As a replacement for the search feature in Windows, try out Everything from Voidtools. It’s a simple, free utility that’s very powerful. It provides better search results than the built in Windows search. It’s also faster at returning results. A lot faster – virtually instant.
The first time you search with Everything, it takes a few moments to index your drive, but after that all subsequent searches are blazingly fast. The results come up in real time as your typing. It shows the files of what you’re looking for, its path, size and date modified. You can then open, copy or delete files from the UI. Everything is one of the tools I use to completely uninstall software and remove viruses and other malware infections on PCs I repair. It includes some additional options so you can tweak it to better suit your needs, like the NTFS volumes it searches and volumes to exclude if you don’t need them searched. One caveat is it only searches your local hard drive(s). There are instructions on setting up and ETP server to search network locations, but I haven’t had luck getting it to work yet.
It also integrates with the Context menu. Right click a directory you know has thousands of files, and select Search Everything. It automatically adds the path and you just need to enter in the keyword you’re looking for.
I can’t say enough about Voidtool’s Everything. It’s a must have utility for any Windows user. And, it’s available on Ninite so you can be sure to include it on any fresh Windows installation you do. There’s a portable version too, make sure it’s part of your computer repair thumb drive. I also like to use Glary Quick Search and Agent Ransack. UltraFile Search and Locate 32 also come to mind. (All free tools). Everything, however, is my preferred search tool but the others also do a very good job of searching. Nice freeware tip groovy! Thnx When it comes to searching simply for files I’m going to try Everything by Voidtools and do appreciate finding out about that one. How does Everything search & store an index without causing the same issues? Cheers, G -Brian How does Everything search & store an index without causing the same issues? (wear & tear on SSD drives) Everything’s downside, of course, is that it only searches for files, not anything inside them. Agent Ransack, though, as adjunct to Everything for times when searching within files is necessary, is the perfect solution. Those two apps, together, cover… well… everything! Hope that helps. ____________________________ Gregg L. DesElms Napa, California USA gregg at greggdeselms dot com Just download it straight from the site. The link is in the article. The DataRat Comment
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