BossKee – Hide any window instantly with a shortcut

BossKee is a utility which I coded in a single day to help hide any Window from prying eyes. There are numerous times when you are reading something private (like an email, nsfw joke) or viewing photos and suddenly out of the blue realise someone behind your shoulder is peeping at your computer screen. Usual reaction is to fumble trying to find the minimize button (atleast mine is!)

This application lets you target a specific Window from a list of open Windows. BossKee then runs in the background silently monitoring the Window you selected. The minute you press the shortcut (Ctrl + Space), it hides the selected Window instantly. To bring the Window back, simply press the shortcut combination (Ctrl + Space) once again. Go on, fire up that browser or application you were working on, without having to watch your back.

“BossKee – I have your back!”

Click here to download BossKey v0.1 (Tested on Windows 7 and Windows XP)

Enabling the status bar / line number indicator for Notepad in Windows

Notepad is one of the most commonly used application in Windows. Recently I was doing some code reviews and since Notepad wasn’t showing me line numbers, I had to load up another bulky editor which was a real pain.

In order to enable line number indication and to enable the status bar in Notepad, we need to do some simple registry editing -

1. Start the registry editor (Start > Run, type regedit.exe and press enter)

2. Goto the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Notepad section

3. For the “StatusBar” key, change the REG_DWORD value to 1 (Double click, type “1″, Click OK)

Close the registry editor, and your Notepad should now be able to display the status bar along with the line/column count. Pretty cool.

If editing the registry seems like a scary proposition to you, click here to download a registry script. Run it by double clicking.

Related articles, courtesy of Zemanta:

• How to Put “Open With Notepad” in Every Context Menu in Windows 7
• De-Mystifying the Dark Corners of Windows: The Registry, DLLs, and More Explained [Explainer]
• How To Edit Right-Click Menu

CopyX v1.0 beta – File / Folder queue utility for Windows

I’ve continued developing in .NET and C# and have developed this small application called CopyX. I tried to make it as simple to use as possible.

When you want to copy multiple files / folders in Windows (even Windows 7!), explorer will open a new copy dialog for each operation. This will eventually slow down the copy process as you run multiple copy / move operations. I wanted some way to queue up files / folders to be copied like adding multiple jobs and processing them like a queue. I searched online and came across TerraCopy but for some reason it wasn’t stable on my system so I decided to write something of my own and release it for free ( as always )

CopyX was born! Please use it, abuse it, do what you like with it! It comes with no warranty or support. If you have issues let me know but I’m not sure when I will release an update. Hope it helps someone out there the way it helped me.

Note: You need Microsoft DOT NET Framework 3.5 to run CopyX

Click here to download

Simpo v1.0 beta – The Simple Password Organizer

DOWNLOAD

I’ve been a hardcore C++ buff right from the early days. Recently I decided to take up learning C# and .NET. Boy, was I in for a treat. I was blown away. Don’t get me wrong. C and C++ are still my favorite languages. But the simplicity and speed of C# and .NET reminded me of the Visual Basic days. Heck, they’ve even gone and made Visual Basic Object Oriented (VB.NET)

Anyways, I developed this nifty little application in my spare time (~ 3 days). Hope you guys find it useful. It basically maintains a list of all the sites and passwords that you enter in it so that you can keep track of all your passwords in one place. We all know how frustrating it is especially with multiple accounts and logins and not remembering the passwords at the right time.

The application even encrypts all the usernames/passwords/comments you store so that no one except you can have access to this sensitive information. Just make sure you don’t forget the password. There is no way to recover the master password and you will lose your data if you do. Lastly, this is hobby software and comes with no guarantee. Let me know if you find any bugs or if you can suggest some enhancements. This program needs .NET framework 3.5 installed on your machine.

Visual Studio – amazing macros

Typing repetitive text or executing repetitive commands can be a real chore while coding. One often overlooked feature of Visual Studio is macros.

