Every Microsoft Word document contains meta information about the author, title or subject for instance. Word automatically adds those information to every created document and everyone can view the meta information by right-clicking a Word document and selecting Properties from the menu. The data can be changed with this method as well which is not a problem if only one document has to be changed but could take a long time if many documents have to be changed.

It takes so long because every document has to be right-clicked and edited on its own. Mass editing some of the settings would be nice and that is exactly what the Word Document Property Tool [download, via Lifehacker] offers.

It can scan directories and - optionally - subdirectories for Word documents with the file extension .doc. Wildcards - ? and * - can be used to find all or only specific documents. Once the folders are scanned all documents found are displayed in a list and each can be edited accordingly.

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One aspect of installing Linux has always been a major hindrance for inexperienced users. The fact that you had to partition your hard drives in order to install Linux on your computer. While the procedure itself has become easier it was always mandatory to partition your hard drive. The good news is that this is going to change with the release of Ubuntu 8.

According to Techworld (and Dante) Ubuntu 8 can be installed and uninstalled just like any other software in Windows. This is thanks to Wubi which I have written about earlier already. There is no need for an extra partition and no change to the Windows bootloader. This is a fantastic opportunity to test Ubuntu for several days or even weeks before making a decision to switch completely to Linux or dedicate hard drive resources for a Linux partition.

Wubi will be accessible in the root of the Ubuntu CD. The new version of Ubuntu will be released in 21 days, currently a beta version can be downloaded from the homepage of the Linux distribution. I will finally make the switch to Linux when I have ordered and build my new computer. Linux will be the main system and I’m currently not sure if I will keep a Windows partition on another drive. Probably will because I need it to test new applications for Ghacks.

continue reading "Ubuntu 8 makes it even easier to try out Linux"

Subtitles are essential when you want to watch a movie that has been released in a language that you do not speak well / at all. They are also great if you want to learn a language because you get to hear the original voices of the actors and can still glimpse at the translation whenever something is said that you did not understand. Subtitles are either a common appearance in your country or frowned upon. Most movies in Denmark for instance are subtitled whereas all movies that come into German cinemas are completely spoken in German.

The major disadvantage of subtitles so far has been accessibility in my opinion, at least when you take a look at watching movies on your computer. You have to know the websites and forums that provide users with subtitles and it’s more of a burden than fun to do that.

Sub Downloader [via Genbeta] could change that. This software scans various subtitle databases returning a list of subtitles for the selected movies. By default subtitles in all languages are returned which can be changed in the program’s options. If you only wanted to find and download English and French subtitles you could edit the settings accordingly.

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Doomi is a great looking to-do list for Windows that requires Adobe Air. You know that I’m not a fan of applications that look great but do not provide any other functionality that makes it worth using them. Doomi provides a simple interface in which users can enter their to-dos which will be added to the list of active to-dos. Checking an active to-do transfers it to the old to-dos which can be shown or hidden in the same interface.

By default neither the active nor old to-dos are shown in the interface, this can be changed with one mouse click however. A reminder can be set for each to-do which will alert the user after some time has passed.

The interface does not stay on top all the time and there is unfortunately no configuration menu at all. You cannot set transparency levels for instance or make the application stay on top. What I really would like to see in a new version would be support for hotkeys, transparency and a sticky interface that can be set to be always on top.

continue reading "To-Do List Doomi"

It’s already the 14th time that I’m writing this article. Each Wednesday I look back at the software that has been updated in the last seven days and create a list of the software that has been updated and mentioned before here at Ghacks. The list usually contains between 20 to 40 applications that have been updated.

If you know of one that slipped through let me know and I make sure that this will never happen again. Each time I do pick one software as the update of the week.

This time it’s Wireshark 1.00, a fantastic network protocol analyzer.

continue reading "Software Updates Week 14"