YADVR - Vista Search
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Thomas Weller wrote:
Nobody can (and should have to) remember things like that in the long run... Shucks
Nobody should remember things like that even in the short run... but, everybody should organize their stuff. Then, you don't need to search, you just follow a logical path to the file you need. Simple ;)
To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.
Things aren't always that simple... Generally spoken I totally agree with what you say. But there are situations where you have to find your way in an unfamiliar environment... Regards Thomas
_Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning.
Programmer - an organism that turns coffee into software._
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IT'S NOT JUST A FILE SEARCH! The facility is designed for searching the content of your PC. I suggest you read up on the subject before ranting. May I suggest DIR from the command prompt if you only want to search for files and can't be bothered to configure the search facilities correctly.
Steve Thresher wrote:
IT'S NOT A FILE SEARCH! The facility is designed for searching the content of your PC.
But... What if i keep files on my PC? :~
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You're right. These facts that you've laid out totally contradict the wild ramblings that I pulled off the back of cornflakes packets.
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IT'S NOT JUST A FILE SEARCH! The facility is designed for searching the content of your PC. I suggest you read up on the subject before ranting. May I suggest DIR from the command prompt if you only want to search for files and can't be bothered to configure the search facilities correctly.
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Thomas Weller wrote:
Nobody can (and should have to) remember things like that in the long run... Shucks
Nobody should remember things like that even in the short run... but, everybody should organize their stuff. Then, you don't need to search, you just follow a logical path to the file you need. Simple ;)
To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.
1. Even if you know where something is it's often quicker to access it using search rather than wading through a hierarchy of folders. (A good example of this is Launchy. I might know exactly where the link for Web Client Software Factory Help is but it's miles quicker to type a few letters into Launchy - uses a word wheel - and open it that way, than wade through the start menu.) 2. I often search for, e.g., a code snippet within a file. No matter how organised you are it can take you quite a while to figure out exactly where it is, whereas a desktop search can often bring it up in a few seconds.
Kevin
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...probably, if the requirements are an open mind and an ounce of intelligence. The search facilities work just fine for the average user. I agree they don't work very well for developers but imagine how difficult it would be for average users if every facility in windows was tuned for developers.
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I stopped using it in XP. In Win 2000 it worked as I expected but then starting in XP they started screwing it up, so it'd only search files with certain filename extensions without loads of hacking around in the registry etc. At the moment I usually use the find in files feature in Visual Studio instead, but I'm sure there are better tools out there.
Copernic Desktop Search (prior to version 3) was the best of the bunch (better than MS and Google at least). Version 3 (free) is crippled, so I've stuck with v2. Does the job. It even indexes my Windows Live Mail store when officially it's not supported, whereas Windows Search couldn't do it all either in v3 or v4 even though it officially supports it! :wtf: Find in Files in VS is inferior to the same feature in TextPad but the latter is not free (works a bit like the old WinZip, i.e., nags you to pay, which I have done). Notepad++ has Find in Files that is slower and inferior to TextPad's.
Kevin
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Well, the two week delay was unintended, but I'm back with vengeance inspired yesterday by Vista search. It's hard to imagine Microsoft screwing up something so crucial to the system (and supposedly so trivial), but they once again managed to pull it off through their hard work. I honestly think there are more broken features in Vista search than features that actually work. 1. Every time I open dialog I have to click "Advanced Options" to bring up options I need. Apparently remembering last used setting on a dialogue so often used never occurred to MS. 2. Every time I expand Advanced Options I have to click "Search unindexed locations". I suppose smarter men would have coded to automatically tick the checkbox if Indexing services were disabled, alas, no such luck. Minor point, but annoying. 3. Search by Author? Really? I suppose it's useful for searching emails, but wouldn't it be better to keep this option to outlook and leave it out of the tool intended (originally) for general file search? And here we come to the crux of what's wrong with Vista file search and while it's so damn near impossible to use it. 4. By default Vista search results include only "Name" column. Right click does not bring list of most commonly used columns, instead you have to open another window and sift through about a hundred of otherwise irrelevant columns to find the ones you actually care about, namely: Name, location, size and date created/modified. This wouldn't be so bad to set it up once, but the problem is THE DAMN THING DOES NOT REMEMBER COLUMNS I USED LAST TIME. Seriously, wtf is that? Every time I have to search I have to go through the painful process of selecting columns again. 5. Just if that wasn't insulting enough, every time you add new column to the Vista search box while it's in process of searching, Vista search looks like it's starting search from the beginning again. After you add new column results already found get wiped out from search results and the search pane starts getting populated again with the same results it found just seconds ago. WTF^INFINITY. So the typical search process for me looks like this: I open Vista search dialogue, click Advanced options, tick Search Unindexed locations, change lookup to the drive I actually need, after the search starts I realize that it only shows Name column and I need more so I head to add more columns through cumbersome dialogue and watch Vista start repopulating search results every time I add a column. Seriously, every time I use Vista sea
you said: every time you add new column to the Vista search box while it's in process of searching, Vista search looks like it's starting search from the beginning again Are you sure it's really starting from the beginning again and not just throwing away what it's already found and then resuming the search from where it stopped? :-D
Pete If minds had anuses, blogging would be what your mind would do when it had to take a dump Maddox
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I'll take option 2 please. Yes, you've found me out. I am in fact a total genius. ;) I was joking, but in actual fact I do rarely use search. I'm organised enough with my files to generally be able to find what I want pretty quickly. It's less about being able to remember where everything is, and more about having a system that's predictable enough to be able to repeat the same logical steps when looking for something so you are naturally lead to the correct place. Before we had computers, companies stored all their files in cabinets, drawers, boxes etc. To manage the vast quantity of paperwork they came up with patterns that helped them know where to look. They didn't have a search button that found things for them.
Simon
Simon Stevens wrote:
Before we had computers, companies stored all their files in cabinets, drawers, boxes etc. To manage the vast quantity of paperwork they came up with patterns that helped them know where to look. They didn't have a search button that found things for them.
Yes they did, only instead of a search button, they asked a secretary to find them the document they wanted. It was this person's job to keep everything filed according to the search patterns, and usually dig out the requested documents when they were needed. Everyone else would just put documents to be filed in a tray, and know that magically they'd be filed away in the right place, just like we assume that the search option will know where all our important stuff is filed away on the computer.
Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit! Buzzwords!
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Unless it changed recently, No 64 bit support[^] Besides, I don't want another indexing solution, I want just plain search. Included in the OS and not the third party app. And one that doesn't make me jump through a bunch of hoops.
Just write one yourself.. :)
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I stopped using it in XP. In Win 2000 it worked as I expected but then starting in XP they started screwing it up, so it'd only search files with certain filename extensions without loads of hacking around in the registry etc. At the moment I usually use the find in files feature in Visual Studio instead, but I'm sure there are better tools out there.
Well, I just discovered the index service :D (why is it disabled by default???) and found out, my search is really, really super fast now. So I'm happy with windows search (the xp one, I mean).