If you’re someone who uses a Windows PC daily—whether for work, content creation, or casual browsing—then you’ve probably noticed that while Windows is powerful, it can sometimes fall short in usability. That’s where third-party tools come in.
In this blog post, we’re diving deep into six free and incredibly useful tools that improve your productivity, enhance system functionality, and make your overall Windows experience smoother. Whether you’re a developer, designer, or everyday user, you’ll find something here that you’ll wonder how you ever lived without.
Let’s start with your ears—literally—and work our way through vision, productivity, search, and aesthetics.
🎧 1. EarTrumpet – Advanced Volume Control for Windows
Before we explore other tools, let’s fix one of the most frustrating parts of Windows—the volume mixer. EarTrumpet is a powerful alternative to the default volume controls built into Windows.
Why It’s Better Than the Default:
Instead of navigating through multiple menus to change volume per app, EarTrumpet lives in your system tray and gives you one-click access to all running programs’ volume sliders.
How to Use It:
- Download it from the Microsoft Store: EarTrumpet on Microsoft Store
- After installation, it appears in the taskbar (system tray).
- Simply click on the EarTrumpet icon.
- Use the sliders to individually adjust the volume of apps like Spotify, Chrome, Discord, etc.
💡 Pro Tip: Place it on the opposite side of the built-in volume icon for quicker access.
👁️ 2. Monitorian – Easy Brightness Control for Multiple Monitors
Let’s move from your ears to your eyes—because screen brightness matters a lot when you’re editing, working late nights, or dealing with eye strain.
The Problem:
Windows doesn’t offer a native, easy way to adjust brightness for external monitors (especially desktop setups).
Enter Monitorian:
Monitorian allows you to control the brightness of up to four monitors simultaneously from the system tray.
How to Use:
- Download from the Microsoft Store: Monitorian on Microsoft Store
- It also lives in your system tray.
- Click it and adjust each monitor’s brightness using sliders.
This is incredibly handy for dual or triple monitor setups, especially when switching between tasks like video editing and reading.
🧰 3. Microsoft PowerToys – The Swiss Army Knife for Windows Users
So far, we’ve handled volume and brightness—let’s now tackle productivity.
What is PowerToys?
PowerToys is an open-source toolkit by Microsoft that includes 25+ utilities to supercharge Windows. It’s designed for power users but can be incredibly useful for anyone.
Download here: Microsoft PowerToys on Microsoft Store
Let’s take a closer look at some of the best tools inside PowerToys:
🔹 Key PowerToys Features:
Before listing the tools, a quick note: you can access all of them via the PowerToys Settings interface after installation. So far, so good? Let’s explore the highlights.
✔️ Advanced Paste
Lets you paste text as:
- Plain Text
- Markdown
- JSON
Perfect for developers and writers who constantly switch formats.
✔️ Always on Top
Allows you to pin any window above others. Want your calculator or video to stay on top while browsing? This is your solution.
✔️ Color Picker
Press Win + Shift + C to pick any color from your screen. It copies the color in the format of your choice—Hex, RGB, etc. Ideal for designers.
✔️ Image Resizer
Adds a right-click menu option to resize multiple images at once. No need to open Photoshop or Paint.
✔️ PowerRename
Batch rename multiple files using search/replace rules. Especially useful for photographers, archivists, or bulk file organizers.
✔️ Text Extractor (OCR)
Use it to extract text from any image, window, or locked interface (e.g., error dialogs). Just click and drag a selection and it captures the text to your clipboard.
📝 Bonus Tip: PowerToys gets frequent updates. Check GitHub or the Microsoft Store for the latest additions.
🧑💻 4. VSCodium – Privacy-Respecting Code Editor
Now let’s pivot a bit—for developers or anyone dealing with code, VSCodium is a fantastic alternative to Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code.
What Makes It Unique?
VSCodium is built from the same open-source codebase as VS Code, but it removes all telemetry and Microsoft tracking components.
This makes it:
Download here: https://vscodium.com/
If you’re privacy-conscious or want a clean, fast code editor, VSCodium is worth a try.
🔍 5. Everything – Blazing-Fast File Search
If there’s one tool I can’t live without on Windows, it’s Everything by VoidTools.
Why It’s Better:
- Instant search results as you type
- Minimal resource usage
- No lag or delays like Windows File Explorer search
How to Use:
- Download from: https://www.voidtools.com/
- It indexes all your file names in real-time.
- Just type the filename or keyword—it’s instantly located.
Use this instead of the native Windows search. You’ll thank yourself later.
🌗 6. Auto Dark Mode – Intelligent Theme Switching
If you often switch between light and dark modes depending on the time of day, this utility is for you.
Why Use Auto Dark Mode?
Windows lacks a built-in scheduler for light/dark theme switching. This app solves it elegantly.
Key Features:
- Automatically toggles light and dark themes
- Can follow:
- Custom hours
- System sunrise/sunset based on your location
- Windows Night Light setting
How to Get Started:
- Download here: Auto Dark Mode on Microsoft Store
- After installation, enable the feature manually from the left-hand settings pane.
- Set your preferences for day and night transitions.
💡 Tip: Pair it with Night Light to reduce blue light in the evening for better sleep hygiene.
FAQs
Q: Are all of these tools free?
Yes, all six tools mentioned are completely free to download and use. No subscriptions, no hidden costs.
Q: Do these tools slow down your system?
Not at all. In fact, most are optimized to be lightweight and resource-friendly.
Q: Can I use these on Windows 11?
Absolutely. All of them are fully compatible with both Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Q: Are they safe to install?
Yes. All downloads are either from the official Microsoft Store, the official developer website, or GitHub (open-source repositories).
Final Thoughts
So far, we’ve covered audio control, display brightness, system productivity, private code editing, powerful search, and theme automation—all using free tools that are either open-source or created by developers with productivity in mind.
These aren’t just “nice-to-haves”—they solve real problems that Windows users face daily. Once you start using them, you’ll wonder why these features aren’t baked into the operating system itself.
If you’ve been looking to improve your workflow without installing bloated or shady software, this collection is a great starting point.
Tags:
windows tools, eartrumpet, monitorian, powertoys, vscodium, everything search, auto dark mode, windows utilities, system productivity, free software, microsoft store tools, ocr windows, brightness controller
Hashtags:
#WindowsTools #PowerToys #EarTrumpet #Monitorian #EverythingSearch #AutoDarkMode #FreeSoftware #VSCodium #WindowsProductivity #SystemTools
Disclaimer:
All tools mentioned are free to use as of the time of publishing. Please download them from the official sources listed above. Always verify permissions and update settings based on your usage and privacy preferences. This article is for educational and productivity enhancement purposes only.
