10 Helpful Windows Apps You Should Try in 2020

1. QuickLook

The free QuickLook app is a pretty simple app that enables a quick preview of files using the space bar. It’s so easy and so handy. We can preview any file easily and can keep pressing the down arrow to preview all the files in a folder quickly. There are no additional tools here, but the preview window has an option to open the file in one of the apps you use. So you can do that if you want to identify it. So yeah a QuickLook is a relatively simple app, but if you want more control with the quick look feature, you can check out the Seer Pro app available in the Windows Store.

2. ueli

Windows 10 search is pretty decent, but I don’t blame you if you don’t find it very powerful and that’s where the ueli app is. It is so handy that it brings launchable windows, which is very similar to spotlight or Alfred on mac. So basically you can press Alt + space to open up the ueli launcher and then quickly launch apps, files, search for files or search for something online, new calculations and a lot more. It’s, and it’s customizable so you can customize the look of the launcher and you can create custom shortcuts plus it’s all free.

3. Groupy

Last year Microsoft announced new sets feature for Windows which would let you use multiple apps as tabs in a single window but that’s delayed, and well Groupy is an app that brings a similar feature to Windows. The app lets you use different apps and software in the same window in a browser like tab style. It’s super handy and if you’re worried that multiple browser travel ruined don’t worry as Groupy groups tabs from a single app like the browser into a single collection. Yes, Groupy is pretty impressive, and it has a range of customization options which a lot of you will like. It’s available in a free trial for 30 days after which you’ll have to pay five dollars for the full version.

4. Franz

Accessing your emails, your WhatsApp messages, your Facebook messages, your SMS is all from your PC can be quite a task well into Franz, a super cool app that lets you access all of these in one unified interface. Yeah with Franz you can add the services you use. You can log in with your accounts and start using everything in a single app, and it’s not just handy for different services, I like to use it to access my two gmail accounts because we all know that accessing your different Gmail accounts from the browser can be a lot of pain. So yeah it’s a handy Windows app plus it’s free so yeah it’s fantastic.

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5. ShareX

Now includes a pretty handy screenshot tool ShareX. A screenshot and screen recorder tool that’s lightweight but packed with features. First of all, with ShareX you can take different types of screenshots the usual screenshots, the screenshot of a region, the app window, a scrolling screenshot or even set things to auto capture plus what I like is I can set actions for when the screenshot is captured. So I can set ShareX to save the screenshot automatically, upload it to a host like Google Photos and open the editing tool. It’s, and it even lets you record your screen in the usual vampy four, or you can create a Jeff if you want. ShareX is a free tool that has you covered on all fronts, so check it out.

6. PeaZip

Almost all of us have used WinRAR, and you’ve got annoyed with those trial expired. It’s time to switch to PeaZip, which is a free compression tool and is feature packed. Most importantly, it lets you open almost all type of compression file formats out there, and it enables you to create archives in almost all the formats out there. It not only lets you create encrypted archives; you can even generate file archives with two-factor authentication. Apart from that, there all the features you can expect from a compression tool like building file manager, secure deletion of files, and more.

7. WizTree

If you have a laptop with 128 GB SSD or even 256 GB SSD, you must have faced low storage issues. Well, there are times when you don’t have an idea of what is taking up so much storage. Well, check out WizTree, super useful software that finds the files and folders using the most disk space on your hard drive. It’s simple, open the tool, select the drive, and click on scan after which the tool shows you a visual map of your files so that you can see the large files with ease. So yeah, WizTree is handy plus its free software so check it out.

8. Converter Bot

Next, we have Converter Bot, and this is for people who are tired of installing new apps to open up different files. It’s a handy little app that supports more than 300 file types so you can preview any file you want and convert them to a file type you want. Let’s say you have a PDF file. You can load it up and convert it into a PNG or jpg. Overall Converter Bot is a super handy free tool to have on your Windows PC.

9. EarTrumpet

Windows 10’s volume control is not the best. Surely you can find all the options buried inside, but it’s not very intuitive well. If you feel the same, you should check out EarTrumpet, which is a compelling volume control app. The app lets you control volumes of individual apps, and that is something people will find handy. I like the ability to quickly switch between default audio devices and the ability to move apps between playback devices. So I can set a music app to play on the speaker while setting the sound of the game I’m playing to my earphones. EarTumpet is available for free on the Windows Store so check it out.

10. MultiSwipe

Windows 10 has support for a few multi-touch gestures, but what if you want more. Well, MultiSwipe lets you create your very own two finger, three finger or even four finger gestures for the touchpad and the touchscreen. It should work fine on most laptops. MultiSwipe is available for a free trial of fifteen days after which you’ll have to get the full version at five dollars.

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Awesomeness!

I can finally ditch the paid Snagit in favor of the free ShareX, which is so much cooler and faster (and now I can even capture GIF/mp4 without a hassle, yay!)

As for QuickLook, I’ve been waiting for this one to be more feature-complete since I’ve switched from MacOS to Windows - and it even provides XYplorer integration, it’s just perfect!


Some alternatives I recommend:

  • Wox instead of Ueli, Wox having support for multiple useful plugins & skins thus mimicking MacOS’ Alfred much better :wink:

  • TreeSize instead of WizTree, which is much faster and better looking IMO


Finally, MultiSwipe looked really promising until I tried it - it’s buggy, it’s slow, and some of the gestures partially work, leading to chaotic shortcuts being triggered, ugh!

P.S. and I must not forget to include Eagle, one of the best cross-platform picture/video organizer out there, really suited for designers, and so much cooler than acdsee or lightroom!

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Thank you! :slight_smile:

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