NAPS2 — The Complete Guide: Scanning Straight to Searchable PDF in the Office
NAPS2 is a free scanning app for most scanners, including feeders and duplex, saving searchable PDF with built-in OCR. For delivery notes and site minutes.
Guides and Articles
OCRmyPDF — The Complete Guide: Making a Scanned Archive of Reports and Standards Searchable
OCRmyPDF adds a text layer to scanned PDFs without changing how the page looks, so old reports, standards and drawings become searchable. PDF/A, batches, setup.
PDF Arranger — The Complete Guide: Assembling Calc Packages and Drawing Sets From Many Files
PDF Arranger shows PDF pages as thumbnails: drag, rotate, crop and delete. A free way to assemble a structural calc package or submission from many sources.
WebPlotDigitizer — The Complete Guide: Extracting Data From Plots in Standards and Catalogues
WebPlotDigitizer turns an image of a plot into a table of values: calibrate the axes, trace the curve, export. Get curves from old standards and datasheets.
Kimai — The Complete Guide: Time Tracking per Client and Project for Design Offices
Kimai is open-source time tracking on your own server: clients, projects, hour budgets, reports and invoices. What is free, what is paid and what it needs.
WeKan — The Complete Guide: A Trello-Style Kanban Board on Your Own Server
WeKan is an open-source, Trello-style Kanban board you install on your own server: boards per project and cards with due dates and checklists for design tasks.
PTC Mathcad Express — The Complete Guide: Engineering Calculations in Maths Notation, and What the Licence Allows
Mathcad Express is the free, reduced edition of PTC Mathcad: calculations in maths notation with units and plots, for non-commercial use only. What Prime adds.
GeoGebra — The Complete Guide: Graphing, Geometry and CAS in One Place, and What the Licence Allows
GeoGebra combines graphing, geometry, 3D and CAS in one app. Free for non-commercial use by students and teachers; use that earns revenue needs a licence deal.
Qalculate! — The Complete Guide: A Smart Desktop Calculator With Units and Constants
Qalculate! is an open-source desktop calculator that understands units: full conversion, physical constants, uncertainty propagation and symbolic algebra.
EngineeringPaper.xyz — The Complete Guide: An Engineering Calculation Sheet With Units in the Browser
EngineeringPaper.xyz is a Mathcad-style calculation sheet in the browser: automatic unit checks and conversion, equation solving and plots. Open source.
iRIC — The Complete Guide: A Free Environment for River Flow and Bed Changes
iRIC is a free environment for river flow, bed changes, sediment transport and flooding: meshing, solvers and results in one interface on 64-bit Windows.
HEC-ResSim — The Complete Guide: Free Simulation of Reservoir Operations
HEC-ResSim from the US Army Corps of Engineers models one reservoir or a system under release rules: levels, storage and flows over time, for floods and supply.