightBulb screenshot 1
    rabbit5’s note

    Replacement for f.lux, with configurable day and night temperature and brightness.

  13. KatMouse icon
     Like

    The prime purpose of the KatMouse utility is to enhance the functionality of mice with a scroll wheel, offering universal scrolling: moving the mouse wheel will scroll the window directly beneath the mouse cursor (not the one with the keyboard focus, which is default on Windows...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    KatMouse screenshot 1
    KatMouse screenshot 2
    KatMouse screenshot 3
    rabbit5’s note

    Sends scroll events to the window currently under the cursor regardless of the currently selected window, just like MacOS. Does not suffer from WizMouse's bug of closing a reply in MS Outlook when the DEL key is pressed.

  14. git-cola icon
     Like

    git-cola is a powerful GUI for git, a distributed revision control system. cola's ingredients include git-python and jsonpickle. cola is released under the GNU GPL v2.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    git-cola screenshot 1
    git-cola screenshot 1
    rabbit5’s note

    Many other git clients want you to log-in, use lots of RAM, or other annoyances this clean and lightweight app avoids.

  15. Time-Sync icon
     Like

    Time-Sync is a freeware software to synchronize the time of your system. The features of the software are:

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Time-Sync: Log (german)
    Time-Sync: Options (german)
  16. Free Clipboard Viewer is a free, full-featured and portable clipboard viewer for Windows.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Free Clipboard Viewer screenshot 1
    rabbit5’s note

    Allows you to view the 3 different clipboards of Windows, including the HTML one!

  17. dnGREP icon
     Like

    dnGrep allows you to search across files with easy-to-read results. Search through text files, Word documents, PDFs, and archives using text, regular expression, XPath, and phonetic queries. dnGrep includes search-and-replace, whole-file preview, right-click search in File...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Main Screen
    Options
    Shell Inetgration
    +2
    dnGREP screenshot 3
  18. Dual Monitor Tools is a software package for Windows users with dual or multiple monitor setups.

    All the tools are open source and free, and each tool is independent so you only need to install or run what you want.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Dual Monitor Tools screenshot 1
    Dual Monitor Tools screenshot 1
    Dual Monitor Tools screenshot 2
  19. Hex Editor. Support editing or comparing (diff) very large files up to 2^64 bytes. Cross-platform Linux, Mac OS, Windows.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    wxHexEditor screenshot 1
    wxHexEditor screenshot 1
    wxHexEditor screenshot 2
    +2
    Compare two large files side by side (diff). Optionally list and search all diff.
    rabbit5’s note

    Fills the void of Mac's Hex Fiend

  20. Free and open-source tool for batch uninstalling multiple apps with minimal input, removing portable, protected, and damaged software, and cleaning up leftovers.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Bulk Crap Uninstaller screenshot 1
    Bulk Crap Uninstaller screenshot 1
    rabbit5’s note

    Great for being able to clean up the registry mess left by a program

  21. Xpdf icon
     Like

    Xpdf is a free PDF viewer and toolkit, including a text extractor, image converter, HTML converter, and more. Most of the tools are available as open source.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Xpdf screenshot 1
    rabbit5’s note

    This thing can open PDFs that would crash the likes of Acrobat like a champ!

  22. Winpatrol icon
     Like

    Winpatrol provides a multitude of functions including startup control. It is a useful addition to any armoury to maintain computer as best as possible. Oh and a cute scotty icon for your toolbar!

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Winpatrol screenshot 1
    Winpatrol screenshot 1
    Winpatrol screenshot 2
    rabbit5’s note

    Good for finding and removing bloatware

  23. WinSCP  icon
     Like

    A versatile client for SFTP, FTP, and other protocols for file transfer. It offers GUI choice, and supports automation and key authentication.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    • Wine
    WinSCP  screenshot 1
    WinSCP  screenshot 1
    WinSCP  screenshot 2
    +7
    WinSCP  screenshot 3
  24. Ditto icon
     Like

    Manages clipboard history, supports text, images, and syncs across computers. Offers encryption, search, thumbnails, and full Unicode with multilingual support.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    Ditto allows you to easily view and search past entries
    Dark theme
    rabbit5’s note

    Properly stores RTF unlike CopyQ

  25. Excellent powerful tool to edit PDF, annotate PDF, redact, protect and more.

    PRO Version includes: Remove default watermark Combine PDF files Lifetime license - Windows Commercial use Priority Support.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Add images and objects
    Annotate PDF
    Edit text in your PDF
    +2
    Edit PDF metadata
  26. Types icon
     Like

    “Types” is a free and lightweight utility for Windows that allows you to edit program associations, icons, context menus and other properties of various file types displayed in Explorer.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Types screenshot 1
    Types screenshot 1
  27. FileTypesMan is an alternative to the File Types tab in the Folder Options of Windows. It displays the list of all file extensions and types registered on your computer.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    FileTypesMan screenshot 1
  28. Web browser built on an open-source platform featuring multiple account support, integrated password manager, dark mode, real-time translation, and seamless cross-device syncing.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Chocolatey
    Google Chrome screenshot 1
    Google Chrome screenshot 1
    Google Chrome screenshot 2
    +12
    Google Chrome screenshot 3
    rabbit5’s note

    Sometimes you just have to view it in Chrome because web developers don't design with any other browser in mind.

