Those who remember trying to find information on the Internet prior to the advent of the modern search engine would probably prefer to forget the experience. Of course, finding relevant information on the Web has gotten markedly better over the years, and now attention is turning toward providing equivalent search capabilities on individual computers. While not rivaling the sheer volume of information on the Web, the contents of a typical PC can be substantial, often making searching through them a daunting task.
Late last year Google was the first out of the gate with a utility to efficiently help conquer the accumulated morass of information on users' computers. Since then, however, several other giants of Web search, including Microsoft, Yahoo!, and AskJeeves, have each released their own similar tools. Like their predecessor, Google Desktop Search, these new offerings are all provided to the user gratis. They're also all considered beta software at the time of this writing and are likely to be the subject of frequent updates until official launches are ready.
Compared to Windows' built-in search tool, all three utilities are quite adept at finding information on a file-laden hard drive in a short period of time (after being given enough time to create an initial search index, of course), slicing through search tasks like a hot knife through butter.
Since they're all free, which one is right for you will likely come down to characteristics like file support, user interface, and customizability — factors that vary considerably among the four major alternatives now available. Let's take a closer look at Yahoo's candidate.
Yahoo! Desktop Search
Yahoo's Desktop Search, which incorporates technology licensed from X1 Technologies that's also used in that company's own commercial desktop search product, is an application rather than a browser-based utility. In fact, Yahoo! Desktop Search is essentially a re-labeled version of X1 Desktop Search with a few of the more advanced features removed.
Yahoo! Desktop Search requires either Windows XP or 2000 with Service Pack 3 or later to be installed. While you can download the utility at desktop.yahoo.com, one minor annoyance we have with the product is that Yahoo doesn't allow you to download the file for installation later (or on multiple computers, for example), and instead requires you to install the application directly from the site.
One of the notable characteristics Yahoo! Desktop Search inherits from its X1 progenitor is a rather lengthy list of supported file types. In fact, Yahoo! says the utility will recognize more than 200 file formats.
Along with standard and common fare like Microsoft Office data (.doc, .xls, and .ppt files, along with e-mail and contacts from Outlook or just e-mail from Outlook Express), Yahoo! Desktop Search also supports numerous other less common word processor, spreadsheet, database, and presentation graphics applications, including some that haven't been widely used since the word "Yahoo" referred only to a crude and boorish person. The client even claims to offer support for some programs compatible with something called DOS — alas, we didn't have any of these antique files on our test system, so we're unable to directly testify to the utility's ability to find them.
Back to the present, YDS also supports Adobe PDF files (a feature Google Desktop Search currently lacks), a host of image types (JPG, GIF, and TIFF, to name just a few), and audio files in either MP3, WMA, or WAV format. Another nice feature is that YDS can also index from within most compressed file formats, including ZIP.
Interface
Comprehensive file support aside, other capabilities of YDS are equally noteworthy. For example, it highlights the search term wherever it's found, and also lets you sort your search by a number of criteria including file name, type, size, date, or location (or the To: From: or Subject fields in the case of e-mail.)
YDS also features an integrated preview pane that displays selected files in native formats without the need to open the host application. For example, Word files are displayed in Print Preview style with full formatting, and in the case of video or audio files, the preview pane embeds the appropriate media player.
Depending on the type of content, YDS allows you to perform certain operations on found files. In the case of a Word file, for example, you can e-mail, print, or even delete it directly from the utility. If editing or other modification is required, the file can also be opened into its associated application. In the case of e-mail searches, you can move, print, forward, or reply to said messages — or even mark them as read or unread — without the need to use Outlook.
Another plus — to execute your searches, you needn't first launch the YDS application, since it adds toolbars to both Microsoft Outlook and the Windows taskbar (the latter needs to be turned on manually).
When typing a search word or phrase into Yahoo Desktop Search, the list of results updates as you type (just like TiVo does when searching program listings). We're not sure how valuable this feature is if you're a quick typist or when not entering a lengthy phrase, but it could be a time saver in some situations. A definite time-saver is the ability to save searches for later examination.
