Advertisement

Best desktop search programs for windows

1.Copernic Desktop Search

Paid: $55.49 Free trial available

Copernic Desktop Search is an alternative to Windows Search as it allows you to centralize your document, file & email searches in one unique interface. 

  • Website:http://www.copernic.com/
  • Age rating:Not available
  • Category:Internet & Network, Search & Lockup tools

  • Publisher:Not available
  • Size:Not available
  • Genre:Not available
  • Jacob Long

    by Jacob Long

    I used this to simplify my file searches on my pc. It can better locate files you need and quickly locate them when compared to the standard Windows s More

  • Megan Ford

    by Megan Ford

    Out of all the search programs for Windows, I will always choose Copernic. I used its free trial and it never disappoints me in searching my files in  More

  • Sandra Wright

    by Sandra Wright

    Out of all the search programs for Windows, I will always choose Copernic. I used its free trial and it never disappoints me in searching my files in  More

  • Michael M null

    by Michael M null

    I have used Copernic for years. It is a great program, it works fast, and it provides a searchable preview window. However, I think it is becoming pri More

  • Hansueli Lerch

    by Hansueli Lerch

    I was not able to use it. The program could not find key words in the documents. For me it was never clear if the indexing process is completed or sti More

  • Joe Jacobs

    by Joe Jacobs

    The longer I own my PC, the more files I acquire. The built in search is no longer enough. This program helped me track down some files I could no lon More

2.Agent Ransack

Free download

Agent Ransack is a freeware Gui based, multithreaded search tool published by Mythicsoft. Available for free Agent Ransack is the lite version of File Locator file searching solution.

  • Joseph Richardson

    by Joseph Richardson

    I am the systems administrator for a national law firm. One of the most frequent request I would get from users would be the ability to search for spe More

  • Bruce Chapman

    by Bruce Chapman

    I used this software and good thing that this version is updated and works both in 32 and 64 bit.

  • Edward Powell

    by Edward Powell

    I used this software and good thing that this version is updated and works both in 32 and 64 bit.

  • Vibhore Khan

    by Vibhore Khan

    agent ransack is kind of an outdated file search system but if your still on windows 7 and below for some reason the program will work wonders for you More

  • Chan Liu

    by Chan Liu

    This program was not what I was looking for as I believe it overcomplicated the process. I would prefer something with a simpler and more modern inter More

3.Listary

Free download

Listary is a search utility for Windows that lets you quickly find your files and launch applications.

  • Website:http://www.listary.com
  • Age rating:Not available
  • Category:Internet & Network, Search & Lookup Tools

  • Publisher:Not available
  • Size:Not available
  • Genre:Not available
  • by Carl Ryan

    If you do a lot of file searches, then you know that the windows files explorer just doesn't cut it. Listary fills the holes in explorer with search,  More

  • César Correa

    by César Correa

    It acts like a file management tool but it's also great in looking for files in my laptop.

  • Larry Bell

    by Larry Bell

    It acts like a file management tool but it's also great in looking for files in my laptop.

  • Carol Henry

    by Carol Henry

    I was looking through my Windows files and could never find what I was looking for. A friend told me about Listary so I decided to give it a try. It m More

  • Bobby Brown

    by Bobby Brown

    Listary works in context menus and file explorer windows, and is more of a file management resource than solely search. It is probably a more powerful More

4.Wise JetSearch

Free download

Wise JetSearch is a free tool that helps you find your local folders, files, images, videos, quickly in your local drives. Removal and FAT drive supported. 

  • Website:Not Available
  • Age rating:Not available
  • Category:Internet & Network, Search & Lookup Tools

  • Publisher:Not available
  • Size:Not available
  • Genre:Not available
  • Shirley Dunn

    by Shirley Dunn

    Wise JetSearch is an alternative program to help look for files on the computer. It looks like the interface and level of function are worth checking out.

5.Locate32

Free download

Locate32 finds files and directories based on file and folder names stored in a database. It lets you locate files quickly, using databases to store information about directory structures and then using these databases in searches. 

  • Website:Not Available
  • Age rating:Not available
  • Category:Not available
  • Publisher:Not available
  • Size:Not available
  • Genre:Not available
  • Eric Chen

    by Eric Chen

    Searches are performed from a database of indexed files and folders instead of directly from the hard-drive, making them faster. Word search does not  More

  • by Dylan Price

    This is an excellent app for quickly finding the file that you need. I like that it comes in 32 and 64 bit versions.

  • Jerry Beck

    by Jerry Beck

    There has got to be a better way to search old binary files than Locate32. The website is hard to manage and it is little better than the default prog More

6.TextSeek

Varies by plan

TextSeek is a software designed to improve user's efficiency in desktop searching. It supports different document formats such as Word, Excel,  Powerpoint, PDF, RTF, and more.

  • Website:Not Available
  • Age rating:Not available
  • Category:Not available
  • Publisher:Not available
  • Size:Not available
  • Genre:Not available
  • Rasel Rana Ovi

    by Rasel Rana Ovi

    For me the best search tool ever! It really finds everything within seconds!