For example, I found myself continuously typing my name and the date as a comment for every small change that I made to code I was reviewing code. This helped my team working at another location to see the changes I had made. Visual Studio macros to the rescue! I wrote a simple macro which helped me save some time (and frustration) -

Sub test()
        Dim dtCurrDate As Date
        dtCurrDate = Now
        DTE.ActiveDocument.Selection.Text = "//Karan " + dtCurrDate.ToString()
End Sub

The output of the above macro will be //Karan 9/6/2010 11:06:47 PM. This is a great way to insert comments at the places where you make changes to code. The inserted time provides even more accuracy to the reader.

Some more examples of macros are -

Sub Cleaner()
        DTE.ExecuteCommand("Build.BatchBuild")
        DTE.ExecuteCommand("Build.RebuildSolution")
End Sub

What the above macro does is clean your current solution ( delete intermediate files ) and then rebuilds the solution.

Sub ifdefOut()
        PoundDefOut(False)
End Sub

The above macro can be used to #ifdef / #endif out a section of code.

An easy way to create your macro if you don’t know how to write code in basic is to use the built in macro recorder. Use “Ctrl+Shift+R” to record your macro and “Ctrl+Shift+P” to play the macro back. If you want to save this macro then you can go to Tools –> Macros –> Save Macro. This will save the macro to a file and can be viewed using the Macro Explorer (View –> Other Windows –> Macro explorer).

If you are comfortable with coding in basic, then the best way is to create your own macros is to launch the Macro Editor (Tools –> Macros –> Macros IDE) or Alt+F11, then type your macro.

Another great idea is to assign your macro a shortcut, so that you can invoke your macro without digging through menus. To assign macro shortcuts, go to Tools –> Options. From the Dialog that launches go to Environment –> Keyboard and set your shortcut.

The above macros are really simple macros. Visual Studio 2008 comes with many pre-installed macros. Right click –> edit these to view their source code so that you learn from these great examples.

The above macros have been tested on Visual Studio 2008 but the basic idea should work for other versions as well. Let me know in the comments if you know or would like to share some of your own macros.

Top 5 Google Chrome extensions

Lately I have ditched Firefox completely to adopt Google Chrome. The reason? Speed! Firefox crawls even on a fairly modern system when a javascript/flash filled  page is loaded. I am not saying Google Chrome is perfect but it it light as hell and the fastest browser on the planet as of now. Yes, it is faster than Opera.

The only reason why I completely switched to Chrome so late is because of poor Linux support and lack of extensions. All that has changed now and things are really beginning to heat up! The Linux and Mac versions are out of beta. What better time than now to write and article about my favorite Chrome extensions.

5. Adblock - Goto Adblock page

Adblock is a very nice extension to have. It is one of the most popular extensions for Firefox and is now available for Google Chrome. Block those pesky ads with support for whitelists, blacklists and filter lists. Another cool feature albeit in beta is the the ability to block ads in Youtube. I hate those pesky youtube ads. This extension runs in an unobtrusive manner so installing this extension is a no brainer.

4. StumbleUpon - Go to StumbleUpon page

StumbleUpon is known by almost every webjunkie out there. Find great webpages just by clicking the “Stumble!” button. StumbleUpon needs no introduction. If websurfing is your passion, then Stumble Upon should be in your arsenal.

3. Feedly - Goto Feedly page

Feedly organizes your favorite sources in a magazine-like start page. A very innovative way to read your RSS feeds in Google Reader. It feels like you have a fresh, well laid out magazine laid out in front of you each day. Trust me, once you read your feeds using Feedly, you will never go back.

2. ScribeFire – Goto ScribeFire page

ScribeFire is a full fledged blog poster/editor with support for the mainstream blog sites like blogger, wordpress etc. Installation and setup is a breeze and is fairly easy to get up and running. Give it a shot if you don’t want to install additional software on your machine or just want a quick and convenient way to post to your blog.

1. Chromed Bird (twitter) - Goto ChromedBird page

No top list is going to have twitter missing J This has got to be one of the nicest twitter clients out there. Just authorize the extension to access your twitter account and you are all set. Tweet, reply, retweet, direct reply all from a nice and easy to use interface. It’s not the best client out there but it is an extension and for that it does all you need.

Other honorable mentions –

Downloads, Facebook for Google Chrome, FlashBlock, LastPass

Sort Outlook mails using multiple columns

Found this tip via a LifeHacker post. For those who use Outlook express, I am sure you try sorting emails by date, subject etc.

