All of the products on this page are provided free of charge and I spend a considerable amount of my time working on them, updating them and adding requested features, so if you find them useful then please consider making a donation however small via the link below, thank you.
Essential Office
Description:
Fully featured Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Diagram Creator, Calendar and PDF viewer - all in one simple to use application, perfect for those with only basic needs without the cost of buying Microsoft Office
Compatible with Word (.doc/.docx) and Excel (.xls/.xlsx) documents from Office 97-2021
Support for Windows 10/11 Dark Mode
Screenshot:
| 10/04/14 |
v1.0 | Initial release |
| 17/04/14 | v1.1 | Bug fixes |
| 09/08/14 | v1.2 | Bug fixes and added insert/overtype mode |
| 04/08/15 | v1.3 | Various internal updates and fixes |
| 26/10/16 | v2.0 |
Fully updated with new user interface, and now includes diagram creator and map components |
| 11/01/18 | v2.1 | Various internal updates and fixes, and new installer |
| 27/08/19 | v2.2 | Multiple fixes and updates to dependencies, new map features added |
| 30/11/19 | v2.3 | Major update of components with lots of new features in Word Processor, Spreadsheet and Diagram Creator |
| 09/10/21 | v2.4 | Updated core components Maps functionality removed |
| 19/08/23 | v2.5 | Updated core components Various bug fixes and code improvements Now runs as 64-bit on supported devices to improve performance Export now supports tagged (accessible) PDF for screen readers and other assistive technologies New settings pane for Spreadsheet print preview Add picture or text watermarks to Word Processor documents New Shrink to Fit alignment option in Spreadsheet automatically reduces text size to fit a cell Rotated text support in Word Processor table cells |
| 29/08/23 | v2.6 | Windows 10/11 Dark Mode support added |
| 31/08/23 | v2.6.1 | Close button added to PDF viewer French, German and Spanish dictionaries added to Word Processor (default can be set in Options) |
| 12/09/23 | v2.7 | Performance improvements - components loaded on demand rather than on start-up to improve speed Import shapes option added to Diagram tool Option to disable automatic Dark Mode switching Improved colour scheme for Spreadsheet in Dark mode Option to choose default start-up application e.g. Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Diagram or PDF Viewer Custom dictionary support now for all languages not just English Various bug fixes |
| 16/09/23 | v2.7.1 | Added option to set a default calendar to load at start-up Various bug fixes Now also available to download as a portable app (.zip format) |
| 20/09/23 | v2.7.2 | Window size and position saved and restored even for multi-monitor setups (Ctrl+Shift to override restore) Previously configured options should now be preserved when you upgrade to a new version Option to set default Page Colour and Font Colour for Word Processor added |
| 13/10/23 | v2.7.3 | Fixed compatibility mode issue when opening .docx created with Essential Office in Microsoft Word Visibility of Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar is now saved between sessions |
| 31/10/23 | v2.7.4 | Now remembers last used Word Processor Document View e.g. Simple View, Draft View or Print Layout |
| FUTURE RELEASES WILL BE MICROSOFT STORE ONLY | ||
| 15/11/23 | v2.8 | This is the first multilingual release - interface has now been mostly translated to French (FR), German (DE), Hungarian (HU) and Spanish (ES) - this is a work in progress so if you have any comments on translations or would like to see other languages then please get in touch |
Image Explorer
Description:
Simple utility for viewing photos which includes ability to see on map where a photo was taken, to view and modify image metadata, and to perform basic editing such as cropping, adding watermarks and applying image filters
Screenshot:
| 08/02/20 |
v1.0 | Initial release |
| 08/02/21 |
v1.1 | Core components updated |
Shadow Copy Explorer
Description:
Allows you to mount and browse System Restore points or Shadow Copies/Previous Versions on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10, Server 2008 + so that you can easily recover files without having to perform a complete restore - also allows you to delete points, create points and see how much disk space is being used by restore points/shadow copies
Requirements:
.NET v4.7.2 and Visual C++ 2019 redistributables
Credits:
Screenshot:
| 23/03/16 |
v1.0 | Initial release |