  • Md Tahsin

    by Md Tahsin

    TextSeek is lightning fast, covers everything on your computer , and gives you the results you need

  • BD Legends

    by BD Legends

    TextSeek simplifies the complicated searching to look for information into your machines.

  • Mehedi hasan

    by Mehedi hasan

    It supports Windows and Mac, cross-platform softwares are just what I need.

  • Zest Geek

    by Zest Geek

    I have tried many softwares to search document context character-by-character. The common tools like Windows Search, Looken is based on indexing techn More

7.SearchMyFiles

Free download

SearchMyFiles allows you to easily search files in your system by wildcard, by last modified/created/last accessed time, by file attributes, by file content (text or binary search), and by the file size. 

  • Website:http://www.nirsoft.net
  • Age rating:Not available
  • Category:Internet & Network, Search & Lookup tools

  • Publisher:Not available
  • Size:Not available
  • Genre:Not available
  • Marilyn Sanders

    by Marilyn Sanders

    I'm having a hard time deciding if this is a trustworthy solution. I just can't find good info on this solution and the website looks old and not very More

  • Patrick Willis

    by Patrick Willis

    This is an excellent way to look for anything on your computer. It will help everybody, and anybody with something they may need to find.

  • Henry Jordan

    by Henry Jordan

    For a person looking to simplify the process of searching through windows files, SearchMyFiles is an immense help. The program is simple to use and sa More

8.AnyTXT Searcher

Free download

AnyTXT Searcher is a desktop search engine which supports various formats such as plain text format, Microsoft Outlook (eml), Microsoft Excel (xls, xlsx), PDF, and more. This local data desktop search tool is designed with quick search feature.

  • Website:Not Available
  • Age rating:Not available
  • Category:Not available
  • Publisher:Not available
  • Size:Not available
  • Genre:Not available
  • Ge Ye null

    by Ge Ye null

    I really like Everything, I use it every day. Recently, I found a new tool, AnyTXT Searcher, which is a simple and practical text search tool as Everything. If you like Everything, you will like it and it is highly recommended.

9.Lookeen

Paid: $49.8 Free trial available
Lookeen Free Desktop Search is a Windows search tool enabling you to find data saved anywhere on your local drive. Business edition also available.
  • Website:Not Available
  • Age rating:Not available
  • Category:Not available
  • Publisher:Not available
  • Size:Not available
  • Genre:Not available
  • Kevin Duncan

    by Kevin Duncan

    I wanted to see what Lookeen was all about so I decided to give it a test run. There are two versions a free and a professional, so I chose to use the More

  • Susan Wright

    by Susan Wright

    I downloaded the free version and it really impressed me since it worked until the Windows Vista. I plan to buy the Business edition to have more feat More

  • Mary Carter

    by Mary Carter

    I downloaded the free version and it really impressed me since it worked until the Windows Vista. I plan to buy the Business edition to have more feat More

  • Guo Hu

    by Guo Hu

    the software is very efficient and usefull

  • Alejandro Bonilla

    by Alejandro Bonilla

    If you have a massive amount of files on your computer and other hard drives, Lookeen seems to be one of the best choices available on the market. The More

  • Hansueli Lerch

    by Hansueli Lerch

    Within the test period the program could not find all the key word in the document. Status of the indexing process was allays a Mysterium for me.

10.Exselo Desktop

$1.95/month

Exselo Desktop is desktop search tool that allows users to collaborate, search and share data in real time using encrypted peer-to-peer technology.

  • Website:Not Available
  • Age rating:Not available
  • Category:Not available
  • Publisher:Not available
  • Size:Not available
  • Genre:Not available
  • Karen Russell

    by Karen Russell

    Exselo eases the workload in our office. Now we can easily collaborate on projects with this desktop search product because it will search everyone's  More

  • Deborah Bell

    by Deborah Bell

    Exselo Desktop is an excellent peer-to-peer resource that lets coworkers collaborate and share work instantly. You and your peers can search and quick More

  • Andrew Delgado

    by Andrew Delgado

    This product seems designed for the sole purpose of searching one's computer. It might be overkill, but it does provide a good solution.

11.AKIN Desktop HyperSearch

$129.99

AKIN Desktop HyperSearch is a desktop search programme for Windows that counts with advanced pattern recognition that allows you search without worrying about misspelling a word and find exactly what you need.  

  • Website:Not Available
  • Age rating:Not available
  • Category:Not available
  • Publisher:Not available
  • Size:Not available
  • Genre:Not available
  • by Chris Eakins null

    Most other solutions mentioned here rely on exact word searches. AKIN is next-gen advanced fuzzy/semantic search, which basically means you no longer  More

  • by Chris Eakins null

    This is next-gen desktop search technology. Most of the other search engines here rely on exact word or exact partial word matches that require you to More

  • Nathan Ulmer null

    by Nathan Ulmer null

    This desktop app will blow your mind! I use it to search my emails and find files on my laptop...child's play for this app. I'd really like to see thi More

  • John Harrison

    by John Harrison

    Really great product that finds my files and emails quickly when I can't remember exactly how they were named.

