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Everybody's brain works a little differently. In the same way that "one size fits all" clothing doesn't fit anybody very well, one size solutions to data management aren't probably going to work the best for you either. A tool that lets you work in a way that makes sense to you will always be preferable.

TreeSheets is an interesting app that combines the best of spreadsheets, mind mapping apps, outliners, and more. By bringing in aspects of all of these tools, it can help you to get more done. You can organize your data hierarchically, so it's easy to keep related information together. Use it to build To Do lists, keep track of appointments, jot down random bits of information you need to be able to find—the possibilities are really endless. And the price is right, of course: it's free.

TreeSheets is available for Windows XP and Vista, as well as Linux (it's beta-level software), and OS X (alpha here, so you should expect some rough edges and maybe even be prepared for some data loss).

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The Windows clipboard may be one of the most important features that this operating system offers. The ability to grab text out of one document and stuff it into another is something we take for granted today, but way-back-when, you couldn't do that. Sometimes, though, the clipboard does its job a little too well.

As you know, depending on the circumstances, when you stick text on the clipboard, you may bring a bunch of formatting along with it. That may be fine in some situations, but you also run the risk, when you then paste that text into a word processing document that you're going to screw-up your document's formatting, imposing the formatting of your little clipboard snippet on it instead. That's probably not what you wanted. If this has happened to you, you might want to check out HovText.

This clipboard-enhancement tool makes it easy to strip non-text data out of your copy-and-paste activities. Now instead for bringing a bunch of formatting along with it, you'll get the text, and only the text. Once you've pasted the content into your target document, you can go ahead and format your heart out.

HovText is a free Windows application. It runs on any Win32 platform from Windows 95 on up.

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XML code lives in text-only files. Sometimes, though, that file can get pretty complicated. While you can write XML, or HTML, C++, or any other code in a plain old text editor, it may be easier to work with an IDE that lets you keep track of what you're really creating.

Cooktop is an editor and development environment for XML and related files. It uses color coding to help you keep track of where you are. It checks for validity and well-formedness, so you won't have to worry about whether your code will do what it's supposed to.

It comes with a warning, however. Because it's doing a bunch of different things all at the same time, it may save files—and overwrite earlier versions—with no advance warning, and without asking you for permission first. Because of this behavior, they advise that you be sure to work with a copy rather than your only existing version of a file.

Cooktop is a free Windows application. It comes in two flavors: one (version 2.2) for Win95 through XP, and another (2.5) form NT/2000/XP only.

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If you have the fortune—or misfortune—to work on two different computers, then you know all about the challenges of keeping the documents on them "in sync". You want to make sure that you're always working on the latest copy of the Johnson proposal, and you certainly don't want to replace the newest version with something you dug up from last week. If you start copying files willy-nilly from one machine to the other, you run the real risk of overwriting your hard work with some lame earlier draft.

Briefcase Plus can help you keep a handle on all these documents. Load your documents into briefcase and move them to your other machine. Make your edits, and save them back into the briefcase. Now when you return to the first machine, you've got those latest edits, and you can sync them with the files on your first system. It's only going to overwrite files on your computer with files from the briefcase with a later timestamp, which means that you shouldn't have to worry about working half the night, only to get last week's version of that report back. Briefcase files are compressed, so you can carry a bunch of data back and forth with you

Briefcase Plus is a free Windows application. It runs under all 32-bit flavors of Windows, from Win95 up through (at least) XP.

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By their own admission, the folks who put together MonoCalendar think that iCal is pretty hot. Unfortunately, with iCal being an Apple product, there isn't much interest on the part of the folks from Cupertino in making it available on any other platform. That's where MonoCalendar comes in.

Designed specifically to run on Windows, MonoCalendar lets you enter and track events and meetings, set alarms and reminders, and otherwise do all the stuff you'd expect from a well-behaved calendaring app. Drag appointments around the screen to change their times. It supports multiple calendars, so your work and home life don't have to collide, but you can superimpose them on one another so that you won't schedule that important meeting at the same time as Sallly's Little League game.

MonoCalendar is admittedly a work in progress. The developers would love to get your feedback on what they've got so far, and ask for your input and feedback.

