5 Freeware Apps for Searching Thy Desktop Awesomely
5 Freeware Apps for Searching Thy Desktop Awesomely
Posted 08/29/2010 at 8:25am
| by David Murphy
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This week’s Freeware Files come courtesy of podcast aficionado (and mother of the epic dream date winner from podcast #36) R. Ellen Ferare. Or, rather, you can thank her for the idea. We got to talking this past weekend and she noted that she’s been having trouble finding a legitimate way to search through her desktop for this, that, and the other. Obviously, Windows’ built-in search functionality just isn’t cutting it—and I don’t blame her for thinking so. It’s slow, it’s bloated, and I’ve personally found that it just doesn’t quite get the job done compared to other applications out there.
“Other applications,” of course, is just a code phrase for what’s really on everyone’s minds: Google Desktop. But it would sure be boring to just write 75 words saying, “Don’t use Windows Search; Use Google Desktop. Eat a cupcake.” There’s more to life than what Google bestows. And, in fact, you might have legitimate privacy or performance concerns when using Google’s great—but not deal-breaking—search utility. For example I hate that the service only indexes your drive when your system is idle. That doesn’t do me a lot of good if I need to quickly search through new contents I’ve added to a particular location.
So, grievances aside, what does one do if one doesn’t want to use Windows built-in search tools or Google Desktop to sift through one’s computer for information? Solution: Try out one of the five freeware apps buried below the jump. They vary in format and features, but all are designed to fix some aspect of system searching that, right now, just isn’t being fulfilled by the two big aforementioned apps.
Let’s begin.
DocFetcher
Google Documents has a fun little quirk whereby one can actively search through the contents of files—I’m talking about that-which-is-displayed in either a Word or Excel document—instead of just searching your drive for a particular file name (which, to be fair, it also does). But if you don’t want to deal with Google, or a mass-index of your entire computer, or any of that nonsense, then DocFetcher is the super-trimmed-down application you’ll want to use for your searches. It does create an index on a destination folder prior to your search, but you can specify this—and the exact kinds of files you’ll be looking for—prior to your entry into Searchland. After that, finding contents within your files is as easy as typing your desires into the search box and hitting enter.
Download it here!
FileSeek
I mentioned the indexing process above. In case you’re unfamiliar, here’s what I’m talking about: applications like Google Desktop run throughout the entirety of your system to build a working repository of information related to its contents—the index. Using the index to perform searches is much, much faster than running through your whole drive with each and every query. On the flip side, perhaps your one-shot search item doesn’t really need a full index—building one from the ground up does take time, after all. And what if you can use parameters to better restrict the search, which could ultimately increase the list of files that your app doesn’t even have to consider?
Enter FileSeek: This non-indexing search tool comes with a plethora of options for defining your search in the most explicit terms possible (that’s “detailed,” not “naughty”). Better still, it integrates directly into your right-click context menu in Windows; you’ll never need to use the boring ol’ Windows Search ever again, trust me.
Download it here!
Everything
Well, it’s named appropriately, that’s for sure. The beauty of Everything is that it dumps the power of a desktop search into a completely portable application. That’s right—slap this little one on a USB key to bring real-time search results of a given system (or specified folder) to any system you want. The super-speedy tool allows you to drill down your search for files by filtering the results using specific letter cases, words, or file location. And, as mentioned, it’s super-easy to include or exclude locations you don’t need to look through.
And did I mention it’s portable?
Download it here!
Index Your Files
While it’s easy to boast about this app’s useful, Windows Explorer-like interface, and filtering capabilities for your searches, and things like that… these features aren’t all that different from those found in the applications I’ve already discussed. At some baseline level, a good search tool has a pretty standard set of functions: Index Your Files is no exception.
Where the app differs, however, is in its use of multiple indices to speed up the searching process. That’s right—you can index more than one location at a given time, which is an especially helpful feature if you’re looking to quickly search a specific folder on your system and, say, the contents of a single drive elsewhere on your network. Specificity, specificity, specificity! That’s how this app rolls.
Download it here!