12.Voidtools Everything

Free download
Everything is a esktopd dsearch tool for instantly finding everything you need in your Windows device. A small installation file gives you access to a clean and easy interface for your desktop searches.
  • Website:Not Available
  • Age rating:Not available
  • Category:Internet & Network, Search & Lookup tools

  • Publisher:Not available
  • Size:Not available
  • Genre:Not available
  • Sean Elliott

    by Sean Elliott

    If you have ever tried to find a program or file on your computer and been at a loss, you could probably get a lot of use out of this program. No more More

  • Howard Peters

    by Howard Peters

    This seems like a good, lightweight solution with a small install footprint. Allows the user to perform the functions they need without a lot of extra More

  • by Jason Simmons

    This product makes searching my computer easier than ever. Its much more efficient and organized than the default search on my computer.

  • Ge Ye null

    by Ge Ye null

    I really like Everything, I use it every day. Recently, I found a new tool, AnyTXT Searcher, which is a simple and practical text search tool as Every More

13.SSuite Desktop Search Engine

Free download

SSuite Desktop Search Engine is a free desktop search engine that allows you to easily search for files, pictures. videos, and programs that you have on your computer. If you don't seem to find it, or can't remember in what folder you put it, then this tool will help you out. 

  • Website:https://www.ssuiteoffice.com/
  • Age rating:Not available
  • Category:Utilities, Tools

  • Publisher:Not available
  • Size:Not available
  • Genre:Not available
  • Georgia Olson null

    by Georgia Olson null

    Runs on any Windows system from 95 to 10. Very fast and multi-threaded. Display results in grid from and image previews.

14.AstroGrep

Free download

AstroGrep is a Microsoft Windows grep utility, a command-line program which searches within files for keywords. It supports regular expressions, versatile printing options, stores most recently used paths and has a "context" feature which is very nice for looking at source code.

  • Website:Not Available
  • Age rating:Not available
  • Category:Not available
  • Publisher:Not available
  • Size:Not available
  • Genre:Not available
  • Grace Meng

    by Grace Meng

    Sometimes I find myself in a situation where I need a file on my computer but I can't remember where I put that file. This is rather frustrating. I ha More

  • Janice Stewart

    by Janice Stewart

    This worked well. I can literally find anything on my Windows directory within seconds simply by typing in a keyword. No longer do I have to search th More

  • Justin Grant

    by Justin Grant

    AstroGrep is the best search program ever! It lets me search for files, but even better, it lets me search inside files which other search programs wo More

15.Duplicate & Same Files Searcher

Free download

Duplicate & Same Files Searcher lets you search for duplicate file contents regardless of the file name (true byte-to-byte comparison). It allows you to delete duplicate files, move them to another location, and also replace duplicates with NTFS hard links.

  • Website:Not Available
  • Age rating:Not available
  • Category:Not available
  • Publisher:Not available
  • Size:Not available
  • Genre:Not available
  • Marilyn Greene

    by Marilyn Greene

    I needed something to search my Windows computer right from my desktop. My computer was getting cluttered and I needed something I could find stuff wi More

  • William Ward

    by William Ward

    This is a very niche tool for searching for duplicate files. The thing that makes this useful is that it will search for files even they they have dif More

  • William Gordon

    by William Gordon

    This is likely not the best but it is a file search program.

16.Registry Finder

Free download

Registry Finder is an improved replacement for the built-in Windows registry editor that allows you to browse the local registry; create, delete, rename keys and values; modify values as its natural data type (string, multistring, DWORD) or as a binary data, and more.

  • Website:Not Available
  • Age rating:Not available
  • Category:Not available
  • Publisher:Not available
  • Size:Not available
  • Genre:Not available
  • by Doris Larson

    My mom is always asking me for help finding programs and picture fules on her computer for her. A friend told me to check out Registry Finder. I can s More

  • Jonathan Duncan

    by Jonathan Duncan

    I liked the guide on how to use it which makes it simple and easy to use, the screenshots helps a lot. Can be use on different windows version is plus More

  • Brandon Smith

    by Brandon Smith

    I was looking for a desktop search programs for Windows that is better than the stock search function. I gave Registry Finder a shot but I don't think More

DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know that the first three search engines ever made were named “Archie”, “Veronica”, and “Jughead”? The “Archie” search engine is considered to be the first one developed, which was derived from the word “archive” without the V and created by three computer science students from McGill University School of Computer Science in 1990, in which the program downloads the directory listings of all the files located on public anonymous FTP sites, creating then a searchable database of downloadable file names. The service began as a project for students and volunteer staff of the university and further work on the Archie server was ceased during the late 90s, although it is still maintained and active for historical purposes in Poland at the University of Warsaw’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling.

A year after Archie’s release, the Gopher protocol emerged, spearheaded by University of Minnesota’s Microcomputer Center manager Mark McCahill, and with it, two programs dubbed “Veronica” and “Jughead”. Despite the Archie server creator Alan Emtage stating that there were no relations between his program and the Archie comics, the two new programs from the Gopher protocol were characters from the series, thus referencing their predecessor.

Although the earlier search engines might be considered inferior compared to the ones we have today, most of the features that were incorporated within their forerunners - like algorithms, keywords, and related studies - are what made modern search engines easier to use.

Advertisement