Finding a Needle on a Hard Disk

Did you ever notice how finding files on your hard drive is a little like a shell game? You poke around, find a file name that sounds right, and open the file. The odds are two to one that it's the wrong file. If that's your problem, I have a way to alleviate your angst, and a few things to make your searching easier and smarter.

First things first. If you want to learn a few fundamentals of searching, click over to my Home Office column, A Cure for File-and-Forget. I show you the tricks and tools I use to find my way through over 300MB of documents I've squirreled away on my hard drive.

One product I'm hot to trot about is DtSearch Desktop, the search tool I use just about every day. It's a terrific tool for finding files based on the data inside the files. Coincidentally, just after I wrote this column, a PC World buddy asked about something I wrote in 1996. DtSearch found it in 4 seconds. (Don't shake your head in amazement. I save everything, recycling it every few years, or after a senior editor leaves, whichever comes first.)

One problem with DtSearch Desktop is the price. At $167, it's expensive for a utility that does just one thing. But listen, folks, DtSearch is essential if you have lots of data-documents, spreadsheets, Adobe Acrobat files, stuff in archives--because DtSearch finds everything within those files in seconds. Look, don't take my word for it. Try the tool yourself. A trial version is in our downloads section.

Dig this: It's amazing the number of ways a Web search can be represented. The Web Brain is worth a look because of its fascinating, graphical presentation of your Web search. Try the words "games," "sports," or "news." Then sit back and be amazed.

Quick tip: If you're using Windows 95, you can't use the Windows Search tool to search all your hard drives simultaneously. Contributing Editor Scott Dunn tells you how to work around this limitation in his Windows Tips column.

Keep Searching

Do you ever wonder what our two Downloads section mavens do on their day off? Of course you do. They spend time on their home PCs, ferreting out the best of the best. So if you're curious about searching tools, you're going to enjoy trying these:

• Navsearch: Here's a search tool that creates an index of folders you select, and then lets you rummage around for keywords or phrases, displaying the results in your browser. Ideal for slower machines, as the author claims it runs fast even on a slow Pentium PC. The program is shareware, so you can try it, and if you like it, pay $55 for the registered version.
• PC Data Finder: This is one of the programs I talk about in my "File-and-Forget" column. I like the program because it's quick and cheap, although I was troubled with the interface. On the other hand, Contributing Editor Lincoln Spector didn't think much about it. Take a gander at Lincoln's story, Read Find Files Fast--For a Hefty Price; it supplies you with lots of product details. BTW, the company has lowered the program's price since Lincoln's article--it's now $40.
• Advanced Disk Catalog: This program takes a different approach. Rather than a search tool, the program lets you stick comments both on files ("this is for next month's column if my editor will buy it") and folders ("this is the folder where I stick all the things my editor recommends but I rarely use 'cause they're so lame"). It's shareware, so you can play around with the trial version, and $20 will get you the registered version.

Search Tips

What happens if you're using Word 97 or Word 2000 and need to find a file? Contributing Editor George Campbell knows how to do it, and he steps you through it in "Word Processing Tips." It's here: http://www.pcworld.com/hereshow/article/0,aid,13879,00.asp

Don't miss it: I created A Little Independence Day Word Play, a cool little anagram game you can bring along to your Fourth-of-July picnic. It's a tough puzzle with Independence Day theme words, most of which will drive people crazy. (Use the answers as leverage for the first hot dog off the barbecue.)

Information at your fingertips isn't a phrase that easily describes looking for files on your 60GB hard drive. Scott Dunn's Windows Tips column does a remarkable job at explaining how to organize your drive--and find files. Read it, or you may not know about half the files on your drive.

Dig this: It's almost July 4. Imagine you're on the back deck, having gobbled way too may hot dogs and hamburgers (not to mention beers). Then someone asks, "Hey, where's your computer?" Take 'em on a trip to Mars. (You'll need a copy of Apple's Quicktime.)

You may not realize it, but Windows's Find feature can be tortured into working better. For instance, you can add search links or create shortcuts for the Find menu. Our prolific Scott Dunn has more timesaving tips in his story, Fine-Tuning Find.

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