File Name Tag Explorer
So, I’ve covered a number of different ways you can go about performing a real-time search across your system or networked contents. Now, let’s flip the equation around a bit and consider things from an entirely different angle. File Name Tag Explorer presents just such a paradigm shift (yes, I hate that phrase too). Instead of searching for the contents of files, or file names, this app allows you to slap Flickr-style tags on as many files as you want. You’re searching by topic now—click on the “freeware” tag, for example, and you’ll be given a list of those files with which you’ve previously bestowed this identifier.
Now, I get a headache just thinking of having to tag all the files on my drive before being able to reap the benefits of this application. For what it’s worth, File Name Tag Explorer does assist you in auto-tagging files—it’s not perfect, but it’s not like you have to manually enter every tag, eh?
Download it here!
David Murphy is a technology journalist and former Maximum PC editor. He writes weekly columns about the wide world of open-source as well as weekly roundups of awesome, freebie software. He enjoys searching for files as much as he enjoys searching for buried treasure. Yarrrr.
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snaikbyte
August 31, 2010 at 2:53am
Everything is outstanding. I've used it for years. I do know where my files are located, but it's easier to type in a word (or partial word) for a file-name than to navigate to the file's location in Explorer (or xPlorer2 - another outstanding app).
Everything also allows the results of your search to be sorted by file size, file type, directory, etc.
It's a life-saver and a time-saver.
Cudos to Dave for alerting others to this great little utility.
DigitalMan
August 30, 2010 at 10:29am
As a long time user of the free Agent Ransack I've upgraded to FileLocator Pro (both from Mythicsoft) for Windows 7. I'm a software developer and use it mainly for searching through project files and source code.
reutnes
August 30, 2010 at 9:48am
Between Launchy and Everything, I think all my search-related bases are pretty well covered.
Lhot
August 30, 2010 at 3:02am
.and unless you're one of those people who thinks a 1.5TB HDD for a primary HDD is a "good idea" then here's some news from the grave (the XP grave?) Windows XP search works fine. I used 'Tweak UI Power Toys' to turn off all the XP doggy search stuff...and I can find anything I search for in a few seconds (like 2-5 seconds) on either my 300GB primary or 1TB secondary HDD's. Win XP search works at this speed WITHOUT the Indexing Service even turned on.
Personally I think Win7 or Vista must either be giving off fumes to distort peoples perceptions, OR they have way too much cr*ap on their comps, OR Vista and Win7 really do s*ck. I only ran Win7 and Vista briefly before I dumped both of them and went back to XP Pro.
Now if these extra search apps seem to be needed on your comp....I'd say there's some other problem messing up your searches. Win XP Pro searches my primary partition in about....2 seconds and both my HDD's in about 5 seconds. If thats too slow for anyone...then maybe the Windows search function ISN'T the problem....maybe you should buy or build a real computer instead. Ya know like one with a fast processor...or maybe add some RAM.
All I REALLY know for sure is that I sure miss the "Softy Awards" that used to appear every spring in the magazine. .....and that noone needs a 3rd party search app :/ Better yet, just call Adobe and ask them to write a search app...that'd be loads of fun.
Finding great freeware apps that ARE necessary is a lofty and honorable goal. But maybe we can find some freeware apps that do things that Windows doesn't already do all by itself hmmm?
Lastly, I have NEVER seen the need for a gigantic primary partition or HDD...they take longer to backup, any scan of any kind takes forever...etc etc etc. But I'm retired...and just maybe there IS a need for 800K of extra apps or programs or files or Windows GUI improvements (yeah right) on your primary partition or HDD, in todays business world. More likely though, I think its just folks running the "supposedly bad built-in Windows search" on either a way too large primary HDD or partition or that you just have way too much junk on.....your....what..... 1.6Ghz netbook :/
Obviously XP Pro is still the best Windows OS, that is, if freeware search apps are actually necessary on your Vista or Win7 machine. In this everyone saves everything age...which I do as well....hearing that MaxPC thinks I need a better search engine than the one in XP Pro...just sorta proves my point.
