local information search

B_ax_ter · 07-20-2006, 03:04 AM

Hi there. How do you people deal with huge amounts of documents? We have a few computers in the local network and finding a particular document sometimes becomes a nightmare... standard windows search definitely doesn't help...

chauffeur2 · 07-20-2006, 05:07 AM

Greetings B_ax_ter, and Welcome to TSF,

I don't know whether you've tried this at all..

What I do is I 'customise' my folders, and how I do it is...

Lets say I make a folder 'emails', [which I have as a matter of fact], and I need to find an email from, say January 2006. All you do is open the folder > Go to > View > Highlight Details > Arrange Icons By > Modified > Show in Groups.

[I selected 'Details', because, in my emails there's over 150 in the folder, and using 'Icons' makes it a bit cumbersome.]

Its a bit of a fiddly process to start with, as each step requires you to start at the 'view' button each time, but once you've got them arranged by Modification and Shown in Groups you have all your emails or other documents in chronological order, which makes them a breeze to find, and they'll always be in that order.

Alternatively, it might suit you to have them in Alphabetical Order, inwhich case instead of selecting "Modified", select 'Name', that way they will be in Alphabetical Order, with A;B;&C etc. as each 'listing'.

If you haven't tried it before, give it a go, you'll be amazed at the difference!

Post back with what you think, or if this isn't what your intention is.

yustr · 07-20-2006, 01:27 PM

Me thinks you're hinting at the single biggest problem facing computer system managers: USERS.

What you're really talking about is changing people's bad habits. The users should be segregating their files into manageable and known folders; with names that mean something. And then they need the discipline to save the files to these on a regular interval.

One thing I’ve seen done is severely restrict the size of the C drives on individual computers. But even a 40G drive can hold thousands of text files. Also, restricting email folders might be an option but again, unless they’re getting huge files, normal email files can’t really fill a 1G folder.

So you’re left with training and auditing. Train the users on the limits you’re comfortable with; say no folder should contain greater than 1000 files. Then look at the structure that they build and “suggest” improvements.

Short of these ideas, I must ask, why do you have to locate the specific file? Are you getting asked by your users?

Also, have you tried “Google desk top” (or whatever they called it)? If I recall it did a really speedy job of searching the PC.

Zack_turman · 07-24-2006, 06:58 AM

SearchInform full text search system positions itself as a corporate tool for data search in the enterprise LANs. Supports practically all existing formats, searches in databases, DBMS, CRM, etc.; processes queries with a very high speed and works with virtualy all data volumes. The best thing about it is its ability to consolidate information from different data sources into one.
http://www.searchinform.com/

07-20-2006, 03:04 AM	#1 (permalink)
B_ax_ter Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 1 OS: winXP	local information search Hi there. How do you people deal with huge amounts of documents? We have a few computers in the local network and finding a particular document sometimes becomes a nightmare... standard windows search definitely doesn't help...

07-20-2006, 05:07 AM	#2 (permalink)
chauffeur2 Manager Emeritus Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 10,180 OS: Xp Sp3 with all updates + Vista™ Ultimate SP1. My System	Greetings B_ax_ter, and Welcome to TSF, I don't know whether you've tried this at all.. What I do is I 'customise' my folders, and how I do it is... Lets say I make a folder 'emails', [which I have as a matter of fact], and I need to find an email from, say January 2006. All you do is open the folder > Go to > View > Highlight Details > Arrange Icons By > Modified > Show in Groups. [I selected 'Details', because, in my emails there's over 150 in the folder, and using 'Icons' makes it a bit cumbersome.] Its a bit of a fiddly process to start with, as each step requires you to start at the 'view' button each time, but once you've got them arranged by Modification and Shown in Groups you have all your emails or other documents in chronological order, which makes them a breeze to find, and they'll always be in that order. Alternatively, it might suit you to have them in Alphabetical Order, inwhich case instead of selecting "Modified", select 'Name', that way they will be in Alphabetical Order, with A;B;&C etc. as each 'listing'. If you haven't tried it before, give it a go, you'll be amazed at the difference! Post back with what you think, or if this isn't what your intention is. __________________ Dave T. Submit New Articles If it works, Don't fix it! Especially if Bill Gates had anything to do with it!!

07-20-2006, 01:27 PM	#3 (permalink)
yustr Asst. Manager, The Conversation Pit Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Connecticut shore Posts: 6,049 OS: XP Pro My System	Me thinks you're hinting at the single biggest problem facing computer system managers: USERS. What you're really talking about is changing people's bad habits. The users should be segregating their files into manageable and known folders; with names that mean something. And then they need the discipline to save the files to these on a regular interval. One thing I’ve seen done is severely restrict the size of the C drives on individual computers. But even a 40G drive can hold thousands of text files. Also, restricting email folders might be an option but again, unless they’re getting huge files, normal email files can’t really fill a 1G folder. So you’re left with training and auditing. Train the users on the limits you’re comfortable with; say no folder should contain greater than 1000 files. Then look at the structure that they build and “suggest” improvements. Short of these ideas, I must ask, why do you have to locate the specific file? Are you getting asked by your users? Also, have you tried “Google desk top” (or whatever they called it)? If I recall it did a really speedy job of searching the PC. __________________ If there are lawyers or politicians involved, logic may be a very poor tool for reaching a conclusion.

07-24-2006, 06:58 AM	#4 (permalink)
Zack_turman Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 1 OS: win98	SearchInform full text search system positions itself as a corporate tool for data search in the enterprise LANs. Supports practically all existing formats, searches in databases, DBMS, CRM, etc.; processes queries with a very high speed and works with virtualy all data volumes. The best thing about it is its ability to consolidate information from different data sources into one. http://www.searchinform.com/