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The tools I use to run -XL- Development

A couple of people have asked what I use to run my business so I decided to come up with a list of all the different tools I use for -XL- Development.

Dev/Design Tools:

  • Visual Studio 2010 – Developing XL Delete, XL Screen Streamer, and other secret stuff.
  • ReSharper – Helps me code in Visual Studio, highly recommended.
  • RealStudio – Developing XL Share Board, XL Screen Streamer for Mac, and more secret stuff.
  • RAD Studio XE 2 – Developing UPnP Wizard, the upcoming XL Screen Recorder, and yes…some more secret stuff.
  • PhpStorm – Working on the customer portal and other scripts.
  • Espresso – Working on the XL site while on a Mac.
  • Expression Web 4 – Working on the XL site while on a PC.
  • FlashBuilder –  For the ddvanced client viewer in XL Screen Streamer.
  • MonoDevelop – For something that is coming soon.
  • MonoTouch and Mono for Android – Yes, some mobile apps are coming.
  • Balsamiq – Creating mockups and prototyping.
  • Help & Manual 6 – Writing our help files.
  • ColorSchemer Studio 2 – Helps me come up with nice color palettes.

Management:

  • Customage – My custom CMS and backend tool (web and desktop).
  • Trello – For day to day tracking of tasks.
  • Mint – Track expenses.

Source Control:

  • Perforce – My main source control solution.
  • SVN – Yes I use two different types of source control.
  • Cornerstone – SVN tool for Mac.
  • SmartSVN – SVN tool for Windows.

Web:

  • Twitter – Follow us.
  • Facebook – Like us.
  • WordPress – For our blog.
  • Google Adwords – To help you find our products 🙂
  • Google Analytics/Clicky – For web analytics.
  • SeoMoz – To optimize the XL site.
  • AddThis – Helps you easily share our site.
  • Zoom Search Engine – To create the search engine on the XL site.
  • MailChimp – To create product newsletters.

Support Tools:

  • SupportTrio – Helpdesk and knowledgebase.
  • Zopim – Live chat.
  • Zoho Assist/Meeting – For customer meetings and live support.
  • XL Screen Streamer – I use our own tool for live presentations and demos 😉
  • FogBugz – Bug reporting and tracking.
  • Google Apps – Email.
  • Camtasia (Windows & Mac) – To create product demos.
  • Kall8 – For our toll-free numbers.

ECommerce:

  • Plimus – Reseller.
  • FastSpring – Our new reseller, will slowly replace Plimus.

Other:

  • Snagit – For taking screenshots.
  • InstallAware – To create our Windows installers.
  • DMG Canvas – Helps create our Mac DMG files.
  • Visual Build Pro – Automates the build and deployment process.  This is a life saver and a must for anyone who is building apps on Windows.

I probably forgot a couple of tools but these are the ones I use almost daily to run -XL- Development.

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