THERE, I just did a search for an .avi I know is on my 2nd HDD and on the slower portion of that HDD on Win XP Pro...it took 4.3 seconds by stopwatch to find it. I also just did a search for every *.bmp on my entire comp...by stopwatch...3.2 seconds for 1.7GB of .bmp's. A search for every .dll file (*.dll) took 4.4 seconds. [My entire comp has almost 400Gb of data on it] If that's too slow....then maybe you need some time management or data management classes instead.
NOTE: MY primary partition is 50GB (10GB of data) on a 300GB WD Velociraptor...Symantec Corporate AV can scan it in about 10-11 minutes, as can Malwarebytes and SASpyware. I can make a primary partition image-backup in 2 mins, 30 seconds...and do a Ghost restore in approx., 20 seconds less time. I ofc have a desktop with an AMD Phenom II X4 955 B.E. CPU overclocked to a 24 hour prime stable 3.7Ghz. My record is 3.815Ghz...but that was only 16 hour prime stable...both on AIR of course. Current temps via Lavalys Everest Ultimate 5.30.... [Ambient Temp: 62F ......CPU: 22C Motherbaord: 14C GPU: 29C MCP: 39C]. NO, it's not silent, but then again it will never....LEAK. Before anyone says anything about temp monitoring...I've used them ALL and they ALL agree, and they ALL agree with the BIOS temps. ASUS M4N82 Deluxe 980a Motherboard, GTX 280 / 1GB, 4GB Corsair 1066 Dominator RAM.
To: The Murph
Dave, I can understand that finding 5 freeware apps a week that someone actually needs is...well...impossible. Maybe, once a month or once a quarter would be a more generous timeframe and allow you to find us the GOLD....those fantastic once in a lifetime freeware apps that EVERYone can use. Just a suggestion :)
TheMurph
August 30, 2010 at 7:08am
Dave, I can understand that finding 5 freeware apps a week that someone actually needs is...well...impossible. Maybe, once a month or once a quarter would be a more generous timeframe and allow you to find us the GOLD....those fantastic once in a lifetime freeware apps that EVERYone can use. Just a suggestion :)
Suggestion noted. I find the above apps to be quite useful and interesting. Though, to be fair, I do use Google Desktop on my machine at work...
snapple00
August 29, 2010 at 8:29pm
I am one of the few souls left on this planet that remember where my files are located.
reutnes
August 30, 2010 at 9:55am
Hey now, I know where my stuff is too. However, if I want to copy a new map into TF2 it's a lot easier for me to just type 'steamapps' into Everything than it is for me to navigate to it in windows explorer. If I want to play a song real quick, I could navigate through my cluttered music folders or I could just type in its name. And lets say I want to dig up that once-in-a-blue-moon-on-a-thursday program. I could dig through my 'all programs' menu, or I could just type in what I want.
Have it your way, though.
PawBear
August 29, 2010 at 5:58pm
Mr. Wiseman, you sound like a MS fanboy. Compared to either Win search or google search, locate 32 is a third party software that just works from install. I don't have to tell it anything but go. Configure the others, forget it.
Oddly enough, third party programs do work and often outdo the "big guys". Maybe they just try harder. I'm certainly not cluttering up my hard drive.
Keith E. Whisman
August 29, 2010 at 10:44pm
Well relax because I'm not an MS Fanboy and I'm damn sure not a Mac fanboy either. I'm a fan of what is the most powerful and awesome. Right now Windows 7 Ultimate 64 and Uberstudent Linux are my picks for what's awesome when it comes to an OS.
I still have fond memories of OS/2 and DOS.
My point here is that unless your running Windows XP or a lesser OS then it makes no sense, at least to me, to use any more desktop search providers over the current one that is built into Windows 7 and Vista.
Opinions are like Assholes, Everyone has one. And I'm a big asshole because I have a whole lot of opinions that I freely share here at maximumpc.com until I get kicked off the website.
