ESBUnitConv is a free unit-conversion utility. It rapidly and accurately converts more than 564 units of measurement in 21 categories. You can customize its look, too. While it’s true you can find many of the unit conversion tools it packs on the Web, it’s doubtful you can find them all in one spot, and with ESBUnitConv on your desktop, you can get the solution in less time it takes to load your browser and a Web site, let alone search for the right one.

ESBUnitConv has an attractive interface with subtle but effective colors. The layout packs a lot of information in a compact space, thanks largely to a two-tiered toolbar offering 21 tabs, everything from Acceleration to Velocity and including Energy, Flow, Fuel Consumption, Illumination, Radioactivity, and Torque. Large From and To labels and color-coded fields distinguish source and converted data fields. Clicking any tab opened its From and To choices in separate windows. So when we clicked Mass, we could choose to convert Berkovets into Centners (Metric or Short Metric) or Funts into Lots (the Russian kind) and so on: You’d have to walk many Smoots to find a tool that does so much. The program notes that most conversions are only accurate to four significant figures, which is plenty accurate for our needs and most other uses. Anyone requiring greater accuracy on any particular conversion is probably a scientist anyway and ought to know how to go about getting it, in our view. We performed a variety of unit conversions using ESBUnitConv, and it certainly did the job for us, and quickly too. The program’s Options include display colors, tool tip hints, a popup calculator, and a few other choices. For the most part, this tool is self-explanatory.

Of course, you can usually find a Web-based conversion tool that will do the job ESBUnitConv does without needing to download and install a program, even one as compact as this one is. But ESBUnitConv is exactly the sort of tool you’ll start looking for after the third or fourth attempt to find one Web-based tool that does everything it does. If you find yourself searching for conversion tools now and then, we recommend ESBUnitConv. If you need a conversion tool regularly, it’s essential.