Best Desktop Search Tool

I've often wondered about that. I use Windows search many times daily.

How fast is fast?

I just searched for the name Sausman - I remember including her in list of biologists about six months ago,
but couldn't remember the name of the document although I knew which main directory it was in.

The search took 6 seconds:

http://www.urs2.net/rsj/computing/imgs/search_2.gif

Looking at the directory properties, I see that there are 5,000+ files,

http://www.urs2.net/rsj/computing/imgs/search_1.gif

although I filtered the search for *.doc and a check shows that there are 362 files:

http://www.urs2.net/rsj/computing/imgs/search_3.gif

 

what's the difference between the one built-in to XP and Windows Desktop Search ?

 

Thanks, trying it out today. Will post my up or down of my opinion with this.

 

agent ransack. the free one is good enough.

 

You took the words right out of my mouth ....great minds think alike!

 

Search as you type

 

I still favor InfoRapid Search & Replace. It's by far one of the fastest ever made.

 

While I'm glad there are so many people that do not use search at all that's not what the OP was looking for. He wanted to know what people were using. Unfortunately I get 500+ emails a day most of them have to be kept. While I have a very elaborate folder structure and archiving scheme there is just no way I could possible remember all of these. Instead of wasting my time slogging through all of these I use a search to quickly find what I'm looking for. That's just one example. Do I know where my Dec expense report is? Yep that's easy to find but that's not what I use search for.

As for the windows search (even Vista, which does have an improved search function over XP it's been crippled by the lack of winfs) they all suck.

 

As for "Desktop" Search Tools, None. I have tried most of them. They do nothing for me.

 

It's a matter of opinion depending on your search criteria just what is BEST! but this one is BOTH accurate & instananeous, as in locates as you type each letter.

LIGHTNING RAPID!

http://www.think-less-do-more.com/avafind/

 

Some Desktop Search apps can search/index meta data like mp3 tags, comes in handy for large music collections.

 

can it search inside pdf files, or only text files?

 

Vista's Search

 

I don't use desktop search tools, IMO they are completely unnecessary & sometimes present a security risk. Learn how to file correctly!

 

They aren't unnecessary, if you actually work with your PC.
I am for example working in research, and I use them to search my pdf files for references; and I use them to search my source code, when I want to look for something that I implemented once long time ago, but I can remember in which project exactly.

 

You need My Web Search then!

 

Google - works even for linux