| 24/11/16 |
v1.1 | Fixed issue concerning restore points not being created on computer upgraded from 8 to 10 (Thanks Jan Smits) |
| 18/01/18 |
v1.2 | Updated to use latest DLL's responsible for accessing system restore points |
| 22/11/19 | v1.3 | Changed sort order of results from oldest to newest, to newest to oldest |
| 22/10/21 | v1.4 | Updated to use latest version of AlphaVSS (DLL's responsible for accessing system restore points) Also now shows maximum space available for system restore points |
| 23/10/23 | v1.5 | Updated to use latest version of AlphaVSS Fixed 'System.OverflowException: Value was either too large or too small for an Int64' error |
Windows 10/11 App Remover
Description:
Allows you to easily remove apps from Windows 10/11 - with this program you can hide all system apps and then remove all other apps in one step either for current user, all users or the local machine (so they don't then reinstall automatically for new users). This was written to speed up the process of removing unwanted apps when setting up new computers as they often come with lots of additional bloatware that is not required
Requirements:
.NET v4.8
Screenshot:
| 04/06/16 |
v1.0 | Initial release |
| 22/03/17 |
v1.1 | Updated to support latest build (v1703 15063.0) |
| 20/10/17 |
v1.2 | Updated to support latest build (v1709 16299.19) |
| 02/08/18 |
v1.3 | Updated to support latest build (v1803 17134.191) |
| 01/08/19 |
v1.4 | Updated to support latest build (v1903 18362.30) |
| 14/11/22 | v1.5 | Updated to .NET v4.8 Updated to support latest build of Windows 10 (v22H2 19045.2006) Added support for Windows 11 (v22H2 22621.525) |
Web Browser (PE)
Description:
This basic web browser was mainly designed for my own use to run in Windows PE - but is also very handy for testing purposes as very small file size (174kb) and is portable so can be used without needing to install anything - it includes favorites (links) and web history as well as webpage source explorer and other tools
Requirements:
.NET v4
Screenshot:
| 17/05/16 |
v1.0 | Initial release |
| 19/09/18 |
v1.1 | Browser now starts maximized and also saves current zoom settings so reused when browser next opened |
Event Viewer (PE)
Description:
Tool to allow you to view the event logs (.evtx files) on a host computer whilst running in Windows PE - useful for diagnostic purposes
Requirements:
.NET v4.6.1
Screenshot:
Version History:
| 25/10/18 |
v1.1 | Initial release |
Installed Software (PE)
Description:
Tool to allow you to view a list of all software installed on a host computer whilst running in Windows PE - useful for diagnostic purposes
Requirements:
.NET v4.6.1
Screenshot:
Version History:
| 25/10/18 |
v1.2 | Initial release |
Disk Check (PE)
Description:
Tool to allow you to check SMART status of hard drives whilst running in Windows PE - useful for diagnostic purposes
Requirements:
.NET v4.6.1
Screenshot:
Version History:
| 26/10/18 |
v1.0 | Initial release |
File Explorer (PE)
Description:
A lightweight file explorer for use in Windows PE - features dual pane and search facility
Requirements:
.NET v4.6.2
64 Bit
Screenshot:
| 14/02/18 |
v1.0 | Initial release |
| 10/02/20 |
v1.1 | Core components updated |
| 08/02/21 |
v1.2 | Core components updated and various code fixes implemented |
DISM Tool
Description:
A GUI interface for DISM which works on running OS, a mounted WIM or an offline OS - so can be used from Windows PE
Features include: image capture, apply images, export, list packages / drivers / features / capabilities, add/remove drivers, mount/unmount images, check and repair images, get information, diskpart, mount registry and more
Requirements:
.NET v4.7.2
Screenshot:
| 17/12/18 |
v1.0 | Initial release |
| 27/08/19 |
v1.1 | Updated to resolve 'To service this Windows image requires the latest version of the DISM' error message |
| 29/08/19 | v1.2 | Various fixes and improvements including add driver error Chosen mount path and last mounted image now remembered between sessions Drivers/features/packages/capabilities lists refreshed after performing add/remove/enable/disable Warning message displayed upon exit if images still mounted |
| 04/09/19 | v1.3 | DiskPart GUI tab added which allows you to do everything that DiskPart command line does but in a GUI. You can view volumes / disks, see all disk attributes, format, rename, set/clear read-only flags and eject. You can also easily see what disk a particular volume is located on. There are also preset scripts to create all the required partitions for both GPT and MBR, ready for restoring a WIM image too |
