Essential Writing Tools
Have you ever lost work you have written? Here are a few ways to possible get it back.
1) Google Desktop
Google Desktop works very much like Google itself - except it does so on your computer. It searched (very fast) through all your documents, emails, websites that you have visited.
If you have ever used the Windows search function you know how slow that is. Google Desktop works at the speed you know from Google and it looks at all the text, not just names of files.
You can choose whether to show emails, web history or files (and what type of files). You can sort by date or relevance. And there is a thumbnail preview.
So if you ever need to search for something, Google Desktop is for you.
The concern: Google Desktop prepares an index of all your documents and files. Naturally they promise privacy, but I am not sure whether the index is kept on your computer or at Google’s servers.
2) Google Desktop Cache
It gets even better.
You know how you sometimes delete a file and then you notice that you still need it? Naturally the recycle bin is a good place to look, but if it is gone from there…
Google Desktop includes a caching function. That means that there are at least two versions of all your documents. The current one on your computer and the cached one (most probably on Google’s servers).
So even if your current document is deleted, Google Desktop will still find the cached version and you can access it. (This is also really useful, if you have deleted text out of a document and not saved it as a new version.) If you want the deleted text back, chances are you will find it in one of the Google Desktop Cached versions.
3) Cache on the Internet
That same tool also exists for Google on the Internet. But you might know that already. If I need to get the content of websites from even earlier, I use one of my favorite writing tools: The Wayback Machine
It takes snapshots of all the Internet sites at intervals. I think the frequency depends on how often the site changes.
Great tool for research.
4) Backup
As we are on the topic of old versions and backup: Do you backup? How often?
I always hated it. If I was really onto it, I would do it monthly, but usually I did not get to it until much later.
Now I use an online backup system. Each day, my new and changed files are uploaded and kept safe.
Just the feeling of doing the right thing is fantastic.
They have a free version for home users, the business version starts from $4.95.
The drawback: When you delete something from your computer, those files also get deleted in the backup system. But as I’ve shown you above, there are ways around that.
5) No More Spam
You know what, I am going to leave that for tomorrow.
So even though these are not direct writing tools, they are certainly helping me to make my life easier.
If you are after writing tools that help the style of your writing, you might want to check these 50 writing tools.
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