Scott Hanselman's Computer Zen - Microsoft Desktop Search...quietly released. Look at me! I can code one too!

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Microsoft Desktop Search...quietly released. Look at me! I can code one too!

Posted 2004-12-13 03:04 PM in XML | Tools.

Certainly comparisions will be made to Google Desktop Search, which I'm already a fan of, but here's YATB (yet another toolbar) for IE. Rather than building it into the operating system or XP SP2, it's a viral MSN toolbar. Here it is, Microsoft's Desktop Search.

I've installed it, and I'm currently digging into how it works. Doesn't support Firefox, though. ;)

It has an X1-style type-ahead feature and rather than browser integration it's an Explorer Toolbar (I needed more things in my tray! Woohoo!)

Currently Indexing...if it indexes .CS files, I'm all in.

UPDATE: It DOES index source and XML! Yum.

Monday, December 13, 2004 3:18:46 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)

Just wanted to mention that using a smal hack for Google Desktop called plus from http://www.trivex.net/ allows you to add any TEXT file type to the indexer, so my GDS now searches CS, VB, XML, CLS, MDL, ASP and SQL extension (and some more which I don't currently remember).
A huge benefit MSN toolbar has is that it integrates better into the operating system (you can define cool shortcuts) and in my opinion that the display is not Web based (you can right click a result file and copy/delete/send it by mail as you would normally). On the other hand the integration of Web and Desktop results Google gives is quite an advantage...

In short I am blabbering, This war is going to be interesting and good for us users.

Moshe Eshel

Monday, December 13, 2004 3:37:06 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)

Doesn't install on XP x64. Crap.

Jeff Key

Monday, December 13, 2004 4:14:17 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)

Uh - where's the link to the MS desktop search?

Eric Brown

Monday, December 20, 2004 2:51:15 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)

It appears to search .xml files but not XML files with different extensions (.xsd, .wsdl, etc.). I'm assuming that Microsoft's XML iFilter is built in, but it needs to be configured to pick up other file extensions, too. Anybody know how to do that?