🛠️ Tools I Use Every Day

I do use lot of tools and software, so I am just going to focus on tools that I use for development or productivity.

🧑‍💻️ Development

Visual Studio Community

• My favorite tools for C# development
• It has all functionality you need for modern desktop app development
  • Code suggestions and live error reporting
  • Code Refactoring over multiple files
  • Git Integration
  • Unit testing
  • Tools to build installer
• I am using it for
  • building my CAD Add-ins
  • VSTO apps for office
  • C# console apps, or libraries for internal use
  • occasionally for python or VB.NET development

Visual Studio Code

• my tool of choice for python development or markdown note taking
• this software is insanely versatile; you can use it for any type of development
• Number of Extensions available for this is just insane
• I am using it for
  • python development
  • version control for VBA projects
  • note taking
  • building this website
  • developing scripts using bat files, AutoHotKey scripts, PowerShell scripts

Rubberduck

• it’s opensource tool for VBA development with direct integration with Excel, Word, PowerPoint VBA editor
• It has added functionality that inbuilt VBA editor lacks
  • Code suggestion
  • Code refactoring
  • Code explorer -Feature to export entire project for version control
• I am mainly using it for VBA development

Ribbon X

• it’s opensource software that allows you to build custom ribbon using xml for Office Apps
• I am using it for developing custom ribbon for Office for C# app and VBA both

Git and Github

• I think most people don’t know what git is or difference is between these two especially in our domain
• Git
  • It is version control tool which allows you to keep track of all changes in your code
  • It helps you manage different versions of your projects, so you can easily revert to previous states if needed
  • Think of it as a software that keeps a detailed history of your project’s development
  • It’s just command line tool, if you need User Interface then you have to use software that support Git like Visual Studio Code or Source Tree
• Github
  • GitHub is a web-based platform that uses Git for version control
  • It provides a collaborative environment where developers can store their code, share it with others, and work together on projects.
  • It’s like a social network for programmers, where you can contribute to open-source projects, review code, and manage your own repositories.
• I am using git for version control all my projects and GitHub to store all my code online, so I can share it with my clients or access to older version of project if I need it

Source Tree

• It’s software which allows you use version control on your project with nice user interface
• I’ve used this for Git and Github for few years but not using anymore since Visual Studio Community and Visual Studio Code got inbuilt support for Git and Github

Wix Toolset

• It’s tool which allow you to build custom installers for your software or add ins
• This is not needed if you’re just using software for internal use
• I normally use it for C# projects since I have to provide good installation process for my clients so it must have tool for me

☑️ General Productivity

Ditto

• It’s clipboard manager app with history and search functionality. means I can paste item which I’ve copied 2 weeks ago
• it allows you to copy paste any type of information text, images, videos, any type of file or folder
• This is my all-time favorite tool ; I am using it for last 7 years and it’s still irreplaceable
• I am using it for
  • My coding
  • General tasks note taking, managing files

Powertoys

• It’s a set of utilities tools for power users. This tool is hard to explain in words, you must use it to experience it.
• I am only few tools from this on regular basis
  • PowerToys run to quickly find files, folders, settings I need
  • Color Picker tool to find color Id from my screen
  • Mouse utilities to customize my mouse behavior
  • File Locksmith for checking which files are in use and by which processes

AutoHotKey

• It’s software which allow you to build script for windows
• I am using for
  • Keyboard keys mapping
  • Mouse keys mapping
  • Hotstrings for typing repetitive info like company name, contact info, Today’s date for file or folder name

Quick Look

• It’s an app which shows you quick preview of file contents by pressing the Spacebar.
• you can check out any file without opening it

Terminal

• it’s application for command prompt or PowerShell
• most people don’t need this, but I do spend lot of time using command prompt since lot of software I use don’t have user interface

StayFree

• It’s Apps to blocks Apps or websites so you don’t get distracted while working
• It even allows you to limit use of certain apps
• All data sync across my browser, desktop and Android phone
• I am using it for
  • Blocking all social media apps during my work time
  • Limit use of selected apps, like use LinkedIn or outlook for 30 min per day
  • Keep track of time I am spending on each app on weekly and monthly basis

📝 Notes or Documentation

Notion

• All my general note taking happen notion, support almost everything codes, latex support, charts, tables.
• I use notion when i have to write something from scratch or brainstorm new idea for project of content, it’s minimal and distraction free just perfect for writing content
• Everything i learn or read from books, articles, YouTube videos goes here
• This is great replacement and free to use tool for lot of our daily needs like Todo list, calendar, project planner, journal
• Only con is that it doesn’t work offline

Github

• It’s perfect for documentation related to specific project or Programming
• I have lot of generalized code to manage that i reuse on multiple projects so that all goes to GitHub

Onenote

• Anything that I don’t want to share it with other goes here
• Bank account or Payment details, personal Ids or government documents, phone numbers , Wi-Fi passwords, private journal
• It works offline, we can password protect our notes and great mobile app for Android and IOS

📷 Media

Camtasia

• It’s best screen recorder and editing tool
• I am using it for
  • making my YouTube videos
  • making tutorials for my clients for internal use or just communication

Powerpoint

• Yes, I use PowerPoint to edit images
• It works offline, don’t have insane amount of functionality like Canva
• I am using it for
  • All image editing when I don’t need anything fancy
  • All the graphics you see on this website is generated using PowerPoint only
  • I’ve lot of VBA custom tools built for PowerPoint to generate or update PowerPoint content

Canava

• super versatile web tool to create any time content
• it’s very popular tool so not going to go in detail
• I am using it for everything that I can’t do with Camtasia or PowerPoint