7 free apps to supercharge a fresh Windows installation

Everyone has their own selection when it comes to installing applications on a fresh installation of Windows. However, there are a few apps that every power user should have on their Windows PC. Let me share my Windows essentials.

Microsoft PowerToys

PowerToys is a set of free and open source utilities intended to add missing features to your Windows installation. So far, the collection includes more than 20 tools. You can install PowerToys from the Microsoft Store or use winget in the Terminal.

winget install Microsoft.PowerToys

The tools are all included in a single package, where you can browse and configure them. There is PowerToys Run and Command Palette which are meant to be the Windows equivalent of the macOS Projector. You can press Alt+Space to open the unified search launcher anywhere in the operating system. As you type, it shows you the corresponding files, settings and applications. You can even perform simple calculations and commands using this launcher.

You can use FancyZones to create complex window layout presets. You can use workspaces to launch a set of applications with a single click. Advanced Paste lets you paste Markdown, JSON, and other special formats. Sometimes you can’t delete a file because it’s already in use, but you have no idea which process is using it. File Locksmith tells you exactly that and lets you delete files in use.

PowerRename allows you to rename batches of files. Image Resizer allows you to resize images in bulk. With Peek, you can preview all kinds of files just by hovering over them. You can create custom keyboard shortcuts with the keyboard manager. Mouse Without Borders lets you connect a mouse and keyboard to up to four computers, simulating a KVM.

All

Windows Search is notoriously slow and clutters results with Bing content. Everything is a free and simple alternative that beats Windows Search in every category. It displays results instantly as you type. It can index a million files in less than a minute (including hidden files) and track these changes in real time. You also get many advanced filters that aren’t available in File Explorer’s standard search.

LocalSend

LocalSend is a free, open source, cross-platform file and text sharing tool. Unlike Quick Share or Phone Link, it works seamlessly across all platforms (Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, etc.). It requires no configuration.

You also don’t need a Microsoft account to access it, ensuring that shared files and data are not tied to your account. It’s also faster in my experience. You can send files to multiple devices and even share text snippets and the clipboard.

LibreOffice

LibreOffice is a free and open source suite of productivity applications. It includes LibreOffice Writer (alternative to Microsoft Word), Calc (alternative to Excel), Impress (replaces PowerPoint) and Base (alternative to Access). There is also Draw, which I use from time to time to edit and sign PDFs. It’s a bit like Adobe Acrobat.

This suite is completely private and works offline. You don’t need an Internet connection, subscription, or account to use LibreOffice. The best part is that LibreOffice is compatible with Microsoft Office file formats including .doc, .docx, .dotx, .xlsx, .xls. xlsm, .ppt, .pptx and .ppsx. You can also work with open and standard formats such as .odt, .ods and .odp.

The user interface of these LibreOffice applications looks very similar to older versions of Office.

Idem

Ditto is the power user’s clipboard. The default Windows clipboard manager can only store up to 25 items, and they are cleared when you restart the computer. Ditto can store an unlimited list of clipboard items and clipboard data is not cleared on reboot. The list is also searchable (something you can’t do with the Windows clipboard). You can also share this data with other PCs on a local network.

Docker desktop

Docker allows you to run “containerized” applications without installing them on your PC. You can use it to turn your PC into a server and automatically host services and applications that you would normally pay for. You can create containers for a home assistant, a media server for your offline media collection, productivity apps, music streaming, or even cloud storage.

Its installation is free and easy to learn. If you want to take back your privacy and control, self-hosting with Docker is a good place to start.

KSnip

If you take a lot of screenshots, KSnip is a must-have. It’s a free and open source screenshot utility that saves me hours of work every week. Since I write about technology, I need a universal utility that works on all platforms. KSnip works everywhere (except some Wayland systems). It also has excellent keyboard support and you can set your own custom keyboard shortcuts and set actions triggered by keystrokes.

KSnip gives me a tabbed view of all my captured screenshots, as well as a tools panel that allows me to annotate and edit my screenshots. I also configured KSnip to automatically upload screenshots to an FTP server, so I don’t need to manually transfer files between computers.

The default Windows apps leave a lot to be desired (at least for me), so I use these apps to make up the difference.