| 05/09/19 | v1.4 | Added in DLL required for tool to work under Windows 7 Also added ability to append to existing image as well as choose which image index you wish to mount |
| 09/09/19 | v1.5 | Registry tab added where you can load System, Software or Default User hives from mounted source and edit them |
| 11/09/19 | v1.6 | Export tab added |
| 15/09/19 | v1.7 | Get File Info now shows compression type, and compression type now set correctly when exporting image |
| 16/09/19 | v1.8 | You can now Capture from a drive OR folder, and you can Apply to a drive OR folder |
| 19/09/19 | v1.9 | Various bug fixes, and improvements made to the Mount tab |
| 20/09/19 | v2.0 | Changed from storing settings in registry to using an .ini file instead, to make app more portable Various other miscellaneous fixes made |
| 25/10/19 | v2.1 | Add exclusion list option to capture tab |
| 02/04/20 | v2.2 | Added ability to mount image read only |
| 29/04/20 | v2.3 | Added button to open DISM log file |
| 09/01/22 | v2.4 | Fixed registry mount issue when mount path contained spaces Fixed issues relating to loading / unloading of registry hives directly in RegEdit |
| 13/01/22 | v2.5 | Various language fixes Debug mode added |
| 12/03/22 | v2.6 | Added ability to add multiple drivers with or without recurse option |
| 04/10/23 | v2.7 | Core components updated |
| 07/10/23 | v2.8 | Save Changes button added to Mount/Unmount tab so you can save (commit) changes as you go without having to unmount each time Fixed default file exclusions |
.NET Checker
Description:
Show installed versions of .NET and Visual C++
Check what version of .NET an application requires
Requirements:
.NET v4.5
Screenshot:
| 01/10/21 |
v1.1 | Initial release |
| 25/10/21 | v1.2 | Added support for .NET Core / .NET 5+ and Windows 11 |
| 22/10/22 | v1.3 | Added support for .NET 4.8.1 / Visual C++ 2015-2022 |
| 05/10/23 | v1.4 | Improved C++ detection code |
PowerChute Event Viewer
Description:
Tool to parse the eventlog.dat file from APC PowerChute Personal Edition to allow you to easily see ALL events which have occurred, rather than just a summary of events which appear within the PowerChute software itself, saves you having to manually trawl through event viewer to look for events.
You can then easily sort / filter / search and group the results as well as exporting the events to an Excel (.xlsx) file.
Requirements:
.NET v4.7.2
Screenshot:
| 10/10/22 |
v1.0 | Initial release |
| 11/10/22 | v1.1 | Added power source column |
Archived Apps
The apps below are still available to download but will no longer be updated, and only limited support will be provided
Backup Wizard
Description:
Easily backup your data to an external hard drive using this tool - simply select the items you wish to backup, choose a destination, and the wizard does the rest
N.B. This has been replaced by the new Backup Assist tool - see menu at top of screen
Screenshot:
User Guide:
Click here to view the user guide
| 10/04/14 |
v1.0 | Initial release |
| 07/07/14 | v1.1 | Fixed so correctly detects all external hard drives |
| 04/08/15 | v1.2 | Added Select All button to backup selection page |
| 10/02/16 | v1.3 | Added support for eM Client and Outlook |
| 03/11/16 | v1.4 | Added support for Microsoft Edge and additional information added to backup logs explaining failures |
| 28/02/17 | v2.0 | Brand new version fully rewritten from scratch, now performs backups much quicker than before N.B. You need to remove previous version before installing this new version |
| 12/04/18 | v2.1 | Various bug fixes and code improvements |
| 20/02/19 | v2.2 | Updated to .NET 4.7.2 Added in automated crash/error reporting system Various other fixes and internal improvements |
| 12/03/21 | v2.3 | Updated to support new Microsoft Edge |
| 08/09/21 | v2.4 | Improved error handling Various bug fixes relating to write protected drives and access denied errors |
| 24/09/21 | v2.5 | Amended code for detection of when profile folders e.g. Documents, Pictures are stored in OneDrive Improved warnings if destination drive doesn't have enough space for chosen selection Fixed Edge bookmark check |
| 12/12/21 | v2.6 | Added Downloads folder |
| 19/10/23 | v2.7 | Resolved issue with mapped drives not appearing Core components updated Updated to .NET 4.8 |
| 30/10/23 | v2.8 | Final release Core components updated No longer showing CD/DVD drives in Destination drop down to avoid confusion Error reporting removed |