An often overlooked feature of Outlook express is the ability to sort emails via multiple columns. All you need to do is hold down the Shift key while clicking on the column header for one column, and continue to hold the key down while you click on another column. This can be very handy for more advanced sorting – you could sort by sender, and then by message size to find the biggest file from a particular sender.

A great little tip that should save heavy users of Outlook express some time. Thanks Lifehacker!

Select “No to all” in file copy dialog

I came across this great tip on the Download Squad site. When you try to copy a group of files from one folder to another, Windows will bring up a handy little window if it notices files in the target directory with the same name as files from the source directory. You can manually choose which files to overwrite or leave be one by one. Or you can click “Yes to All” to effectively overwrite every file with a duplicate name in the target directory.

But what if you want to click “No to All?” There’s no button for you, but that doesn’t mean Windows won’t let you skip all the duplicate files. All you have to do is hold down the Shift key and click No. Now Windows will skip all files with duplicate names and copy the rest of your files to the new directory, thus saving you a lot of time, heartache, and repetitive finger motions.

Add “Open with Notepad” to the Context Menu for All Files

 Notepad has been an evergreen application since the Windows98 days. It opens all sorts of files and is used by people the world over to open, edit and create all sorts of files. A problem or annoyance rather is when one has to go through a right click -> open with -> select notepad from the options. A quick little hack is to add a “open with notepad” option to the right click context menu of every file with some registry hacking. This is one hack that will save time and make your life a little easier. Brought to you by site http://www.howtogeek.com. Follow the link below for detailed steps -

How to geek – Open with notepad context menu

Speed up your connection and stay secure with OpenDNS

Here’s a surefire way of speeding up your internet access and getting secure from DNS spoof attacks. The answer is OpenDNS. Every ISP (Internet Service Provider) has a DNS server setup so that the website addresses you type get translated into IP addresses so that your browser understands where the website content is to be fetched from. But most of these DNS servers are overloaded and at the same time are prone to spoofing attacks like DNS poisoning.

Here’s how you can protect yourself and speed up DNS requests at the same time -

In Windows XP-

1. Open up your Control Panel
2. Open Network connections
3. Right click the connection you want to configure
4. Select properties
5. From the dialog that pops up, select Internet Properties (TCP/IP)
6. Click the properties button
7. Type in 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220 as your DNS server addresses
8. The dialog should now look like the screenshot below -

Thats all! All you have to change the Preferred DNS server and the Alternate DNS server. Leave the rest as is.

For Linux -

1. In Gnome, goto System Administration -> Network
2. Change your DNS servers to 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
3. The same procedure can be used for KDE, just goto Control Center and enter the above addresses as your DNS addresses in Network Configuration

This tip not only reduces your internet DNS requests lag but also makes you secure against DNS poisoning attacks.

Goto http://www.opendns.com/ for more information.

Quoted from the above website -

 

OpenDNS is safer

OpenDNS protects you from phishing — bad websites trying to steal your personal information. When you try to go to a phishing site, we let you know. We also let you optionally block adult sites as a category, or individual websites of any type. These services help you better protect those on your network from websites they shouldn’t be visiting.
Learn more.

 

OpenDNS is faster

You use DNS every time you use the Internet. The speed of your DNS service determines how quickly websites load for you. That’s why you want your DNS service to be blazing. OpenDNS is so fast because we run some of the largest DNS caches around and do it on our own high-performance network.
Learn more.

 

OpenDNS is smarter

The address bar is how you navigate the Internet. We make your address bar more intelligent. With OpenDNS, you can create shortcuts that let you type something easy-to-remember into your address bar and leap straight where you want to go. And we’ll correct your common spelling mistakes, on the fly. That means when you are typing fast and type yahoo.cmo instead of yahoo.com, you still get there.
Learn more.

 

OpenDNS is more reliable

Little is more frustrating than intermittent Internet outages. When your DNS service isn’t working, you can’t access the Internet. When you start using OpenDNS, your days of dealing with DNS-related downtime will be over. We know reliability is important, and we stand behind ours.
Learn more.