This tip is part of an automation series I’m running to showcase 24 of my most useful computer automation tips.How long on average do you spend finding a particular file or a document? What if you don’t remember the location where you placed this file? How long will it take you then?

No one really measures these kinds of things, but you’d be surprised to learn that I’ve personally watched countless people (including my mom) navigate mazes of complex folder hierarchy to get to some file or a document they’ve been working on. Worst yet, some of my very own coworkers still manage to use this old-school way of accessing files. And for the record, I work in a software development house. Imagine my frustration when I ask someone I’m working with to find me a file or an e-mail in their archive and they spend the next 10 minutes or so going through their folder mess, most of the time giving up at the end and asking me: “do you really need it?”.

So I decided enough is enough. Hey everybody, there’s a much much … much faster way to find and access any kind of file in your entire hard drive in a split second, even if you don’t recall the name of the file! Stop for a second and take a wild guess what that is. (Hint: it’s not this stupid dog)

Automation tip #1: Use Google Desktop to find and access any file in a split second
Level: Beginner
Approximate time saving: 5 seconds - 1+ minute
Tools required: Google Desktop

Setup

  1. Download and install Google Desktop (recommended for Windows XP, Vista, Mac and Linux)
  2. Allow up to 2 hours of idle time (first use only) for Google Desktop to scan and index your entire hard drive in the background.

Usage

  1. Google DesktopMy preferred method is to double tap the Ctrl key (in Windows) to bring up the big rounded search box from anywhere.
  2. Start typing either the file name or a word from its content. As you type, the most relevant search results are listed below.
  3. If the file you’re looking for is listed, navigate to it with the arrow keys and press Enter to launch it.
  4. Otherwise, select the first choice in the menu (Search Desktop for your search term). This will be bring up a complete list of all file matches.

Tips

  1. google_desktop_advancedFor more advanced search (like if you remember the date you created the file as opposed to its name), follow step 4 above and click on ‘Advanced Search‘
  2. Google Desktop also integrates into Microsoft Outlook and searches your entire e-mail archive, so you can just as easily find an e-mail in a split second.
  3. google_desktop_add_folderIf you’re part of a home or office network, you can just as well search shared folders with the same speed. Just go to Google Desktop Preferences and add the address of those shared folders to the list of scanned folders
  4. Geeks only: Google Desktop has some cool advanced search operators for more granular searching results. Click here to learn how to master Google Desktop.

Side Notes

  1. If you’re using Vista, rest assured Google Desktop works way faster and is more usable than Vista’s built-in search indexing feature. Trust me, I’ve tested it myself. I strongly suggest you disable Vista’s built-in search indexing feature and use Google Desktop instead.