Recently, I’ve come across a number of truly outstanding pieces of software and I just wanted to give their creators their due credit for helping to make my life easier.
A.F.5
A.F.5 is a Windows-based file renaming utility by Alex Fauland. I was recently in a tight spot when I had to change the case of over 10,000 image files as part of the import of a new catalogue range into an e-commerce website. The suppliers of the database had obviously only tested on a platform that wasn’t case-sensitive (i.e. Windows) because hundreds, perhaps even thousands of them didn’t match up with the file names used in the product records. Thankfully, Alex’s free software saved me from tearing my hair out.
Firebug
There are so many things to like about Firebug, but I think the most valuable feature by far is the inspection tool. If you’ve ever worked on web pages that are styled with a large number of CSS classes then you’ll understand just how much of a tangled mess it can be when you’re trying to figure out what CSS rules are in force across different elements of the page. For example, you may have a link in a list that’s not displaying in the expected font. Now, is it the CSS class of link or perhaps the list item? Maybe it’s the font of the unordered list or one of the divs that it inherits from? Firebug can quickly tell you the CSS that’s in effect just by pointing at an element on your web page.
Another likeable feature is the ability to edit HTML and CSS directly through your browser. This negates the need to constantly upload new versions of files when you’re tweaking code.
Note that this is a Firefox add-on and as such requires Firefox as a prerequisite!
Maian Support
Maian Support is a helpdesk script with many of the features you’d find in some other infinitely more expensive systems like Kayako’s eSupport including:
- Multiple support departments each with their own user groups.
- Built-in knowledge base for storing FAQs and tutorials.
- Attachments in support tickets.
- Live support module.
- CAPTCHA to prevent spam submissions.
- Automatically close unanswered tickets after a specified period.
- Template-driven design.
- And much more!
There are plenty of commercial alternatives that are nowhere near as good as these applications so their authors deserve a big thank you from me.
Thank you!
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