► TITLE & VERSION: Copernic Desktop Search 1.6

► LICENSE: freeware

► HOMEPAGE: http://www.copernic.com/en/products/desktop-search/index.html

► Software Publisher's DESCRIPTION: Copernic Desktop Search brings a search engine right to your PC and allows you to instantly search files, e-mails, and e-mail attachments stored anywhere on your PC hard drive. The application executes subsecond searching of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, Acrobat PDFs, all popular music, picture, and video formats, contacts, the browser history, and Favorites. It features a seamlessly integrated previewer that instantly provides you with a view of the file or e-mail you're looking for. The previewer highlights all search terms and automatically scrolls to the first use of these terms in a document, eliminating the frustration of having to sort through endless text to pinpoint specific words.

► RATING & REVIEW (CNET Download.com):  This utility from Copernic Technologies quickly hunts down files and e-mail on local drives, but it still has a few flaws. First of all, it doesn't search the entire Web as competing product HotBot Desktop does. Still, since it's fast, free, and easy to navigate, we can't complain too much. Copernic creates a searchable index of your data, then updates it every time you add or remove files. A left-side search column allows simple keyword queries or more refined searches, based on file size, date, type, or folder. Easy-to-read icons at the top of the screen allow you to limit searches by categories, such as stored HTML pages, e-mail, pictures, and videos. Copernic is lightning-quick, displaying results as fast as you can type. We especially like the Copernic Deskbar, a search window that integrates with the Windows Taskbar and makes quick queries very handy. However, we would have liked an image viewer, and we wished the application's PowerPoint viewer could display graphics. An integrated media player to preview audio and video files also is on our wish list. In spite of these shortcomings, Copernic offers an efficient way to search your machine and will be especially useful for persons with multiple or large hard drives.

NK

Attached file : Copernic-Desktop-Search.jpg (49 KB - 293 downloads)

This is great news for users of the excellent free Mozilla Thunderbird email client and Eudora users as well. The latest 1.5 beta version of Copernic's free desktop search now indexes your email. I tried it and it works a treat. It's also good news for Outlook Express users; the case to switch to Thunderbird is now compelling. Thunderbird is safer, better, totally reliable and free. Copernic DS is also free, works on all versions of Windows and is a 2.3MB download.

By Ian "Gizmo" Richards
From Support Alert Newsletter