Search Software- Includes Files, Emails, Tasks

[Natalie]

I am looking for an all-in-one search software that will search files (word, excel, powerpoint, pdf, pics, etc.) and Outlook email, tasks and appointments. I've read different posts where users say that Lookout is suited best for Outlook searching, but not file searching. Currently I'm using Copernic to search my files, and Lookout for my e-mails and tasks. The problem with switching to Lookout exclusively is when it is combined with InBoxer, the computer seems to crash. Therefore, we have employees that are only using Copernic to search files, but because they have InBoxer, they are unable to utilize Lookout.

Any advice or comments are appreciated...

Thanks!

[whkratz]

Enfish Find ( www.enfish.com )! IMO by far the best, but least known, desktop search tool.

Regards.....Bill Kratz

[pruitthall]

Within Outlook, I haven't seen anything that approaches MSN's Desktop search. The results window after a search is one of the best qualities. :|

[Bschorr]

I am looking for an all-in-one search software that will search files (word, excel, powerpoint, pdf, pics, etc.) and Outlook email, tasks and appointments. I've read different posts where users say that Lookout is suited best for Outlook searching, but not file searching. Currently I'm using Copernic to search my files, and Lookout for my e-mails and tasks. The problem with switching to Lookout exclusively is when it is combined with InBoxer, the computer seems to crash. Therefore, we have employees that are only using Copernic to search files, but because they have InBoxer, they are unable to utilize Lookout.

Any advice or comments are appreciated...

Thanks!

Why not just use Copernic for all of it? It'll index the Outlook stuff too.

-B-
http://www.factplace.com

[Natalie]

As far as I can tell, Copernic only searches e-mails, not tasks....

[gnugrep]

I use X1, I bought it a couple of years ago before Google desktop and all of those other "free" programs came out. I think it is better than all of them. It is very fast and it searches everything, including email attachments. It adds a toolbar to outlook, but you can use the standalone app to search all your files.

They offer a free trial so check it out: http://www.x1.com/

[tfadams]

Another vote for MSN Desktop. It let's you have a searchbar in Outlook (or not) and/or a searchbar on the Taskbar. It's fast and searches for Outlook info and documents (Word docs spreadsheets, powerpoints, PDF files, etc.). It also has a preview pane which I didn't think I'd use that often, but is helpful when you have documents that are similarly named and you want to scan the contents.

It's also free.

I don't ues InBoxer though, so I'm not sure about any compatability issues.

[lilmagnus]

As far as I can tell, Copernic only searches e-mails, not tasks....
That is correct. That's the reason I've now switched to MSN Toolbar. It WILL index Tasks in Outlook. Unbeatable! You won't be disappointed!

[mochant]

Another big win with the MSN Toolbar Suite is that it indexes Outlook's Journal - possibly the least understood and potentially most powerful feature in the application. I selectively track all e-mail, task, and calendar events for the people I interact with most often at work (boss, direct reports, product managers) and can instantly find every event related to them including the notes related to that event or task I've captured in the Journal.

I find Outlook's Notes to be an utter waste of time and so have transitioned to using Journal as my note-taking device related specifically to Outlook data objects. One reason this works so well is that I use a Tablet PC and Einstein Tech's TEO (Tablet Enhancements for Outlook) which allows me to enter notes while in a meeting or on the phone using digital ink).

The forthcoming version 3.0 of TEO promises to further enhance the usefulness of Journal.

[cellmatrix]

I am looking for an all-in-one search software that will search files (word, excel, powerpoint, pdf, pics, etc.) and Outlook email, tasks and appointments. I've read different posts where users say that Lookout is suited best for Outlook searching, but not file searching. Currently I'm using Copernic to search my files, and Lookout for my e-mails and tasks. The problem with switching to Lookout exclusively is when it is combined with InBoxer, the computer seems to crash. Therefore, we have employees that are only using Copernic to search files, but because they have InBoxer, they are unable to utilize Lookout.

Any advice or comments are appreciated...

Thanks!

You could get a mac and use spotlight, which is built into the new OS. It can find words inside of documents, emails, etc., and search results are posted immediately as you type! Mac OS is way ahead of Windows on this one.

[remyc88]

Quick question for the MSN Toolbar users, do you notice any performance lag when using your computer?

I used to use Lookout, but stopped because I got annoyed because it would slow down my Outlook.

[Natalie]

Quick question for the MSN Toolbar users, do you notice any performance lag when using your computer?

I used to use Lookout, but stopped because I got annoyed because it would slow down my Outlook.


I started using MSN Desktop Search (thank you to all that suggested it) and generally have not noticed any performance lag when using my computer.

The only time my computer ran slow was during the initial index. I was disappointed in only one aspect, and truthfully, this could have been my own fault. When I started indexing, I chose the exact files and/or locations on the network I wanted included in the index. Unfortunately, it chose to index EVERYTHING - all 98,000 files! I'm a bit confused by this, but now that the index is completed, I'm not noticing any computer issues.

The ability to search all types of documents, emails, tasks (both completed and currrent), is exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks again.