Have you ever noticed how wretched Windows' file search feature is? It's slow, limited and flawed. And it's only getting worse: the Windows XP search is even shoddier than its predecessors in earlier versions of Windows.
These inadequacies have not gone unnoticed. Not only have users bemoaned the lack of a decent search facility, but companies such as Google and Yahoo! have spotted the need for something better. Even Microsoft has recognised its own failings and – while not putting it in so many words – has sought to plug the search gap with its own downloadable tool.
The result is a deluge of new desktop search programs. They're all designed to make it easier for you to put your finger on the precise item you need, whether it's an old email, a photo, a Web page you visited sometime in the past, or some other document. Each of these programs indexes the contents of your computer. After the initial index is built, results of your searches are displayed with astonishing swiftness.
| geekgirl.tip |
| Before you install any desktop search program, make sure you have plenty of free hard disk space. Google Desktop Search, for example, takes a healthy 5 gigabyte chunk for an average index. |
Desktop v. web-based search
The 'desktop' tag distinguishes these search programs from Web-based search engines. A Web-based search lets you track down information on the Internet; a desktop search lets you dig through files and email on your computer as well as sift through your browser history.
Desktop search programs are not new. Companies such as Australian-based ISYS have had products on the market for years. What is new is the flurry of free or inexpensive consumer-oriented programs, designed for searching single, standalone computers. These new programs don't have the depth and flexibility of tools such as ISYS:Desktop or X1 Desktop Search, but they are quite sufficient for most users.
| geekgirl.tip |
| There are over two dozen desktop search tools available. The Goebel Group has a useful comparative listing of almost 20 of the major products at. |
Google kick-started the current round of offerings with Google Desktop Search. Since its launch, most of the other Web-based search sites have got in on the act. There's a serious game of feature leapfrog taking place as each company vies for consumer attention and approval, and new versions of each program add support for additional file formats as well as interesting new features.
There are a dozen or so free desktop search tools available. The leading contenders are Google Desktop Search, Copernic Desktop Search, MSN Toolbar Suite and Yahoo! Desktop Search.
| geekgirl.tip |
| Most of the desktop search programs will let you start searching even before they complete creating an index of the content of your hard drive. But to make the most of these programs, give them a chance to perform a full index first – if left uninterrupted the process should take anything from half an hour to about 10 hours, depending on how many files you have stored. |
Copernic Desktop Search
Copernic has been making search tools for years. Its Desktop Search program is one of the best available. Like almost all of the desktop search programs, Copernic lets you search the contents of Microsoft Office documents (with the exception of Access databases). It also supports text documents, email and email attachments, email contacts, images, audio files, video, Adobe PDFs, browser history and bookmarks, HTML pages stored on your hard drive, and WordPerfect documents, plus documents stored on network drives. Email search includes support for Thunderbird and Eudora as well as Outlook and Outlook Express. Recent versions let you search the metadata stored in audio and video files.
| geekgirl.tip |
| You can use Copernic's pull-down menus to build advanced search queries. Alternatively, use Boolean search terms such as AND, OR and NOT, nested searches using parentheses, and phrase searches using quotation marks to hone your searches. Many of the other desktop search tools also support some or all of these Boolean operators. |
Copernic Desktop Search also includes a Web search option, based on the AllTheWeb search engine. You can use Copernic Desktop Search either from its own window, by typing a search into a toolbar integrated into the Windows taskbar, or via an integrated toolbar in Internet Explorer or Firefox. A preview pane lets you view the contents of most files or preview audio or video without having to open a separate application.
Copernic's Desktop Search program is one of the best. (Click image to see a full-sized screenshot.)
Google Desktop Search
If you live in your browser, check out Google Desktop Search (GDS). Once installed, GDS adds a Desktop option to the Google Web site's regular search options. Perform a Web search and, at the top of the usual Internet listings, GDS will note the number of matches existing in your email, files, chat logs and browser history.
Alternatively, click the Desktop link at the top of the Google page to perform searches of your computer directly from within your browser. GDS also provides a search box you can use instead of the browser option, so you can search your desktop without opening your browser.
| geekgirl.tip |
To back up the Google index:
To use this index to restore a lost or corrupt index, turn Desktop Search off and replace the C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Google Desktop Search folder with the one you saved. Then turn Desktop Search back on. |
Best of all, GDS keeps a (text-only) history of files you have edited; this feature lets you resurrect previous versions of some files – a real lifesaver if you've deleted what you're looking for or if you have multiple versions of a file.
The downside to GDS is that it supports a limited number of file formats, although the number appears to be increasing with each new version of the program. It also provides only limited support for searching for files on network drives.
MSN Toolbar Suite
Microsoft has rolled up a number of tools into the triple-whammy MSN Toolbar Suite. Its trio of toolbars includes a Desktop Search, an Outlook-based search, and a search box integrated into Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer. As you might expect, the Toolbar Suite does a thorough job of indexing Microsoft Office documents, Outlook email, appointments, contacts and tasks, Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, and MSN Messenger chats, but baulks at indexing file formats from many other vendors and doesn't support non-Microsoft browsers. It supports Adobe PDFs with the addition of a plug-in.
While the MSN toolbars integrate with various Windows components and applications, they chew up a lot of real estate and, with the exception of the nifty Desktop toolbar, are a little clunky to use.
Included with the toolbars are Internet Explorer add-ons including a pop-up blocker, online password manager and form fill-in utility. If you're an Internet Explorer die-hard, it makes a great choice.
Yahoo! Desktop Search
For broad file support, it's hard to go past Yahoo! Desktop Search. It lets you search for almost any filetype and search the contents of many files, within the broad categories of email, attachments, contacts, files, pictures and music (not videos). You can't use it to track down files on a network (something that Copernic does well), but it is highly flexible when it comes to searching a single computer.
| geekgirl.tip |
| Fill in the fields at the top of Yahoo! Desktop Search's window to narrow your search by file type, date and so on. |
Yahoo! Desktop Search integrates into Microsoft Outlook and displays all search results in its own window, with a preview window where the contents of the selected file are displayed. YDS lets you save any search, making it easy to repeat the search in the future.
| geekgirl.tip |
| If you like to get your news via RSS feed or newsgroup, some desktop search tools, such as Hotbot, index this content as well. |
© 2005 Rose Vines
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