On my PC, I run aText as a text expander, AutoHotkey for task automation, PowerToys FancyZone for window management, Ditto for unlimited clipboard history, and a few other Windows tools that I install on every machine. These apps work fine, but they clutter my system tray, and managing them all gets tedious.
AlomWare Toolbox is a Windows “super app” that can replace everything I just listed and then some, at least in theory. It’s a free Windows utility that offers tons of features, comes in a portable format, and is just 4MB in size. I gave it a try, and it turned out to be a genuine jack of all trades. Not a bad trade-off for something so small.
A clipboard manager, a calendar, a notes app, an automation tool, and everything in between
AlomWare Toolbox isn’t the newest app out there, and it’s not particularly popular either. It’s an all-in-one utility that the developer built for his own convenience and then released to the public. You can download and install it for free, though you’ll need to enter a passcode after every restart (shown on the activation dialog) or pay $12/year or $40 for a lifetime license to skip the activation prompt.
The home screen lists a bunch of tab-separated utilities. The Calendar tab shows your calendar and related information, and lets you add reminders. Notes offers a quick way to jot things down without opening a dedicated app, and you can keep multiple notes. The Clipboard tab opens the clipboard manager, which holds unlimited clipboard items, including text and images.
The Files tab can replace a basic file search and backup tool. You can create real-time, versioned backups of files up to 100MB when opened via AlomWare Toolbox and restore them when needed. You can also search for files on your PC with multiple filters, bulk-rename files using a script, and monitor folders (including subfolders) for real-time changes.
Two other tabs worth mentioning are States and Map. States, in theory, let you save and restore the runtime state or a snapshot of your PC. It’s an ingenious idea, but only if it worked. I couldn’t get it to work even once. I much prefer PowerToys Workspaces to launch and position all my apps after a restart with a keyboard shortcut.
Map tracks and logs the apps, directories, and files you’ve visited on your PC. Similar to States, it only works partially and logs just the apps I’ve opened, which isn’t particularly useful.
- OS
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Windows
- Price model
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Free, Paid
AlomWare Toolbox is a productivity app for Windows that enhances your PC with automation, workflow shortcuts, and advanced tools.
A replacement for your text expanders, keyboard automation, and window management apps
I use aText as part of my PC’s automation setup. It’s a feature-rich text expander that I use to quickly write my pitch outlines, repeated email drafts, add my addresses, passport details, and anything else that’s repetitive and constant. AlomWare Toolbox does the same thing without needing an additional tool. Add the text, assign a trigger, and when you type the phrase, it automatically replaces your trigger phrase with the text.
But it’s not just for text expansion. I’ve configured the Open a website action to open our in-house text editor and a web-based photo editing tool with a hotkey. This is much easier than navigating through the web app menu.
The Open folder action quickly opens different folders for my projects, including images and my Obsidian directory. App launch does the same for apps, and Record Key/Mouse records and replays steps to automate repetitive processes. If you use AutoHotkey for basic automation, you can replicate most of it with AlomWare Toolbox.
Control Panel applets, window management, and a desktop manager
While Microsoft is transitioning away from the legacy Control Panel to the new Settings app, we still need the Control Panel for essential tasks like creating restore points, accessing File History, opening Device Manager, and more. AlomWare Toolbox clearly agrees, giving you quick access to plenty of Control Panel items directly from the app’s interface.
Click PC Tweaks, then choose from the different applets. Some essential tools you can access are Device Manager, Power Options, User Accounts, Indexing Options, and recovery options.
PC Tweaks has a few more options. Hover your mouse over Make all windows, and you can make all open app windows centered, dimmed/undimmed, and minimized/maximized. Sort desktop files is another handy feature that automatically sorts different file types into their own subfolders on your desktop.
AlomWare Toolbox is a Windows ‘super app’
AlomWare Toolbox is more than a gimmick. It has basic and some advanced tools that can replace at least half a dozen apps from my current stack. It’s one tool, it’s portable, and I don’t have to manage multiple apps for basic functionality like clipboard management, text expansion, and quick automation.
While some advanced features like States and Map don’t work as effectively as I’d hoped, the core functionality is solid enough to make this worth using. For a 4MB portable app that doesn’t require installation, it delivers a surprising amount of utility. If you’re looking to declutter your system tray and consolidate your Windows utilities, AlomWare Toolbox is worth trying out.