Google and search have changed the way we find information. Rarely do we look for something by clicking through a series of increasingly specific categories, we just search for it. With Vista and the upcoming Windows 7, a PC can be searched in the same way.
The search feature also finds:
- Folders
- Files
- Programs
- Communications, e.g. Email
- Contacts
- Control Panel items
Basically, anything you want it to find.
Windows does all this automatically and the feature is available with a click or keystroke. Just click on the “Window” button –formerly the “Start” button- or press the Window key on the keyboard, and start typing. Windows will deliver results instantly in response to each new keystroke.
Windows search, like Google search, works by creating an index of the computer’s contents. You can change what Windows indexes in “Indexing Options” –just start typing index and you’ll see that option come up.
By using this search feature you can dramatically decrease the amount of time and effort spent finding things. It is also a powerful tool to manage the increasing numbers of files we have on our computers.
Just like Google and the search engines transformed the way we use the Internet, local index search can transform the way we can use our computers and that is good news for us.
Macs also have an indexed search feature; it’s called Spotlight. Mac had it first and like most things, I think it is better than the Windows version.
See what it looks like in the Screen Shot Gallery