If you’re in a hurry to find a specific file using the built-in Search feature on the Windows operating system, the frustration will double! This is simply because this integrated tool runs very slowly, consumes a lot of memory, and is not really accurate, even when you have activated the indexing feature to speed up searches. In situations that demand speed and high quality, you should explore VF – a real-time file search tool for PCs.
By creating an index file just once, you will thereafter take no more than 3 seconds to locate where your desired file is stored. VF can be likened to a graphical user interface (GUI) for the Locate command on Unix systems, but designed for Windows. Notably, this utility requires no installation, consumes minimal system resources, and can always accompany you via a USB drive.
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Interactive Interface of VF |
With a super lightweight size (only 272 KB), compatible with Microsoft Windows NT/2000/XP subsystems, the free (open-source – GPL licensed) version of VF is available at http://public.vunet.org/software/VunetFind2.exe.
To utilize the program, simply double-click the VunetFind2.exe file, wait for the indexing process to complete (the index file will be named index.txt and stored in the same location as the VunetFind2.exe file), press the Return to search engine… button to activate VF, enter a keyword corresponding to the name or content of the file you are looking for in the blank box in front of the Search button, click on a category to narrow down the file search from the File Type area, set a size threshold corresponding to the file you need in the Size section, and then click the Search button to view the results in the Found files area. To quickly access the directory of a found file, simply click on its name and then press the Open folder button. To ensure accuracy and quality in searching, whenever there is a change in data on the computer (adding, moving, or deleting files), you need to update the index file by accessing the Action menu and selecting Update index now.
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