ultimate version 2108 beta

[nikos]

here's a beta version that hopefully more will try for feedback on the new windows desktop search integration

www.zabkat.com/xplorer2_setup_ult_beta.exe (32 bit only)

click here for a list of changes

[nikos]

i'm wondering if the lack of feedback is due to

* nobody tried the beta
* nobody cares about fast search
* it works perfectly

[fgagnon]

I'm interested.
I downloaded it.
But much too busy this week to try it, much less evaluate it.

[Kilmatead]

I'm jaded.
I've had it for a fortnight.
Nikos ignored my bug report because he can't reproduce it, and won't listen to my sad mewing pleas from the wilderness.

Beyond that, I'm not allowed to comment for fear of derailing the universe.

(Though I do think the new Logical-NOT 'I' attribute display is so self-servingly antithetical to expected reality that I'm thinking of subscribing to the Flat Earth Society newsletter.)

[Brig]

Interested, of course. But I was too busy last week with critical files to feel comfortable playing with a beta.

By the way, I'd like to know how other folks deal with x2 betas. Do you install them in the default beta folder? What then with the official release? Do you uninstall the beta? I suppose I haven't done this for a while and have forgotten what I usually do.

[Kilmatead]

You may install them wherever you wish (common practice would be to backup the appropriate ZabaraKatranemia Plc reg key, just in case, as the betas will use your current settings and modify them if necessary).  (Or you may be modern and trendy and place your trust in virtualisation and not worry about any of it, if you're into that kind of thing.)

Uninstalling the beta is harmless enough, though remember that the option to remove the settings will remove the normal registry key itself, so either use the created backup, or just don't delete it and your settings from the beta will transfer over to the final intact.

Final releases go where they're supposed to.

Notice: It is of the utmost importance to remember not to run the beta while the normal installed version of x2 is running - as you won't actually be running the beta, you'll only be creating another instance of the current "old" version.

(That last bit has caught me out so many times it's not funny.  Totally harmless.  But not funny.)

[Kilmatead]

It should also be noted that if you wish to play with the integrated Windows Desktop Search mechanism, you must have Windows Indexing actually turned on first (many turn it off and just forget about it).  Non-Indexed items won't be returned in any WDS results, and you will only ever get the default x2 search results which negates the purpose of the testing.

As well as this, the Fast-Search mechanism will only return ecumenical "content" matches if you have the appropriate checkbox ticked on the Drive Properties box, so keep that in mind (if you're one of those people above who disable indexing as a matter of course):



Also please note that although the picture above indicates a USB/Firewire drive, x2 will get very unhappy when trying to run WSD on anything other than a Local Fixed Drive, even though it works fine from within Explorer itself.  You know where the complaints department is located.

[kunkel321]

Have been meaning to log on and ask if it will also work with the built-in desktop searches of Vista and 7.  I no longer use XP.

Also, how do you invoke a search?

[kunkel321]

Also fyi:   There is real frustration, on some  forums, of the lack of utilities that are able to index Outlook emails...

If you manage to integrate that capability, I imagine you'll get a whole new customer base.

[Kilmatead]

Yes, it works with Vista/Win7 - I don't think anyone anywhere on the whole planet would come out with an XP-only feature these days and expect anyone not to laugh.  (The XP reference in the readme is just for the odd user who may not have it on their system, if such a thing is possible).

You invoke a search as usual - just hit <Ctrl+F> - it will first use WDS, but if nothing is found it will automatically return the normal x2 Robust Search results.  If something in WDS is found, an option to use Robust Search (in case it didn't find what you were expecting) will appear in the Scrap Container at the bottom of the found results.  (If the "Robust" option does not appear, it means WDS found nothing and you are already viewing the Robust Results.)

Another variation is to use the Tools -> Fast Search command, wherein you don't use wildcards, you just type in text and it will (in theory) return all sorts of matches...

By giving a single keyword like jack, you find all files called jack, all files that contain jack in the text, all files whose author is jack, contain a tag called jack and so on. Imagine how tedious it would be to reproduce this filter with <Ctrl+F>

[nikos]

outlook 2007 and higher has its own very competent search engine; xplorer2 keeps to files. Actually for some email clients like windows live mail, where the emails are stored in files, the new xplorer2 will also retrieve emails!

[Thracx]

i'm wondering if the lack of feedback is due to

* nobody tried the beta
* nobody cares about fast search
* it works perfectly

Slightly surprisingly, I'm in the #2 category.  I tend to try and organize my files well enough where I don't need to search most of the time, and on the occasion I do need to search, X² is fast enough.  The only exception to this would be some searching over large mapped network drives, but those wouldn't be indexed by Windows anyway :'(

[longfellow]

I also find myself in category # 2, not really caring about fast search.

But after playing with the beta, here's some feedback:

The new search is snappier, but I can't say I'm feeling the "dramatic improvement" promised in changes.txt.

The ability to save search filters (rather than results) is great.

I don't get the Tools > Fast Search command. It returns every instance of 'search term' in every possible category? And doesn't use wildcards? Too much information! Can't see myself having a use for this.

The "Click for robust search" line in the scrap window is not accessible by keyboard.

[nikos]

you will see a big improvement in speed if you are searching for text in files, especially in large search areas (hierarchies). The more organized you are, the less the benefit

[Thracx]

...The more organized you are, the less the benefit