Software and Free Trial Downloads
Useful Software Downloads
What if the library does not have the software I need to use?
Many software companies offer free trials to try out their products. For class assignments, a particular software may only be used for a short period of time. A trial version can often offer full usage of the software for your assignments.
There are also many open source software downloads becoming available which can offer cheaper and no-cost alternatives to more expensive software. These programs are often also referred to as freeware.
Below is a list of software trials and downloads that may be useful. Click on each software name to go to their homepage to find out more details about the trial length of time, hardware requirements, and other information.
This software cannot be downloaded onto library computers and is instead for use on your own personal computer.
Product
Type
Description
Free
Needed to read PDF files.
Trial
Free trials of Adobe products such as Dreamweaver, Illustrator and Photoshop.
Freeware
Audacity® is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.
Browser Software
Free
(Mac)
Trial
Software tools for publishing and managing bibliographies on the Windows and Macintosh desktop.
FTP
Free
File Transfer Programs (FTP)
(Windows) (Macs) (Windows)
Freeware
GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed piece of software for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.
Trial
Inspiration® is the essential visual thinking and learning tool students rely on to plan, research and complete projects successfully. With the integrated Diagram and Outline Views, learners create graphic organizers and expand topics into writing.
Microsoft Office 365 contains Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access, Publisher, Outlook, Skype for Business, InfoPath, and OneDrive for Business. The software is cloud-based and is available via http://office.mu.edu Your CheckMarq / eMarq credentials are required.
Free Trial
Microsoft Office Visio 365 is cloud-based software for IT and business professionals to visualize, explore, and communicate complex information. While built on the Office 365 platform it is not included in Marquette's Office 365 subscription.
Alternatives:
Freeware
These "learning management systems" provide calendar, assignment, grading, and quiz functionality and are often implemented just for these practical benefits. They can also enable discussion forums, chat, instant messaging, and wiki capability.
Freeware
Now called Apache OpenOffice. OpenOffice.org is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.
Freeware
Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for PCs that run Windows.
Freeware
RefGrab-It works with your browser to capture bibliographic information from web pages giving you the option to import that data into your RefWorks account.
Freeware
Write-N-Cite is a utility that allows users to run an abbreviated version of RefWorks in their word processor.
Freeware
VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, ...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. Can be used on Windows or Mac computers.
Free
Marquette utilizes a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for accessing e-resources when not on campus. Your CheckMarq / eMarq credentials are required.
Zip (compression) Programs
Free