  29.  Like

    The PyPA recommended tool for installing Python packages.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Python
    pip screenshot 1
    pip screenshot 1
  30. WindowGrid is a modern window management program that allows the user to quickly and easily layout their windows on a dynamic grid.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    WindowGrid screenshot 1
    Example
    System tray menu
  31. Keyboard Notifier sits in the system tray and notifies the user as to the state of the Caps, Scroll and Num lock keys. Designed for systems with ill-placed or non-existent hardware notification lights.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Keyboard Notifier screenshot 1
  32. Zeal icon
     Like

    Zeal is a free and open-source offline documentation browser for developers. You download docsets for the languages, frameworks, and libraries you use, and Zeal lets you search across all of them at once and jump straight to the symbol, class, or function you need.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • BSD
    Zeal screenshot 1
    Zeal screenshot 1
    Zeal screenshot 2
  33. JPEGView icon
     Like

    Lightweight Simple Image Viewer with Slide show feature, Resize and Lossless-cut, Color correction, Rename, Multi-language and more...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    Very simple. Only a title bar other than the picture.
    JPEGView screenshot 1
  34. Notepad++ icon
     Like

    Free open-source code editor and Notepad replacement supporting multiple languages, featuring high speed, low resource usage, privacy focus, and plugin extensibility.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    Notepad++ screenshot 1
    Notepad++ screenshot 1
    Notepad++ screenshot 2
    +10
    TextFX plugin menu
  35. Lightshot icon
     Like

    Captures customizable screen areas, enables instant online upload, sharing via short URLs, quick edits, local saves, and seamless browser add-ons.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Google Chrome
    • Wine
    • Mozilla Firefox
    LightShot's site prnt.sc or prntscr.com
    Lightshot's floating Panel and boder markers
    You can paint and write on your screen with LightShot
    +2
    Options / Generals
  36. Cygwin icon
     Like

    Cygwin is a Unix-like environment and command-line interface for Microsoft Windows. Cygwin provides native integration of Windows-based applications, data, and other system resources with applications, software tools, and data of the Unix-like environment.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Cygwin terminals running on Windows 7
  37. Disk analysis tool with treemap views, duplicate file detection, and cleanup actions. Works offline and ad-free on Windows as an open-source project.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Folder sorted after their foldersize
    Settings TreeMap
    Settings Cleanups and user defined actions
    +2
    Drive Selection
  38. Resource Hacker™ is a resource editor for 32bit and 64bit Windows® applications.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Resource Hacker screenshot 1
    Resource Hacker screenshot 1
    Compiling can be initiated either by opening an existing resource script file, or by creating one from scratch using Resource Hacker's editor.

A complete list of Resource-Definition Statements can be found here.

Additional features of Resource Hacker's compiler include: The #INCLUDE directive (to access definition statements in header files etc) can be nested to multiple levels, as can the #IF, and #IFDEF directives. #DEFINE, #UNDEF, #IF, #ELIF, #ELSE, #IFDEF, #IFNDEF, #INCLUDE, and #PRAGMA directives are all supported. Strings, between double-quote (") characters, may contain typical 'C' style backslashed 'escaped' characters — \t , \n , \\ , \" , \x, \u and \377 (octal). A double-quote within a string must be 'escaped' using either a preceding backslash or with another double-quote. Script comments are preceded either by double forward-slashes (//) or by a semi-colon (;). Filenam...
    +6
    Once a resource file has been opened, its resources will generally be displayed as either an image (or group of images) or as decompiled text. Binary resources, usually images, can't be edited directly with Resource Hacker, but they can still be very easily exported and imported once they've been modified by an external image editor. (I see no benefit in duplicating what third-party image editors do so well.)
  39. 7-Zip icon
     Like

    Efficient file archiver offering superior compression and encryption. Supports multiple formats such as TAR, ZIP, with a unique self-extracting feature.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • ReactOS
    • Arch Linux
    Main Window
    Add to Archive
    Options
  40. PeaZip icon
     Like

    PeaZip is free file archiver utility, based on Open Source technologies of 7-Zip, p7zip, FreeArc, PAQ, and PEA projects, for Linux, macOS and Windows.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    PeaZip
    Archive creation
    Archive extraction
    +4
    PeaZip on macOS
  41. DB Browser for SQLite (DB4S) is a high quality, visual, open source tool to create, design, and edit database files compatible with SQLite.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    DB Browser for SQLite screenshot 1
    DB Browser for SQLite screenshot 1
    DB Browser for SQLite screenshot 2
  42. doPDF icon
     Like

    doPDF allows you to freely convert documents to PDF files. It installs as a printer driver, enabling you to print from any Windows application.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    doPDF Main Window
    Word to PDF
    Notepad conversion
    +6
    Wordpad conversion
    rabbit5’s note

    Adds that "Print to PDF" ability that even handles files big enough to crash MS Word's PDF exporter!

  43. Haroopad icon
     Like

    Haroopad is a markdown enabled document processor for creating web-friendly documents. You can author various formats of documents such as blog article, slide, presentation, report, and e-mail as if experts did.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Haroopad screenshot 1
    Haroopad screenshot 1
    Haroopad screenshot 2
    +4
    Haroopad screenshot 3
  44. Cyberduck icon
     Like

    A libre FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, S3, Backblaze B2, Azure & OpenStack Swift browser.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    Cyberduck screenshot 1
    Cyberduck screenshot 1
    Cyberduck screenshot 2
    +1
    Cyberduck screenshot 3
  45. A lightning fast and flexible keystroke launcher for Windows. No installation required (portable). Extensible with Python3 plugins.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    smart search
    customizable interface
    math expressions evaluator
    +2
    base converter
    rabbit5’s note

    Good Spotlight-esque tool. Utilizes python, so it may be as extensible as Flashlight (the Spotlight mod platform).

Comments

armandaneshjoo
0

Hi. Interesting list. What is this about? Is it for filling the holes inside Windows? Or about switching to Linux and still having the features that used to be in Windows? Or about saving Windows?

1 reply
BiosOS
Replying to @armandaneshjoo

I believe Rabbit5's list is trying to fix windows by adding new apps that they feel were missing from windows.