Desktop Search: How to Find a File or Email Quickly

Last week, almost out of the blue, a prospective corporate client phoned about a proposal they’d asked me to submit well over a year ago. I was happy, and a bit stunned, to get the call. A year? The CFO who was my contact promptly launched into discussion of my proposal, which he clearly had right in front of him. I didn’t, of course, have my copy in front of me.

Thanks to a desktop search tool, I had it 10 seconds later. I knew I’d archived the proposal, and using normal keystrokes I could have found it…eventually. It was great not to have to wait for eventually.

If you don’t yet have a desktop search tool, the good news is that there are several good ones out there that are both free of cost and apparently free of spyware (some free software plants spyware on your computer, tracking the websites you visit and other actions you take).

Desktop search tools track and search files on your computer so that you can locate them easily in a few seconds by entering a filename or a few key words from the email, contact or file. A good desktop search tool helps you simplify and be more productive by eliminating the need to search through file folders for something you haven’t used in a while.

I’ve used three desktop search tools that are quick and powerful enough to warrant mention here:

X1. This is the one I use currently and it’s the one that found my proposal in less than 10 seconds. As of last month, the basic version is completely free.

Copernic. Also free, it’s powerful and effective and I used it until I found X1. It’s interface is a bit different than X1’s and you should look at both to see what works best for your own brain.

Google Desktop. When initially available in 2004, Google’s free tool created concern among privacy experts about some of its less-than-secure features. I haven’t found any recent buzz about this, though, so tend to believe that those concerns have been sufficiently addressed.

Questions about desktop search? Leave a comment below!