Yahoo Releases Desktop Search Tool Beta

Rolan writes "Yahoo! has released to BETA their Desktop Search Tool. It has a much longer list of file types that it will search, including compressed files, than the Google Desktop Search Tool. Though, the usefulness of a good number of those file types would come into question for most people."

Comments

Yahoo! Says, "Me Too!" -- Again

[savagedome]

Motley Fool has a write up about YDS.

http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2005/mft05011117.htm

Re:Clean interface

[g_braad]

It does have directory specification:

Tools -> Options -> Indexing -> Files -> More Indexing Options

Re:open source?

[naugrim]

Beagle is the closest thing out there that I know of for open source. It isn't web based but when it works properly (it's still in development) it is supposed to be able to search bookmarks, email, IM logs, etc. similar to how these desktop search programs work.

Re:OpenOffice.org/StarOffice

[stg]

Have you actually seen the documentation of Firefox's formats?

The history file, for example, is spectacularly awful. Check out https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=24143 8
(not a link since bugzilla won't accept Slashdot as a referrer) - "please make history.dat easier to parse (i.e., not Mork)"

Some other references to the format:

http://www.mozilla.org/mailnews/arch/mork/primer.t xt
http://jwz.livejournal.com/312657.html
http://www.jwz.org/doc/mailsum.html

Re:Usefulness

[MrEnigma]

The answer to this is Lookout for Outlook.

Basically does google type searching, very fast, and it adds right in. I use it almost daily.

http://www.lookoutsoft.com/Lookout/

Re:Directories

[AntigonusPiglet]

It's in the FAQ (http://desktop.yahoo.com/faq):

Yahoo Desktop Search ... gives you control to change those settings including:

• Only index files that are explicitly marked for indexing
• Only index specific file types and not index others
• Only index files under a specific file size
• Configure indexing options on a directory by directory basis, including:
• Never index
• Index only filenames and sizes
• Index filenames, sizes, and file contents

Re:OpenOffice.org/StarOffice

[jambarama]

I've used Copernic for a while (since the comparison on http://slate.msn.com/id/2111643/) and it'll do star office, open office or anything else you want. By default it searches firefox history (I don't use thunderbird so I can't vouch for it's ability there). I have found it quite effective for OOo though.

I don't use it now just because I know where my stuff is, but it was fun to mess around with. Give it a shot here: http://www.copernic.com/.

Re:OpenOffice.org/StarOffice

[bestadvocate]

>>" I can't understand why it does not index OOo/SO documents?"

actually it says that you can index
"StarOffice Write for Windows and UNIX Version 5.2 (text only)" in the format list. as well as calc files and such, so maby that even means open office support? If not now then easily later?

I'm a big google fan, but I am giving this product a shot.

Re:Usefulness

[jalefkowit]

I agree, Lookout makes Outlook practically tolerable. In fact, Microsoft thought so much of the Lookout team that they bought the company and turned what used to be a for-pay product into a free download.

Additionally, many of the Lookout team are supposed to have worked on the new MSN Toolbar for Outlook, which is supposedly quite good (though I have not had a chance to try it myself yet).

The REAL Desktop Search

[CypherXero]

This is what a REAL desktop search looks like.

Re:What is wrong with find?

[DrEasy]

Desktop search tools create an index of your files' content which makes searching files almost instantaneous.