OK, this is sort of an unusual question. I want to be clear that I am
not looking for research or for something that you find on the
internet and think would be great (although I do want a link to the
product so I can learn more about it).

I want to know what relatively little known applications or utilities,
that cost less than $100 and can be used on a pc, you have found to be
amazing time or money savers - and why. I am looking specifically for
little-know applications, that are applicable to a regular office
environment, and that do NOT do standard tasks (such as word
processing or spreadsheets). I want unique small applications that are
just, frankly, helpful.

Thus, while lots of people would agree that MS Word is incredibly
useful ? everyone knows it exists and it does a standard office
function so that it does not apply. I also have no desire for a
posting that recommends an alternative, lower cost, word processing
program.

Here are two examples that might help to explain what I am looking for:

Quickkeys ? this little application allows me to save blocks of text
and paste them in any application that I am using from a menu in
windows. It also has some nice text-editing features such as changing
all caps to title case and getting rid of pesky hard returns in
paragraphs (great for when you are using text from an email) that we
use all the time. (the link isn?t working right now)

X1 ? this AMAZING search program has completely indexed my hard drive
and can find, almost instantaneously, any document containing any word
of my choosing (I have 45,000 files on my hard drive, from three
different companies, with many of them set up by others in ways that I
do not find intuitive, and this is a phenomenal lifesaver). It does
the same for my emails. http://www.x1.com/ for more info.

Two categories of items that I am not concerned about are security or
mass-emailing/spam (or anti-spam) software.

I know I am only offering $5 ? hopefully this is an easy question to
answer since the responder should be very familiar with what it is
that they are recommending. And, if it is answered I will repost for a
second answer.

Why bother and why am I doing this? I hope that this will start a
professional exchange of sorts (maybe you?ll love the two examples
that I suggested ? noting that I have NO financial interest in
either). I also have delusions of writing a book some day, but for
now, the reality is that I hope I can find a few suggestions for
making our small office run smoother.

Susank --

No one does anything about backing up critical software and hardware
information until after a computer crashes.  That's why everyone
should run this program, then print the output every 6 months -- as it
gives you an inventory of what you have, including software serial
numbers.  It's free:
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

Great! Thank you for the suggestion - exactly the type of thing that I
was looking for and the price is certainly right (both your answer and
the program). Much appreciated. It is indeed useful and looks
relatively easy to use. We'll check it out. -Susan

SequoiaView - http://www.win.tue.nl/sequoiaview/

SequoiaView is a disk browsing tool based on the principle of
treemaps, with one unique feature added, namely Cushion Treemaps,
invented by Jack van Wijk. The principle is simple: each time a
rectangle is subdivided, ridges are added. The result is a pattern of
hierarchical cushions that show the structure in the directories and
files. The user can set the height of the ridges as well as using
lower ridges for deeper nested levels, offering a choice between
displaying global information (high level directories) or detailed
info such as individual files. The user can also choose between the
original cushions and the squarified cushions.

I am very fond of a simple, free program called CapUnlock:

"CapsUnlock supersedes the locking mechanism of the CapsLock key and
thus prevents the accidental turning on of CapsLock. It runs as a
little tray application in the taskbar. The user can select an
override option, which allows CapsLock to be switched on and off by
holding down the left Shift key while pressing CapsLock. Furthermore
CapsUnlock also disables the Insert key."

BrainSystems
http://www.brainsystems.com/capsunlock/

Like many people, I type sloppily enough that I often activate
CapsLock by accident. Once CapsUnlock is installed, the CapsLock key
is disabled. Of course, you can easily re-enable it if you want it
back (but I never have!)

Thanks pinkfreud and upo. I need to try out SequoiaView to understand it better. 

I like the capsunlock idea. What I really need is an anti-insert key
or some way to turn that off. I hit it constantly and all of a sudden
my editing is a mess.

CapsUnlock disables the Insert key as well as the CapsLock key. It's a
wonderful little program that remains invisible, but makes life easier
for those of us who aren't awfully precise in our typing habits!

I don't know how I ever survived without "Taskbar Manager," which
provides a multitude of ways to manage my busy, cluttered Internet
Explorer taskbar. Several times an hour I use Taskbar Manager to
reorder my application windows tabs in a sensible fashion. This way
the tabs don't have to be arranged in the order in which you opened
the windows to which they refer; you can regroup them as you go. The
program has many other features, but the ability to reorder those
darned tabs makes it worth the $14.95 price.

Taskbar Manager is shareware; a free "evaluation copy" is available.

http://www.askarya.com/tm/tm.htm

hi all

these are 2 great free downloads that are realllly useful ...

1. Spyware detection and blocking software .. it has a definitions
list that must be updated (like NAV) .. and can scan your computer and
detect all spyware (bots, cookies, registry changes, replaced files,
etc.) .. and can destroy them all .. and immunize your machine against
them .. its called spybot s&d (search and destroy) ..
www.safer-networking.org

2. I got tired of IE .. so after alot of search came accross a great
alternative .. its much faster and more stable .. has this great
feature of stopping pop-ups and ads (truely works and gives u
notification) .. can disable pictures, sound, flash from any site ...
brilliant ways of viewing several open windows .. has only 1 tab at
the taskbar no matter how much windows u have open within ... its
called Avant browser ..
www.avantbrowser.com

enjoy :)

PS. i was looking for a simple software that could run slideshows of
the pictures i have on my pc .. with an essintial condition ... for
the pics that are larger that the screen size it should reduces them
to fit to screen while in slideshow ... and also if the pics are
smaller it could pan them accross the whole screen .. oh and i've
tried ACDSee .. tooooo complex with lots of features i don't need ...

Among the best utilities I have to suggest is one I use repeatedly
called ClipTray. Unfortunately, there are a few different utilities of
this name, so I will provide a specific link to get the one I mean:
http://www.listsoft.com/programs/2245/?fileid=2
(this will autodownload CLIPT14.ZIP after about 10 seconds).
It's a tiny utility - its sole purpose is to save (to both a text and
HTML file whatever is currently in the clipboard buffer). So anything
that you cut or copy (ctrl-x, ctrl-c or equivalent via the mouse)that
you would also like saved to cliptray you just hit Ctrl-F12. I find
this so much easier to use than many similar utilities - especially
those that save everything that you ever copy or cut and then require
you to go and weed out the bad stuff, or those that require you to
drag the stuff you want to save to their application. I have done a
poor job explaining this . . download it and I think you will use it
forever. (Sadly, the vendor no longer has a website - this really was
a great bit of code that you can't seem to find around much anymore.
When my old PC died and I realized I didnt have a copy of this
anywhere, I was absolutely frantic until I found it.)

Also, check this link out: http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_free_utilities.htm
I agree with 95% of this guy's choices for his picks of the "46 Best
ever Freeware utilities". (and I enjoy his sense of humor - there are
54 utilities now and increasing, but the link will always be to the
"46 Best")

i use something called "panorama" to change my desktop piccie each
time i start up the computer. and hourly as well (i have a _lot_ of
backdrop piccies).

http://www.ivory.org/panorama.html

Saves u getting bored with the same piccie/blue-green screen.

Kennyz,

I LOVE the freeware list - have already downloaded and tried out a
couple of them. I am working on the cliptray one too.

I'm afraid I need to work less in order to enjoy panarama prof
moriarty. My screen never gets to sleep. Such is life.

Thanks again! Hoping others will still chime in.