Applications used to produce documents, spreadsheets, diagrams, bibliographies, or to accomplish clerical work and applications that are either a component of the operating system or helps to extend the operating system in some way including applications to visualize operating system environments. As well, applications focus on the direct transfer of files between two computers.
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ABBYY FineReader is an optical character recognition (OCR) software that converts paper documents, PDFs and digital photos of text into editable files. Documents can be scanned, saved or exported out to Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe Acrobat formats. The software can also convert text into editable formats from smartphone or digital camera photos of a document.
Microsoft Access is a database management system with a graphical user interface and software-development tools. It is a member of the Microsoft Office suite of applications, included in the Professional and higher editions or sold separately. Access is produced for the Windows platform only.
Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software and web services developed by Adobe Systems to view, create, manipulate, print and manage files in Portable Document Format (PDF).
Acrobat Pro can create, edit, convert, digitally sign, encrypt, export and publish PDF files. Acrobat.com complements the family with a variety of enterprise content management and file hosting services.
Acrobat Pro is available to UNCC by request as part of the Adobe Creative Suite 6 Design and Web Premium package or separately.
The Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free PDF reader that allows for reading, copying, printing, and basic annotation of PDF files. It also allows the user to open encrypted for write-protected PDF files. One popular use is to fill out pre-made forms that are generated using Acrobat Pro. Acrobat Pro or a comparable PDF authoring program is necessary to create or change structure within a PDF.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is available on MacOS and Windows.
Availability: Faculty/Staff
Adobe Bridge helps organize files and assets for creative projects. Files can be renamed, color coded or assigned star ratings through batch processing. Users can also locate assets by file type, ratings, or camera type.
Availability: Free download
Comparable: Visio
Dia is free and open source general-purpose diagramming software, roughly inspired by Microsoft Visio. Dia uses a controlled single document interface (SDI) similar to GIMP and Inkscape.
Dia has a modular design with several shape packages available for different needs: flowchart, network diagrams, circuit diagrams, and more. It does not restrict symbols and connectors from various categories from being placed together.
Dia has special objects to help draw entity-relationship models (obsoleted tedia2sql or newer parsediasql can be used to create the SQL DDL), Unified Modeling Language (UML) diagrams, flowcharts, network diagrams, and simple electrical circuits. It is also possible to add support for new shapes by writing simple XML files, using a subset of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) to draw the shape.
Dia loads and saves diagrams in a custom XML format which is, by default, gzipped to save space. It can print large diagrams spanning multiple pages and can also be scripted using the Python programming language.
Dia is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux and is available to download at no cost here.
EndNote is a reference management software package used to manage bibliographies and references when writing essays and articles. It’s produced by Thomsons Reuters and has a thirty day free trial, student pricing, and volume licensing available.
EndNote groups citations into “libraries” with the file extension *.enl and a corresponding *.data folder. There are several ways to add a reference to a library: manually, exporting, importing, copying from another EndNote library, connecting from EndNote. The program presents the user with a window containing a drop-down menu to select the type of reference they require (book, newspaper article, film, congressional legislation, etc.), and fields ranging from the general (author, title, year) to those specific to the kind of reference (ISBN, abstract, reporter’s name, running time, etc.) Most bibliographic databases allow users to export references to their EndNote libraries. This enables the user to select multiple citations and saves the user from having to manually enter the citation information and the abstracts. There are some databases (e.g. PubMed) in which the user needs to select citations, select a specific format, and save them as .txt files. By then going to EndNote, the user can then import the citations into the EndNote software. It is also possible to search library catalogs and free databases such as PubMed from within the EndNote software program itself. If the user fills out the necessary fields, EndNote can automatically format the citation into whatever format the user wishes from a list of over two thousand different styles.
Endnote is available to all UNCC faculty and staff by request and is pre-installed on most systems.
Availability: Windows Labs | Faculty/Staff | Download
Microsoft Excel is the spreadsheet application in the Microsoft Office Suite. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications. It has been a very widely applied spreadsheet for these platforms. Excel also facilitates basic statistical functions and data visualization. Excel is available on the MacOS and Windows platforms.
FileMaker Pro is a cross-platform relational database application from FileMaker Inc, a subsidiary of Apple Inc. It integrates a database engine with a GUI-based interface, allowing users to modify the database by dragging new elements into layouts, screens, or forms. Current versions are: FileMaker Pro 13, FileMaker Pro Advanced 13, FileMaker Server 13, and FileMaker Go 13 for iPhone and iPad.
Since 1992 Filemaker Pro has been available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS, and can be used in a cross-platform environment. FileMaker server briefly ran on Linux, but Linux support was abandoned with FileMaker 7, and the server currently runs only on Windows or OS X servers. It is available in desktop, server, iOS and web-delivery configurations.
Foxit Reader is a multilingual freemium PDF tool that can create, view, edit, digitally sign, and print PDF files. Early versions of Foxit Reader were notable for startup performance and small file size. Foxit has been compared as an alternative to Adobe Reader. The Windows version allows annotating and saving unfinished PDF forms, FDF import/export, converting to text, highlighting and drawing.
