November 1999

TechCenter

One Computer Geek's Utility Programs

Resources for File Conversion, Editing, Internet Searches

By Kevin Lewis

This month I would like to share some tips concerning the utility programs that ease my day-to-day workload. I will outline a few exceptional programs that I utilize on a regular basis to compress files, edit plain text files, convert different file formats, and search the Internet more effectively.

One of my most trusted utility programs is WinZip, which allows me to create, view, and decompress archived files. Zip files are especially appealing because they save both time and space by decreasing download time and transferring attachments faster. WinZip also has some neat little utility add-ons: The Internet browser support lets me download and open Zip files from the Internet with one click, and the WinZip command line support lets me execute batch files and macros automatically without a graphical user interface (GUI).

Two handy utility programs that I regularly use to edit plain text--to create, view, and change simple text files--are Programmer's File Editor and UltraEdit32. I prefer these programs because they allow the user to create macros necessary to reformat a file. UltraEdit32 also will convert many different formats such as Macintosh and EBCDIC into ASCII. Both programs are particularly helpful when I import data files into our membership program or into a program to do a mail merge.

Finally, when I need to conduct an Internet search that is either very broad or obscure, I use a program called Copernic. It employs the power of approximately
20 different search engines at once and will therefore return a vast amount of information. To narrow your search, you may specify the informational format or topic that you seek (i.e., web pages, e-mail addresses, newspaper articles, software, or sports). As an added bonus, Copernic allows you to save your searches so you can simply double-click on your saved search to recall the information instead of recreating it from scratch.

Below are the web addresses for the programs I have mentioned. All are available to download as trial versions or shareware.

WinZip, Nico Mak Computing
http://www.winzip.com
IDM Computer Solutions (UltraEdit)
http://www.ultraedit.com/
Copernic 99
http://www.copernic.com

These programs are only a select few of my favorites because they quicken my daily tasks. I share them with technology readers because they are reliable and user-friendly. Though numerous utility programs are available on the Internet, none is likely to match the four I have mentioned for their respective purposes. I would like to learn readers' favorite utility programs, and I welcome your top picks so I can try them out. E-mail them to me at klewis@nysscpa.org.

For more information, please contact NYSSCPA Manager of Technology and Information Systems Kevin Lewis at (212) 719-8340, (800) 633-6320. *