MonoCalendar requires version 1.1 of the .NET Framework.

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You're a busy guy (or gal). You've got a lot on your plate, and it's just too much to try to keep track of everything you have to do. You've tried various "to do" list tools, but there's still something lacking. You might want to check out Task Coach.

This tool lets you schedule the stuff you've got to do, with start date, due date, completion date (not always the same as the due date), and more. In addition to keeping track of regular tasks, you can build "compound tasks", recognizing that sometimes things are more complicated than others. By keeping track of sub-tasks, you have a better handle on your progress, and can use your resources to best advantage.

Task Coach is alpha-level software, which means you don't want to use it for mission-critical information. It's available for Windows (Win2k and later), Mac (OS X 10.4 and newer), and several flavors of Linux.

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if you type a lot, and what you type is complicated, you're probably a big fan of autocomplete. You may have seen it in action in your web browser—start typing in the domain name of a site you visit frequently, and up pops the rest of the name, just waiting for you to select it, rather than having to type it into the address box. This type of help is particularly useful when you're writing code. Some of those function names are pretty long, and as we all know, neatness counts, and getting close doesn't mean much either.

While lots of IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) provide autocompletion, not all do. And even then, maybe you'd like to add this functionality to a plain-vanilla text editor or some other app.

LetMeType is an autocompletion tool that works with any application. It runs in the background behind your other apps, and after a while it analyzes what you type and starts to make its own suggestions. It's certainly easier to type a letter or three, rather than to have to enter some long, complicated text. And you don't have to worry about typos, because you're not doing the typing. Of course if you misspell a word religiously while LetMeType is learning, you may teach it that wrong spelling.

LetMeType is a free download. It runs on Windows systems.

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For storing multiple files, archiving tools are the way to go. Whether it's a part of a formal backup process, or you just need to squirrel some stuff away, it's great to be able to grab a bunch of files and just ZIP them up and put them away. Not only do you have the advantage of cramming everything into a single file—making is much less likely that you'll lose any of it—but the fact that you're compressing these means that you'll have to dedicate much less room to storage than you did when the files were still in their original form.

Filzip is a free tool that lets you create archives of all shapes and descriptions: ZIP, Microsoft's CAB files, Java JAR files, TAR.GZ tarballs, and more. Add password protection if you like; convert between various formats; and even make your archive self-extracting, so you can send it along to somebody else without wondering whether they have the right tool to open it up. In addition, it can extract files from several additional archive formats, including ARC and RAR.

Filzip is a free download for Windows.

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Whether you're building websites or just moving a bunch of files from here to there, you're familiar with File Transfer Protocol—FTP—applications. These are the magical tools that let you connect to remote servers and move your files around, as if their folders were living on your local machine. There are a bunch of different tools that can give you a hand with this process, but each one of them has a bit of a learning curve. If you want to transfer a file, do you drag-and-drop? or double-click? or maybe type a name into a textbox? It can get confusing.

With Fling, you don't have to be confused any more. You just create a Fling folder on your desktop, or other location on your local system. Now when you need to transfer a file, you just drag in into that folder. You can configure whether file transfer will take place immediately, or if you want to do things in batches—maybe once an hour or so. It makes it easy to update your website, keep a remote copy of files you're working on locally, or to move your files to just about any other remote location. You can even right-click on files in Windows Explorer to upload them directly, without having to drag them around on your desktop. How easy is that?

Fling is a free Windows application. It runs under any system from Win2k on up.

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If you've got a portable computer, then you know that you probably spend too much time tweaking configurations. Your network at home uses fixed IP addresses; the network at school uses DHCP; when you plug into your buddy's system, you've got yet another set-up to deal with. What a pain in the neck.

NetSetMan is a tool that helps take some of that pain out of frequent system reconfigurations. Rather than having to fiddle with each setting one at a time—IP address, default gateway, DNS servers, and all that—you can save whole configurations. Now it's just as easy as choosing a profile when you move from here to there. In addition, it helps you to keep track of your computer's name, printer addresses, workgroups, and more.

NetSetMan is a free Windows application. You can use it for any non-commercial purpose (home, school, non-profit). If you want to use it at work, you need to upgrade to the "Pro" version.

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