FreeMind is a free, open source mind mapping application written in Java. It provides extensive export capabilities. It runs on Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac OS X via the Java Runtime Environment.
As with other mind mapping software packages, FreeMind allows the user to edit a hierarchical set of ideas around a central concept. The non-linear approach assists in brainstorming new outlines and projects as ideas are added around the mind map. As a Java application, FreeMind is portable across multiple platforms and retains the same user interface, causing some amount of variation from the common interface on each platform. Mac users may notice the most difference from their traditional user interface, but the software’s features should still appeal to the segment of users who accept function over form.
GanttProject is open source Java based, project management software that runs under the Windows,Linux and Mac OS X operating systems. It features most basic project management functions like a Gantt chart for project scheduling of tasks, and doing resource management using resource load charts. It does not have advanced features like cost accounting, message and document control. It has a number of reporting options (MS Project, HTML, PDF, spreadsheets).
Google Apps is a service from Google providing independently customizable versions of several Google products under a custom domain name. UNC Charlotte has Google Apps for Education which integrated with Active Directory.
Google Apps features several Web applications with similar functionality to traditional office suites, including Gmail, Google Groups, Google Calendar, Drive, Docs and Sites.Read more…
Google Docs is a cloud-based word processor that can be accessed directly through any web browser. Documents are automatically saved to Google’s servers (Google Drive), and a revision history is automatically kept so past edits may be viewed (although this only works for adjacent revisions, and there is currently no way to find and isolate changes in long documents). Documents can be tagged and archived for organizational purposes.
Docs also gives users the ability to share the document. Typically when a normal document is shared the recipient accesses a copy from one point in time. With a Google Doc the document is shared in real-time, so recipients can always access the most recent version of the document. Doc owners can also grant permissions for the recipient to comment on the document, edit, or revision. This introduces real-time collaboration, where multiple users can be editing the same document simultaneously, see each others’ edits, and even chat with each other in a sidebar. There are many other powerful features in Google Docs.
UNCC has the basic Google Apps suite available for all faculty, staff, and students.
Google Drawing is a basic cloud-based paint/drawing application that can be accessed directly through any web browser. Drawing is useful for making basic sketches, diagrams, and performing basic image editing. Drawings are automatically saved to Google’s servers (Google Drive), and a revision history is automatically kept so past edits may be viewed (although this only works for adjacent revisions, and there is currently no way to find and isolate changes in long documents). Documents can be tagged and archived for organizational purposes.
Drawing also gives users the ability to share the document. Typically when a normal document is shared the recipient accesses a copy from one point in time. With a Google Drawing the document is shared in real-time, so recipients can always access the most recent version of the document. Sheet owners can also grant permissions for the recipient to comment on the document, edit, or revision. This introduces real-time collaboration, where multiple users can be editing the same document simultaneously, see each others’ edits, and even chat with each other in a sidebar.
Google Forms is a tool that allows collecting information from users via a personalized survey or quiz. The information is then collected and automatically connected to a spreadsheet with the same name. The spreadsheet is populated with the survey and quiz responses. Forms can be embedded in websites for surveys, information gathering, request forms, sign-up forms, etc.
Google Sheets is a basic cloud-based spreadsheet editor that can be accessed directly through any web browser. Spreadsheets are automatically saved to Google’s servers (Google Drive), and a revision history is automatically kept so past edits may be viewed (although this only works for adjacent revisions, and there is currently no way to find and isolate changes in long documents). Documents can be tagged and archived for organizational purposes.
Sheets also gives users the ability to share the document. Typically when a normal document is shared the recipient accesses a copy from one point in time. With a Google Sheet the document is shared in real-time, so recipients can always access the most recent version of the document. Sheet owners can also grant permissions for the recipient to comment on the document, edit, or revision. This introduces real-time collaboration, where multiple users can be editing the same document simultaneously, see each others’ edits, and even chat with each other in a sidebar. There are many other powerful features in Google Sheets.
Google Sheets can also be linked to a Google Form to collect data for surveys, web forms, and many other purposes.
Grab is an application created by Apple Inc. for Mac OS X that is used to take screenshots. It supports capturing a marquee selection, whole window, whole screen, and timed screen.
This application is pre-installed on all recent Macintosh systems. It can be found using the Spotlight function (keyboard shortcut: CMD SPACE) or in the Utilities folder under Applications. The Grab utility can also be found in the Finder as a menu item by selecting “Services”, then going to “Grab”.
The only image format for screenshots taken by Grab is TIFF.
Inkscape is professional quality vector graphics software which runs on Linux, MacOS, and Windows. It is used by design professionals and hobbyists worldwide, for creating a wide variety of graphics such as illustrations, icons, logos, diagrams, maps and web graphics. Inkscape uses the W3C open standard SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) as its native format, and is free and open-source software.
Inkscape has sophisticated drawing tools with capabilities comparable to Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW and Xara Xtreme. It can import and export various file formats, including SVG, AI, EPS, PDF, PS and PNG. It has a comprehensive feature set, a simple interface, multi-lingual support and is designed to be extensible; users can customize Inkscape’s functionality with add-ons.
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