Dropout

Finding files on your computer is only easy if you already know where it’s located, the PC isn’t too cluttered, or the engine you use is trustworthy. The Windows default engine is good, but there are third-party applications out there which return results in a split-second. For instance, Dropout can find files, and content you’re looking for in the blink of an eye.

The application is portable, which means a few things. On the one hand, there’s no installation involved, so you can run it after download. On the other hand, searching is done in the location of the executable, so it would have been difficult to search for files or content otherwise.

As such, before you can initiate a search operation, you need to go ahead and copy the program’s executable in the directory you wish to scan. Moreover, you might want to wait until the index is built, with the status bar showing the index operation in real time, and displays total number of files when done.

Depending on your intentions, or how many details you know about the file of interest, you can use one of two methods, the simple, or advanced mode. Strangely enough, the advanced mode is rather easier to use, because the input field is based on a specific style if you want to find both a file and content. Luckily, there’s an accompanying tooltip to shed a little light.

The advanced tab works in a similar manner, but places all variables in plain sight. This means you need to fill in all of them, starting with content and file name, and ending with one or more extensions, and range of modified date. If indexing is done, results are instantly shown, with the options to jump to the source location, or open the file directly.

All things considered, we can state that Dropout can take a little accommodation time to get used to custom search strings, but can instantly find the file you’re looking for. Sadly, you need to place it in the location where you want to perform the search operation rather than the other way around, making it difficult if you know little to nothing about the file of interest.