14 DAY TRIAL // How much time do you spend a day just searching for the right file? Having a large hard disk automatically leads to not being able to keep track of the location of all your files. Even if you order them in folders with descriptive names for the content they're holding, it still happens to lose tab of one or two files. It is not like you access all of them regularly, so it is an absolutely normal phenomenon.
But, that's what search tools are for. They are designed to hound any file you need, and fast. With Vista's indexing capabilities, it is not at all difficult to get your hands on exactly the file you need. But in XP, search is a persistent problem and users know better than using the built-in function.
The alternatives on the market are numerous, and all of them brag with their ultra, super, uber fast engine, to prove in the end that its capabilities and search speed are not that good and your computer resources are abused more than they should.
File Seeker is a free application designed to sniff your computer for any of your search queries. Its interface is user-friendly and intuitive so you should have no problem in using it. The three main options available are displayed at the top of the screen, but it seems that the developer left room for one more as the navigation arrows lead to a blank space.
The program's search capabilities extend to looking through user defined folders, through entire drives or through files for a certain element. All of these three options require minimum effort from the user (you don't even have to remember the entire name of the file you are looking for).
Active File Search tab allows you to browse to the desired folder you want the application to scan and type in the name (or part of the name) of the file to seek. If there are multiple matches, the results list in the lower part of the screen will fill up in a moment. An additional option permits previewing the file, but mind that not all the files will be properly displayed. GIF files for instance are a bit of a trouble, but you can open them by double clicking the item (it'll open in the associated program).
Database file search is a bit more pervasive as it lets you scan entire drives. The same options and glitches are available in here as well. Besides the search field, this screen also offers you the possibility of adding a supplementary location to search in. if you have an USB key, you may notice that it is not on the menu. "Use Another Path" option allows you to add it with no problem and even to define a certain folder to be searched.
A third search option is looking within files. All you need to do is add the necessary extension format, type in the word to be searched and the name or part of the name of the file. The default extension available in the application is TXT and during our testing, File Seeker did a marvelous job. But when trying out its DOC and ODT snoop capabilities, it failed to detect the word though I had provided the path to the folder containing the required file.
One detail when performing this type of search: be sure you define the right path from Active File Search window. As you can see, the Included Path(s) field is grayed out so you cannot make any modification from Search Within Files panel, that is why you should use Active File Search one. It is a bit uncomfortable moving from one window to another, but there is no other way.
File Seeker's Options menu is skimpy, but very easy to configure. General settings let the user define the primary search type (Database, Active and Document) and you can enable the program to check for updates automatically when started.
Search filters are also available for more accuracy with the results it returns. The four types of data File Seeker can look into are directories, read-only files, hidden files and system files. You can enable all of them for more options in the result window. Hidden and system folders as well as compressed files (supports 23 extensions) can also be enabled, so the software can practically look anywhere on your computer for the search string.
Testing the program revealed that there are still issues that need to be corrected but it is on the right path. It does a pretty pervasive search and the returned results were extremely varied. Unfortunately, file preview option does not work as it should and it is not able to render GIF (neither static nor animated) files.
The Good
The application is free and does a pretty good job. Its speed is almost comparable to that of file indexers, and the accuracy of the results is way better than the built-in XP alternative.
Very easy to handle because of the intuitive interface, File Seeker does a good job at searching through hidden data as well.
The Bad
Preview function does not work properly and when searching within files, you have to set the path from Active File Search window. Also, searching within files is not too much of a job as during our testing it failed in several cases.
The Truth
If you are looking for an XP search alternative, then File Seeker is the way to go. But it is not as perfect as one would expect. The speed of returning the results is indeed amazing (results are displayed almost instantly) but accuracy needs a bit more work.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
