BE ST FREE SOFTWARE
Essential extras for your favourite programs p58
Did Mcvitie’s sit back and rest on its laurels when it created the digestive biscuit? Of course not. It dipped one side of its biscuit in chocolate and – hey presto! – the chocolate digestive was born. You might think that your favourite programs are perfectly fine as they are. But there are always plug-ins, add-ons and extensions (let’s call them extras) that can make them even better. Here we’ll show you how to improve the most popular office software; the best video, audio and photo-editing programs; and other tools you use every day.
VIDEO, AUDIO & PHOTOSI Kodi
You might have added your videos, music and photos to Kodi, but there’s much more to it. To add an extra tool (add-on) hover the cursor over Add-ons on the Kodi homescreen, click ‘Enter add-on browser’, then ‘Install from repository’. You’ll see a list of categories, from ‘Context menus’ to ‘Web interface’. Each category contains Kodi-approved extras, so there’s no danger you’ll access illegal content. We suggest you browse the Music, Picture and Video add-ons first. To move to the previous menu, click the two dots (..) at the top of each sub-menu. To install an add-on, click it, then click Install.
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SHOUTCAST 2 Listen to radio stations from around the world with this Music add-on. Once you’ve installed it, click Music, Music Add-ons, then SHOUTCAST 2. You can browse stations by genre, search for radio stations by name, or – if you want to hear something specific – the currently playing track.
iplayer WWW Watch the BBC iplayer via Kodi by adding this from the Video Add-ons section. You can watch live TV by clicking the Watch Live option, or click Red Button (see screenshot below) to watch whatever is currently being broadcast on the BBC’S interactive red-button channels – ideal if you want to watch certain events during major sporting tournaments or music festivals.
VLC
It might make short work of playing just about any video file you’d care to throw at it, but VLC does lack a few features. To add more, go to www.snipca.com/25957, then click VLC Extensions (in the box at the top left) to see all its extra tools.
To install one, open File Explorer and navigate to the C:\program Files (x86)\ Videolan\vlc\lua\extensions folder. Return to your browser, click the tool you want, click the Files tab, then click the link in the ‘File (click to download)’ section of the table. When the file downloads, copy and paste it into the extensions folder. To check it’s been added, open VLC, click Tools, ‘Plugins and extensions’, then click the Active Extensions tab (see screenshot below).
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Moments Tracker Bookmark your favourite sections of your home movies with this handy extra. Once installed, play a video, forward it to the point you want to bookmark, then click View,
followed by ‘Bookmark your moments’. In the pop-up window, click the Capture Moment button, name your bookmark, then click Confirm. To find a particular moment, click a bookmark you’ve created, then the ‘Jump to Moment’ button.
VLSUB 0.10.0 Get subtitles for your favourite films and TV shows using this free tool. Click View, then Download Subtitles to open it. Type the title of the film or TV show, as well as the series and episode number (if you know these) in the relevant fields. Next, click the ‘Search by name’ button to find suitable subtitles. Click one to highlight a subtitle set, click ‘Download selection’, then the blue download link.
Your browser will open and the subtitle file will download automatically. Extract the subtitle file from the ZIP file (usually a .srt file), then copy it to the same folder as the video file. Now play your video and the subtitles should display automatically.
Musicbee
To see all media player Musicbee’s extras go to www.getmusicbee. com/addons – you’ll see several tabs (Skins, Plugins, Visualizer, etc) with a range of tools in each. To add a new tool, click one to read more about it, then click the blue Download button. Most tools download in a ZIP file, so extract the file from the ZIP, then copy and paste it into the C:\program Files (x86)\musicbee \Plugins folder, or the C:\program Files (x86)\musicbee\skins folder (which will transform the look of Musicbee).
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Music Scheduler If you like to have the radio on when you leave the house to give the impression someone’s home, you can schedule Musicbee to turn on and off at intervals. Click Musicbee, Tools, then Music Scheduler. Click Add, Edit, then in the new window click Add. Use the various boxes and dropdown menus to set start and end times, the days you want it to play and so on. Click OK, then Apply to save your changes. In our screenshot below we’ve set it to play for an hour at 9:30am and 6pm every day.
Windows 10 Media Control Overlay With this tool you can check what’s currently playing by pressing the volume up and down keys on your keyboard.
Paint.net
Go to the forum page at www. snipca.com/25971 for a collection of plug-ins created by users of the photo-editing program Paint.net. To install one, click it, then click the Download link in the forum post (ignore the large green Download button at the top of the page – it’s an advert). Once the plug-in downloads, extract it from the ZIP file, then copy and paste it into the C:\ Program Files\paint.net\effects folder.
