Windows apps that massively improve your comfort and your productivity
Tags: windows, tooling, workflow
Published: 2022-07-01 07:21:04

---
title: Windows apps that massively improve your comfort and your productivity
published: true
description: You are close to having tabs in Windows Explorer, converting medias in two clicks, setting and sync lightness on several screens, and more !
tags: #windows #tooling #workflow
cover_image: https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/1sbtfhleb0tltwo9ipp3.png
---
Whether you are dev or not, these apps are pure gold if you're looking to improve your productivity and your comfort at work.😁 
I spent a lot of times to find a solution that fix windows UX issues and improve my work comfort. Most of the apps are free, some will cost you a few dollars for a lifetime license. For me, it worth it.

## TLDR / The tools featured in this article
- [Groupy](https://www.stardock.com/products/groupy/) → less than $10 → Tabs in Windows Explorer (you can group any app window too).
- [Monitorian](https://github.com/emoacht/Monitorian) → Free / Open Source → Set and sync the lightness of yours additional screens
- [Tray Status](https://www.traystatus.com/) → Freemium → show status of cap lock / Verr num.
- [File converter](https://file-converter.org/) → Free / Open Source → convert any media file with 2 clicks. ❗ Be careful, for images, the default settings are a bit aggressive.
- [Microsoft PowerToys](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/) → Free / Open Source → 12 features including App launcher, color picker, custom placement zone, explorer enhancements, images resizer
- [Animotica screen recorder](https://screenrecorder.animotica.com/) → $10 (with 7 days trial) → very user-friendly screen recorder.
- [Animotica video editor](https://www.animotica.com/) → Freemium / $16 → Edit and create professionals looking videos in no time. I really like their products. Efficient and cheap.
- [QuickLook](https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/quicklook/9NV4BS3L1H4S) → Free → Open quickly a file by pressing "space bar".
- And "just" a shortcut to get an emoji or special character : "Windows" + ";"

## How to have tabs on Windows Explorer
It's 2022, the first UI Tab was released in 1998 and my native Files Explorer still not has f*cking tab ! Luckily, I found a smart solution with [Groupy](https://www.stardock.com/products/groupy/). Rather than have an alternative file explorer, I keep the native one and Groupy can group any windows in tabs for me.
![Screenshot of Windows File Explorer with tabs](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/5ijn791hq38vzwulvf7c.png)
I find this approach very smart. Stardock focus and solves one specific problem and let you use the app of your choice. I remember that I had to change some settings for having a "native like" experience. Here are the settings : (in French, but the UI remains the same)
![Screenshot that shows 2 Groupy options checked : "Group Automatically "explorer.exe" window and "Always show tabs for that type of window"](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ull1lms50yjw4snwd0tq.png)
![""](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/aarw451z1zbjwgijm9gz.png)
![""](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/71jm8sinh7dzgmewgc60.png)![""](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/v7f75dywwp2l5zosc0cm.png)

## Set and sync the lightness of yours additional screens
It seems weird for me that I have to solve this problem by installing an app. It should be a native option. Anyway, [Monitorian](https://github.com/emoacht/Monitorian) is free and well integrated.
{% twitter https://twitter.com/DavidPollet_/status/1541344379369136130 %}

## Get the status of cap lock / Verr num right in your taskbar
Again, this should be a native option. 😤
![Screenshot of Tray Status](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/1dlrczqe9s1z02mujo6r.jpg)
[Tray Status](https://www.traystatus.com/)

## Convert any media in two clicks
![Demonstration of file converter. The user on this demo do a right click on a file and convert it](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/uhp7iwsqv7tgis2hcxc5.gif)
[File converter](https://file-converter.org/)

## PowerToys : Microsoft, I forgive you 💗
Microsoft isn't kidding you with powertoys. 😄 It shipped an app with twelve tools ! My most liked : 
- App launcher with some useful add-ons (calc, launch VS Code project, unit converter)
- Color picker accessible by keyboard shortcut
- Image resizer in the contextual menu
- FancyZone for having custom screen distribution
- SVG overview in explorer
And for the rest, visit [Microsoft PowerToys website](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/)

## Screen recorder user-friendly
![The user interface of Animotica screen recorder](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/1f3zj0dcugk9o01qcpu8.jpg)
[Animotica screen recorder](https://screenrecorder.animotica.com/)

## Edit and create professionals looking videos in no time
{% youtube https://youtu.be/4PLXKWYeWoU %}
[Animotica video editor](https://www.animotica.com/)

## Open quickly any file by pressing space bar
![Screenshot of Quick Look app](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/dqid8w84bf7ma2bbmyqp.jpg)
[QuickLook](https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/quicklook/9NV4BS3L1H4S)

## Get an emoji or special character
{% twitter https://twitter.com/DavidPollet_/status/1539519295281061888 %}

Have you some useful tools to share ? 🙂

Credit for the cover : [jcomp - freepik.com](https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/freelancer-working-laptop-her-house_11879394.htm)