14 DAY TRIAL // Order and organizing things has always led to more efficient working and it also saved a lot of time. To have an organized life nowadays is difficult to achieve. And if you have achieved this, then the struggle is to maintain it.
The same happens with the files in your PC. When I had a much smaller storage device I used to remember every file I had in there. But progress compelled me to get myself larger and larger storage devices and the files kept accumulating. I managed to keep them in order for a while. But the number of files has grown so much that, today, I can only remember the folders located in the root of the drive.
If it wasn't for the indexing I made the other week it would have taken me half a day to find a certain document buried deep inside my hard disks. Fortunately, I had the right tool to do that and I began the process of organizing them.
FileHawk is a Quadrom Services S.L. product available for the price of $25. Its main purpose is to index the files on your computer and help you manage them. The first screen of the software will ask you to perform an indexing of the files. There are two choices: either manually choose the folders that you want to be indexed or let the application index all the files on your computer.
The duration of a complete indexing of files depends on the number of items you have on your hard disk. So it could take very long, but the bright side is that the updating of the index takes place very fast and you will no longer have to wait an eternity.
After the indexing is complete you will be displayed a wizard that will tell you how to initiate the search for a document. It is not at all complicated and the background image will show you exactly how to do it. The search option allows you to set some criteria for more accurate results. Thus, you can perform a search for similar words or include the CDs or media.
But, besides these two criteria, there is also an advanced search option available where you can add some more criteria. The user can perform a search for the exact phrase, any word, exclude some words from the result, search the item by filename, by date (the "since two years ago" option should give you a hint on the search). Of course, selecting a date is also available. All you need is to go to date option and select the desired date. If you want to search between the files that have a certain size, then look at the bottom of the search options and type in the minimum and maximum size the software should look for.
The only menu available in the application is called Administration. There are four options in here and the first one is designed to manage the index of the local disks. If you click in the far right side of the newly opened window, you will be displayed another window that contains a list of file extensions. In the lower part of the window you can choose one of the two options to select or deselect all the extensions presented, or you can manually tick the ones you want to be indexed.
The second option in Administration gives you the chance to add a disc or media to the current catalog. After you have added the media, click on the Build Index button (in the right lower corner). This window allows the users to set the software to eject the disc when the indexing is finished, or play a sound.
Manage My Catalog feature lets you keep track of the catalogs created. You can add or remove items of the catalog as you wish. Sorting options is available for a chronological view, as well as by description or by inclusion.
Configuration Screen is the last option in Administration and the most important in my opinion, as it allows the user to configure the software in such a way as to automatically rebuild the index or update the index automatically when files change. So that not it won't prevent you from working or slow down the computer, you can set the software to update the index only when the computer is inactive. FileHawk can be configured to start with Windows, so that everything is automized.
The Good
The software is easy to work with and every user that has a myriad of files all over the computer spread around in no apparent order should try it.
The Bad
The application's price is a bit higher than I expected. And it crashed at the first indexing of my files. I had to manually select the folders to index and take it each step at a time, adding the folders one by one.
The Truth
Very useful application, handles well and the guide is very good for those that do not know how to "harness" such a software.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
