Tools I use

I think the tools that we use and the way we use them define us in some ways. Some people prefer to work with command prompts even though a GUI is available, some people always stick with their editors that they use and switching to a new editor is very unsettling. As you progress as a developer you become greatly attached to these tools and the first thing that we do on a new PC is setup the tools the way we want. So here goes the list of tools that I use.

TextPad
TextPad has always been the editor for me. Its a simple to use editor with powerful features. Be it its support for regular expressions, built in clip library or its smart cursor placement, all work flawlessly. I like its text search options and searching for texts in files isn’t very bad too. You can search for it in download dot com, a free to use version is available.

Everything (Search tool)
Well, I found this tool by chance and it is one of the best search tools that I have used. You can search for any file or folder on your PC by just typing a few characters of the file/folder name. The searches are lightning fast, literally, once it has indexed the files of course. A very light weight and easy to use tool and if you are a person who constantly has to look for files because you don’t remember where you put them, then this tool is for you. You still need to remember the file name though, well, at least a part of it. No tool is idiot proof you see.

You can find the tool here:
http://download.cnet.com/Everything/3000-2379_4-10890746.html?tag=mncol

Examine 32 (Searches for texts within files)

This is a tool that I use to search for texts within files. The interface isn’t very sleek but it gets the job done pretty well. I like the way it displays the search results and it allows me to open a particular file just by clicking on the search results.

You can find the tool here:

http://download.cnet.com/Examine32-Text-Search/3000-2248_4-10059590.html?tag=mncol


Source Insight
Now this is a great tool for source code browsing. You just build your project by adding all your source files into it and you’re done. You can open any file, jump to any symbol, go to definitions, go back to previous cursor positions, see the call graph and tons of more features.


Object Dock
I used this tool for a while to quickly access my most frequently used programs. I like to keep my desktop clean.  But sometimes it takes up too much cpu for too much long and that is not very pleasing. I still use it occasionally though.


If you want to try it, follow the link:

Update: Object Dock is out and SlickRun is in. Object Dock was hogging to much cpu.

Google
You could raise your eyebrows but its one of the best tools available out there. I always setup google as my homepage and the search results that I get work for me.




Well, thats about the tools I use. If you have any such tools which you find make you more productive, be sure to leave a note.


Update:8thApr09



Command prompt here powertoy
I forgot to mention another useful tool, Command Prompt here power toy.  Its a small utility program that adds a menu item to the explorer context menu which allows you to open the command prompt with the current directory set to the directory you clicked on. It saves a lot of time trying to navigate to a particular directory in command prompt, so you just right click, select ‘Open command prompt here..’ and off you go. The tool is free and can be downloaded from the link below:


http://download.cnet.com/Vista-XP-Command-Prompt-Here/3000-2248_4-10698774.html

Update:10thApr09

Beyond Compare
Beyond compare is a file and directory compare tool that I use at work. It is quite fast and the interface is neat. Compare options show up in the explorer context menus which is nice.

WinMerge is also used to do the same. One advantage WinMerge has over Beyond Compare is that its free. You can download it from the link below:

http://winmerge.org/



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