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Google Nik Collection Google’s package of photo filters used to cost £105, but now you’re able to add them for free. First go to www.snipca.com/25974, then click the purple download button. Extract the ZIP file, then copy the ‘Psfilterpdn.dll’ and ‘Psfiltershim.exe’ files to Paint.net’s Effects folder (see file path above). To get Nik, go to www.google.com/ nikcollection, click the Download button (top right), then Windows. Once you’ve installed it, open Paint.net, click Effects (on the toolbar), then ‘8bf Filter’. In the pop-up window, click the Search Directories tab, Add, the Nik folder (at C:\program Files\google\nik Collection), then click OK.
To apply a filter to your photo, click the Filters tab, the ‘+’ (to the left of Nik Collection), then double-click any filter. After a few seconds a window will open where you can apply Nik’s filters to your photo (see screenshot above).
OFFICE SOFTWAREI Microsoft Word
Make Word do more by clicking the Insert tab, then Store (in the Add-ins group), then Store (at the top left of the pop-up window) to see a list of handy add-ins. If you know what you’re looking for, you can find it using the search bar (top left) or by filtering by category. If you’re just browsing, we suggest you sort the list by Rating using the dropdown menu (see screenshot below) to see those with the highest
user-rating first. Click a tool for a longer description of what it does. Most add-ins are free, though some are paid-for or will ‘require additional purchases’ to work fully.
To remove an add-in, click the Insert tab, My Add-ins, move your cursor over the add-in, click the three dots that appear at the top left, then click Remove.
These tools are compatible with Word 2013 and later versions. If you have an earlier version, you can use them in Microsoft Word Online ( www.snipca. com/25854). Sign in with your Microsoft account, create a new document (or open an existing one), click the Insert tab, then Office Add-ins to see a list of those available. Once you’ve found what you’re looking for, click the Add button (to the right of the add-in).
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Pexels This handy tool lets you add high-quality, copyright-free images to your Word documents. Once it’s added, click the Insert tab to see a new Open Pexels button. Click this to open the Pexels sidebar, then use the search bar to find the type of photo you want. Click an image to insert it in your document, then use the circles around the photo to resize it.
Scribens Grammar Checker If you often question Word’s spell-checking, Scribens can provide a second opinion. Once you’ve added it, highlight the passage of text you want to check, click Insert, then click the Check button (at the top right). When the sidebar opens, click ‘Check the selected paragraphs’ (it will open a browser window). Click the ‘+’ button in the window to access more options. For example, to select UK English, click the Spellcheck tab, select British English from the dropdown menu, then click OK.
Compare Text for Office This lets you quickly work out what a collaborator has added to a document you shared. Paste the text from your original document into the ‘Get 1st Text from Selection’ box, paste the text from the edited document into the box below, then click Compare to see all the differences highlighted.
Microsoft Excel
Browse Excel’s extras in the same way as you do in Word (see above). You can also use Excel’s add-ins in Excel Online ( www.snipca.com/25855).
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Gridmaster If your Excel skills need a little polishing, consider adding Gridmaster. It features video tutorials and challenges that will teach you the basics of building spreadsheets. Once added, click the Learn tab, then Browse Courses to see the available tutorials, covering everything from creating simple calculations to advanced functions.
Todo List Pro Plan the layout and contents of your spreadsheet before you create it using this list-making add-in. Unlike other add-ins Todo List Pro isn’t added to any tabs. To open it click Insert, Office Add-ins, My Add-ins, then double-click Todo List Pro (see screenshot above right).
Libreoffice
Open-source office suite Libreoffice has a wide range of extensions at https://extensions.libreoffice.org. You’ll find useful extras for the key tools in Libreoffice’s suite – Writer, Calc, Impress and Draw.
To download an extension, click the green link next to the large green down arrow. To install it, open Libreoffice, click Tools, Extension Manager, then the Add button. Navigate to your Downloads folder, click the extension, click Open, then accept the terms and conditions in the window that opens.
You’ll see the new extension listed in the Extension Manager pop-up window – restart Libreoffice to complete the installation. To remove an Extension, open the Extension Manager, select the relevant extension, then click Remove.
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Multiformatsave Ensure that the documents you create in Libreoffice Writer can be accessed by anybody, regardless of the type or age of the office software they use.
Click the Multiformatsave button (three floppy discs – see screenshot below left) on the toolbar. Tick the formats you want to save your document in – these include Writer (.odt), Word (.docx and the older .doc) and PDF – then click Save. When adding the extension don’t confuse Multiformatsave with Multisave, which no longer works. Their icons are similar.
