Best Desktop Search Tool for Programmers
At least once a day I have to search my computer for source code. Sometimes I'm looking for an API function example, sometimes for something I wrote a long time ago, who knows. I've got source code in Delphi, PHP, Python, C#, and C++, and I need a way to find any string in any of these source code files. Delphi makes it easy to find Delphi stuff (though its not an indexed search) and Visual Studio is pretty good at finding C# and C++ code. But I don't want to open several tools to have to search for each different file type. Shouldn't I be able to do this in one place?
I tried X1 a while back, but I didn't want to pay the $99 for it. Google Desktop Search looked promising, but I couldn't find a way for it to treat .cpp, .h, .cs, .php, .py or other source code files as text files.
Copernic Desktop Search to the rescue! Its free, and its lets me tell it to index different types of files as text files - a perfect solution. Thank you Copernic! On a side note - it looks like Mamma is acquiring Copernic. Let's hope they keep this tool available.
Joel Ross said,
December 2, 2004 @ 12:16 pm
Adam,
Take a look at this: http://www.rosscode.com/blog/index.php?title=using_google_desktop_search_with_other_f&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
There’s a link to GDSPlus, which allows you to customize Google Desktop Search to search any types of files.
I’d be interested to see how you think the two options (mine above), and Copernic compare.
Ryanware Blog » Desktop Search said,
July 6, 2006 @ 1:16 pm
[...] There’s been a lot of buzz lately surrounding the recent release MSN Desktop Search and a little less recently, Google Desktop Search. I use search engines everyday to search the internet. When I first heard of Google Desktop Search I downloaded it, thought “I will never use this” and didn’t install it. I then read not too long ago about Copernic Desktop Search. Adam Stiles mentioned he liked it better because it would index source code files. So I figured I might as well give it a try. So I downloaded and installed it. It indexed my hard drive. I haven’t used it once. I installed the Google Desktop Search on another computer. It indexed my hard drive. I haven’t used it since. So I’m uninstalling them. Goodbye desktop search. I don’t need you. I remember where things are on my computer. When I don’t, the default Windows Find Files & Folders works just fine. And for that I don’t need an extra application running in the backround at all times. I like what Andy said about it. [...]