Phenquestions
File Search Utility is a new desktop search program for Windows, Mac and Linux devices to find files quickly based on certain search parameters.
We checked out the Windows version of the application for the test but the Linux and Mac versions should work equally well.
Windows users have no shortage when it comes to search tools for the desktop. The built-in Windows search is not really that adequate for most searches as it is rather slow quite cumbersome to use.
Tools like Everything, WizFile, VX Search or Scan FS are usually a lot faster and provide better functionality on top of that. File Search Utility is no exception to that even though its not as fast as Everything or WizFile when it comes to returning results.
File Search Utility
Windows users can run the executable file right away as the program does not need to be installed. The source code of the program is provided as well on GitHub for users interested in it.
File Search Utility starts quickly and displays all search options in the interface right away. You may pick a folder or drive to search at the top, specify one or multiple file names, and include words or phrases that the files need to contain for them to be returned.
The file name field accepts full file names and wildcards. A search for *.doc would return all files with the .doc extension stored under the selected path while ?.jpg all JPG files with a single character as the name. Use a comma to separate filenames from each other.
File Search Utility searches in subfolders automatically but you may disable that if you want the root folder searched only.
Three additional search options are provided:
- Make the search case sensitive.
- Specify a date range, e.g. today or the past week.
- Specify size requirements, e.g. less than 1 Megabyte or more than 1 Gigabyte.
Results are displayed in the lower part of the interface. You may need to adjust the size of the window accordingly to display full file name, path, size and modification information.
The program separates results by folder; a double-click on a path or file opens the folder; it would have been better in my opinion if a double-click on the file would launch it directly.
You may right-click to copy the path or the file name to the Clipboard. Note that there is no option to export the data or display it in any other way. Options to display files by filename or other parameters would be handy in some situations.
Closing Words
File Search Utility is a handy desktop search tool that worked well during tests. The initial version has a few usability issues concerning the results listing for the most part and the inability to search the entire computer.
The search options to limit results by size, modification time or content are useful on the other hand.
Now You: which search tool do you use on your systems?