Copy only visible cells This extension replicates the useful ‘Select Visible Cells’ command from Microsoft Excel, which is strangely missing in Calc. It lets you copy just the cells you can currently see, meaning you can copy rows and columns of data without inadvertantly including any cells you may have hidden (note: you can hide cells by highlighting the cells you want to hide, then clicking Format, Rows, then Hide).
To use the tool, select the range of cells you want to copy, then click Edit and – instead of Copy – click ‘Copy only visible cells’.
SYSTEM TOOLSI Ccleaner
There’s only one extra tool to add to Pc-optimisation tool Ccleaner, but it’s a good one. Ccenhancer expands Ccleaner so it cleans junk created by over 1,000 programs – including Libreoffice, Kodi, Musicbee, Paint.net and even Ccleaner itself.
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Ccenhancer Go to www.snipca.com/25982, click Download (in the small menu on the right), then click the orange Download Ccenhancer button. Once it downloads, double-click it to run it (you don’t have to install it). Click Yes if prompted, then click the Download Latest button (see screenshot above right). After a few seconds you’ll see an ‘Update completed’ pop-up window prompting you to run Ccleaner – click Yes.
Once Ccleaner has loaded, click the Applications tab to see the new programs Ccleaner can scan (any you have installed will be ticked). To scan your PC, click Analyze, then Run Ccleaner.
Ccleaner will support the additional programs without having to open Ccenhancer again so there’s no need to run Ccenhancer every time. However, it’s worth running Ccenhancer about once a month so that your version of Ccleaner is updated to support new programs.
Peazip
File compressor Peazip’s extra tools let you extract files from even more types of compressed folders. To get them, go to www.snipca. com/25985, where you’ll see see links for the UNACE and UNRAR5 downloads that give Peazip the ability to unpack ACE and RAR5 (the latest version of the RAR format). In both cases, click the ‘installer for Windows (all)’ link, then double-click the downloaded file.
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RAR support Adding UNRAR5 to Peazip lets you extract RAR files, but it won’t let you create them. To add that feature, first install WINRAR – go to www.snipca.com/25986, then click the blue Download WINRAR button. WINRAR does let you create RAR files, but because it nags you to upgrade all the time, we recommend you use Peazip instead.
To create a RAR file in Peazip, select the files you want to compress, click Add, then select Custom from the dropdown menu below the Output field. Next, click Advanced (see screenshot below left), click the three dots to the right of the Executable field, then navigate to and select the Rar.exe file (usually at Type the letter a into the Parameters field, then click OK to create the RAR.
Google Earth Pro
Google’s brilliant virtual globe ( www.snipca.com/25977) has layers that let you see countries’ borders and live weather systems, but there are additional tools that – literally – open up whole new worlds. The website Google Earth Hacks provides even more layers (from the surface of Neptune to the location of the house of Henry VIII’S fourth wife Anne of Cleves). To add these, go to www.gearthhacks.
com, then either use the search field (top right) or click the Categories link at the top left of the page. Click a category to browse its layers, then click the one you want. To add it to Google Earth Pro, click Google Earth (below where it says Get File). Double-click the downloaded file to add it to the Temporary Places menu in Google Earth.
If you see an error message when you double-click, it means the layer can’t be added. Unfortunately, the site isn’t maintained as well as it could be, so some of the layers no longer work properly, though these are a minority. If you keep seeing error messages, try browsing the latest additions to the site by clicking the Newest link at the top of the page.
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WWII Sunk Ships Add hundreds of markers to your map that represent the locations of ships sunk during World War Two. Click the arrow next to ‘WWII sunk ships’ in the Temporary Places menu (see screenshot above) and tick the boxes to determine which country’s ships you see.
Hadrian’s Wall See the locations of forts, milecastles, turrets and other points of interest along Hadrian’s Wall.
Calibre
To see all ebook manager Calibre’s available plug-ins, open it, click Preferences, Plug-ins, then ‘Get new Plug-ins’. Click the one you want in the list, Install, Yes, OK, then close and reopen Calibre.
To find out more about these extra tools visit www.snipca.com/25988. New tools will usually be added to Calibre’s toolbar, but you may need to click the arrow (>>) at the far right of the toolbar to see them.
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Generate Cover This lets you create covers for books in your collection that don’t have one. For example, we downloaded a cover image for The Return of Sherlock Holmes from Google Images. We then added it to our ebook by clicking the Generate Cover button, the green ‘+’ icon in the Select Image section, then the downloaded image.
Find Duplicates If you tend to download ebooks in bulk there’s every chance you’ll have the odd duplicate. To check, click the Find Duplicates button. We suggest you change the selection for both Title Matching and Author Matching to ‘Similar’ so duplicates that don’t have exactly the same title are identified.