Just like Linux, it doesn't make much sense to use anything more than Beagle. Beagle is a pretty powerful desktop search client that a lot of distros have it embedded.
bob1639
August 29, 2010 at 4:17pm
At 72 years of age and some 30 years of computer experience, I can STILL get excited when I run across a program that does "what it claims to do and more". I find "everything" to be an indispensible tool that I have on my PC, laptop, and on a thumb drive I always carry with me. It is incredibly fast and have long since stopped using that slow ponderous Windows search. It will do a one time index when you first install it, and will automatically update itself almost instantly when you add anything to your drives. Add to the fact that it is also FREE and you have an ubeatable combination. Try IT!!! it's well worth the download time.
Keith E. Whisman
August 29, 2010 at 5:07pm
Windows Search was extremely slow and ponderous back in the Windows XP and earlier days, but now, Windows Search is up there with Google and all the other Quick desktop search engines.
I do have a problem with your statement because you recommended that everyone try "It!". What It! are you referring to? You didn't mention the name of a product to try out. You just suggested that we try it.
But anywho. Like I said, Windows search in Windows Vista and 7 are kick ass products that come built into Windows. Certainly you have to change the stock settings to get kick ass results but as I said before, you have to do that to any quick search client. And since that's the case, unless your not running either Windows Vista or Windows 7, you really don't need any of these downloads. Just dig into the Windows Vista, Windows 7 desktop search settings and change them so that they look everywhere for everything and you'll even beat Google Desktop Search or at least get equivilent results.
festiva_man
August 29, 2010 at 5:57pm
It is titled Everything and then later on in his body the word everything is encased in quotation marks. I believe he was referring to a program called "Everything". I may be wrong but that is how I read it.
TheMurph
August 29, 2010 at 10:15pm
Yes. The program itself is called "Everything," which one would probably realize after reading... the... post... :\
Keith E. Whisman
August 29, 2010 at 10:32pm
Ah! I must be going blind. I do have an excuse, I have cataracts in both eyes from medications I took to fight off childhood asthma. So there, I missed it because I'm freaking blind.. LOL..
Plus I wasn't trying to pick on him. I just didn't understand what he was talking about.. LOL.. My bad.
I also suffer to Can't Remember Shit Syndrome to excuse my selective memory.
And It's a thyroid problem to excuse my excessive weight problems. I'm just full of excuses. I can come up with an excuse for just about everything.
Keith E. Whisman
August 29, 2010 at 11:14am
Actually Windows Vista and Windows 7 search features work great! You just have to tell them to check index everywhere and for everything or you will have limited search features. This is also true for every one of the search programs you've suggested. And really if it's a desktop search then doesn't that mean it's just going to search the desktop? Why can't you just sit there and look at every icon? That is pretty much what Google Desktop search does, it searches the freaking desktop. Like Windows search, you have to tell it to index everything everywhere so you at least have a chance of finding something.
Using Windows 7 search feature, I'm able to locate the most buried Windows system files you can imagine. If I can do that with the build in feature, then what do I need another program for, of course if I wanted to clutter up my computer I would go ahead and install all those programs you suggest.
Vano
August 29, 2010 at 10:24am
I think this article is outdated, I don't see any reasons use 3nd party software when Windows 7 is already has best search solution. Not everybody though know how to use it - more useful would be put an article about tips and tricks for W7 search engine....
chipmunkofdoom2
August 29, 2010 at 7:13am
They show up quite frequently, although MaxPC does a good job saving face and removing them.
The spam filter on this site is complete garbage. I'm convinced they had a corpse write it. I cannot post from my work network, regardless of what I try to post. Guess people posting from work are spammers? Oddly enough, this has nothing to do with the article and is in essence "spam", but it will get through until MaxPC takes it down.
Oh well. I guess MaxPC feels that the site's free and if you're not a paying customer they don't owe you anything. Kind of why Communism doesn't work. If there's no monetary reward or incentive for the other person, why should you get what you want?
Keith E. Whisman
August 29, 2010 at 11:26am
I'm not an expert, but perhaps it's because of the corporate network your using. Perhaps MPC thinks your using the company like a proxy to mask your identity or that because it is a company your going to be posting Spam.
PawBear
August 29, 2010 at 5:34am
I use locate 32, an indexer. Works fast. I've never liked G Desktop or MS.
Anyone know, do these particular spammers only show up here. If so I suppose this could be a source of pride for MPC????
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