IDEA: quick windows search tool

[techidave]

Perhaps this has already been done but I am looking for a faster way to search the hard drive than Windows XP has.  Does anyone have anything?

Dave

[lanux128]

you can use Farr with the Locate32 plugin. it doesn't get faster than that.. and here's a thread to help you get started.

[techidave]

Thanks for the idea Lanux128.  I just got done trying FARR ver 2 and it works straight out of the box.  And very fast!  Very fast!  But it only seem to be searching My Documents.  So I went in and added c:\ to the "search folders" tab and that works ok.  It found 582 spreadsheets in 34 seconds that were scattered all over my hard drive.  But it only displays the top 9 items with no way to "scroll" through the list.

Maybe there is a way but I haven't found it yet.

Dave

P.S.  maybe this thread needs moved somewhere else??

[f0dder]

techidave: FARR is only really meant to index a relatively small amount of folders (like start menu, program files folder, and perhaps your "my documents" folder), since in the current versions it will always re-scan all the folders every time you search. This works OK most of the time because of windows filesystem caching, but still...

You really ought to check out locate32. It works by indexing your drives (which is pretty fast), and afterwards it can find locate things more or less instantaneously. REALLY good stuff.

[techidave]

ok, ok.  I will give Locate32 a try.

[lanux128]

But it only displays the top 9 items with no way to "scroll" through the list.

that can be easily fixed. go to the "Options" and check the "Interface" tab then refer to the screenshot..

[attach=#]

But it only displays the top 9 Maybe there is a way but I haven't found it yet.

check my post again, that's why i suggested that you use Farr's locate32 plugin which allows one to search from locate32's database from within Farr. one of our regular user, Armando has even written a "getting started" guide on that.. here's a screenshot that shows searching with locate32 (can't find a better one)..

[jgpaiva]

But it only displays the top 9 items with no way to "scroll" through the list.

that can be easily fixed. go to the "Options" and check the "Interface" tab then refer to the screenshot..

Also, adding "+sall" (without the quotes, stands for Show All) to your query will show you all the items matching it

[tomos]

whats the difference between the "normal list" and the "extended list" as
shown in lanux's first screenshot above?
(or should I go read the *$§ßing manual?)

[lanux128]

(or should I go read the *$§ßing manual?)

anyway, here's mouser's explanation..

add +sall to your search to see more results (i removed it from the context menu).

the extended results list is used mainly for directory browsing+completion.  for example, type c:\ and youll see.

Originally posted here.

[tomos]

thanks as ever lanux

didnt think of searching here for the answer

[lanux128]

didnt think of searching here for the answer

you're welcome, tomos! btw, this forum is a treasure-trove for tech info..