What office worker’s day would be complete without sending out documents? Since PDF files are smaller and nearly everyone in the known universe has a PDF viewer, I usually send out PDF files instead of Word documents.

Here are two free time saving tools in the PDF category: CutePDF and doPDF. They both install like a printer on your compure and work similarly: you select them when printing any document (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, etc.) and the tool then prompts you where to save the resulting PDF file.

Not only will you save time creating PDF files with these tools, but you’ll save your recipients time opening the files. This is especially true if they are using the very fast Foxit PDF reader. Plus, because you send them a PDF, you’ll know how the content will look when it is printed. No worries about how their printer renders a document differently than yours.

Over time, Microsoft Windows collects a lot of junk that will slow down your computer. Left over items from uninstalled software, for instance, can include old files as well as registry entries. Left to accumulate for months, these things bog down your PC’s performance. To save time, you need to clean these leftovers out of your system.

Clean up the registry and delete old, unused items with CCleaner.

We’ve discussed the obvious safety need for backup software like Mozy or Carbonite. But since most files are lost through accidential deletion by the user (that would be you and me), it’s handy to know that you can actually UN-delete those files with a utility like Undelete Plus (www.undelete-plus.com). That’s right — you can get a “do over” even after you’ve deleted the file yourself! Cool, huh?

If you have not written over that area of your hard disk yet, recovering a lost file with an undelete program can be faster than restoring it from your backup. And if you haven’t been bludgeoned into backing up your files yet, well, this could be just the bacon-saving utility you need!

Undelete Plus has won thirteen different awards and, as of this writing, is free which makes it even more attractive.