topbanner_forum
  *

avatar image

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?

Login with username, password and session length
  • Thursday March 28, 2024, 5:51 pm
  • Proudly celebrating 15+ years online.
  • Donate now to become a lifetime supporting member of the site and get a non-expiring license key for all of our programs.
  • donate

Author Topic: Windows 8 toolbox, freeware  (Read 2702 times)

Curt

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • **
  • Posts: 7,566
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Windows 8 toolbox, freeware
« on: November 07, 2012, 10:38 AM »
I don't have Win 8, so I can't say for sure if this app is any good,
to me it looks like an app for a smart phone, but I found it under 'desktop tools':

http://downloads.pca...box-for-windows-8-10

System & Desktop Tools > Toolbox for Windows 8 1.0

If you're frustrated by the way Windows 8 limits you to viewing just one or two Modern UI apps at one time, then Toolbox for Windows may be able to help: it provides 9 built-in productivity tools which you can arrange or organise as you like.

You get a browser, for instance, a Facebook client and weather app. A Notifier warns you of upcoming events; Doodle is a very simple drawing tool; there's a voice notes applet and unit conversion tool, and you get a clock and calculator thrown in for good measure.

And what really matters is you don't just have to have one of these active on the screen at a time. You can have two, three, four, five, six maybe, arranged more or less as you like (although they can't overlap), and Toolbox can even save these layouts (which it calls "toolsets") for easy access later.

Sample toolsets on offer to help you get started include "Brainstorming", for instance, which loads the browser, Voice Notes and Doodle apps. "World Travel" loads separate weather and clock apps for Seattle, Brooklyn and Berlin, so you can see the current time and conditions in each place all on one screen. While "In the News" opens four browser windows, each with their own custom news search.

And of course you're free to either customise these layouts, swapping one app for another, customising the details of each one, or create entirely new toolsets of your own.

There are also some issues here. The apps are generally fairly basic, for instance, and it really needs a text editor. Toolbox for Windows 8 does offer far more flexibility in your app layout than Microsoft managed, though, and that alone makes the app an essential download.

Verdict:

Toolbox for Windows 8 provides an easy way to view and access multiple apps on your screen, all at the same time.
2012-11-07_173802.gif

« Last Edit: November 07, 2012, 06:42 PM by Curt »

wraith808

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • **
  • default avatar
  • Posts: 11,186
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Windows 8 toolbox, freeware
« Reply #1 on: November 07, 2012, 01:50 PM »
You know, that reminds me of that active desktop thing that I made before... :)