what is your must have niche software?

[Boo_OS]

I’m looking for new software for my operating system that is lesser known about. (Things other than CCleaner etc).

I’ll start off with Everything. A file management system that allows for much quicker searches for particular folders/files by indexing them to your drive allowing users to find particular files much faster as opposed to using file explorers search bar which is horrendously slow.

Would love to hear some more from you guys.

 

[Murphy]

Everyone knows about 7+ Taskbar Tweaker that fixes some of the backwards decision made by MS, i guess. If not...

7+ Taskbar Tweaker - Windows Taskbar Customization Tool

Customize the Windows taskbar with dozens of exclusive options. Adapt the taskbar to your workflow, not the other way around.

tweaker.ramensoftware.com

Other than that it would be T-Clock to add a feature that should be part of even the most basic Operating Systems, a clock that allows some customisation to its display.

GitHub - White-Tiger/T-Clock: Highly configurable Windows taskbar clock

Highly configurable Windows taskbar clock. Contribute to White-Tiger/T-Clock development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[Boo_OS]

Everyone knows about 7+ Taskbar Tweaker that fixes some of the backwards decision made by MS, i guess. If not...

7+ Taskbar Tweaker - Windows Taskbar Customization Tool

Customize the Windows taskbar with dozens of exclusive options. Adapt the taskbar to your workflow, not the other way around.

tweaker.ramensoftware.com

Other than that it would be T-Clock to add a feature that should be part of even the most basic Operating Systems, a clock that allows some customisation to its display.

GitHub - White-Tiger/T-Clock: Highly configurable Windows taskbar clock

Highly configurable Windows taskbar clock. Contribute to White-Tiger/T-Clock development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Thanks for the recommendations. Never heard of either of those personally but 7+ taskbar tweaker looks like something I’m definitely interested in.

Another I’ll add is Taskbar Seperator which allows users to add separators to their taskbar for better organisation of their pinned programmes/files. It takes up virtually no space on ones drive by the way in which it works. Definitely worth checking out for those who like having things organised like myself!

 

[darael]

For me it's Snappy Driver Installer Origin, because it saves so much time messing with drivers. Just be careful with laptop keyboard and touchpad drivers.

 

[ED209]

I use explorer patcher to make Windows 11 look like Windows 10 and gives me back some of the features MS changed or removed.

 

[Raumarik]

Spacesniffer, used it for years to help track down what games etc are eating up drive space so I can decide what to cull. Steam folder can get pretty huge quickly and this allows me to check how much space I'll get back quickly and visually.

SpaceSniffer, find lost disk space the easy way.

 

[tribz]

I use TreeSizeFree from Jam software but I'll check out SpaceSniffer

 

[bledd]

Paint.net

 

[bledd]

I use TreeSizeFree from Jam software but I'll check out SpaceSniffer

We tested all the available options for work, ended up buying Treesize Pro, it works really well especially over network.

 

[Thekwango]

apologies, i see jokes aren't allowed in this section of the forum

 

[bimbleuk]

Revo Uninstaller to keep Windows cleaner. Windows uninstaller is terrible.

 

[khevolution]

Revo Uninstaller to keep Windows cleaner. Windows uninstaller is terrible.

Another vote for this, i wasnt aware just how bad the windows unistaller was until i was recommended this.

 

[Armageus]

Paint.net

This and Notepad++ are probably two of my most used programs, regardless of whatever other "bigger" apps are available.

Paint.net will do probably 90% of what photoshop will do, without needing more than 5 minutes of effort.

Notepad++ is ideal for copy/pasting snippets of code from my main programming environment before making major changes, and useful for quick and dirty analysis of log files and the like with it's extensive search functions

 

[Raiden85]

GhostBuster is a handy tool I've been using for a few years to remove left over stuff from the device manager especially if upgrading a motherboard on the same Windows install which leaves a lot of stuff left over. Does the same thing as right clicking and removing in device manager but the tool allows you to remove all disconnected devices in bulk.

GhostBuster Portable

 

[malachi]

SumatraPDF, light and simple for opening PDF's.

 

[CaNsA]

We tested all the available options for work, ended up buying Treesize Pro, it works really well especially over network.

Another shout out for treesize pro.
It does indeed work splendidly over lan.

 

[CaNsA]

Any "file unlocker" app to see what's using a specific file.
Notepad ++
Bulk file renamer
Angry IP Scanner - early version.

 

[nade]

I also use some of the tools mentioned above. There are a few others I normally will install.

Gadwin Printscreen - I know there are a ton of screenshot tools, but I've always found this one great. Easy to set target folders and hotkeys. If I'm on any training course I'll use this to capture notes I can check later.
SoftPerfect NetWorx (specifically Version 5.5.5) - Use this to let me glance at taskbar for internet usage/rates from my PC. There are newer versions but this was their last Freeware version I think.
Winamp v5.666 - I've tried other and newer players but keep coming back to Winamp

 

[iamtheoneneo]

Nomacs. Its the first thing that will get installed.

 

[b|gf|sh]

Not sure if it's really niche any more, but Microsoft PowerToys is absolutely essential these days, so useful (especially FancyZones, Mouse Without Borders, Advanced Paste features).

I'd also recommend running Chris Titus's Utility to clean up some of the default features on a fresh install too.