Comments on this article

Showing messages 1 through 35 of 35.

• Installation directory
  2008-08-27 22:15:45  Samapathy [View]
  
  
  Hi,
  
  Is it possible to change the installation directory or pass the path as the parameter while installing the Google desktop search?
  
  Also, is it possible to search for documents containing specific patterns like xx-xxx where 'x' could be any number or alphabet?
  
  Thanks,
  Kiruthika

• Bad Software
  2008-04-23 06:33:31  kaosad [View]
  
  
  One good reason why you SHOULDN’T install Google Desktop.
  
  1) It consumes a large portion of your hard disk space behind your back!
  
  Here is my experience. I got a huge hard disk space and at one point I got only nearly 3 Gigs left — after downloading (pretty large files), browsing, searching the web for a while I found to my amazement, my hard drive was full. Okay, I first thought I downloaded a lot lately. But then on close auditing, I downloaded only slightly less than 1 Gig. Where was the other 2 Gigs?
  
  As you might have guessed by now, I found Google Desktop has taken it up–storing what sort of info on your machine I am not sure, but I delete them all in the Google folder.
  

• Plugin idea
  2007-02-28 14:46:58  gp84rules [View]
  
  
  Google released a gadget to view your delicious bookmarks in the sidebar. However, I use delicious, but I don't use the sidebar. Is there a way for gd to index my delicious bookmarks?

• Knowing about inner details
  2006-05-09 21:20:15  nabsol [View]
  
  
  Can anyone know about inner details of google desktop. i.e. 1. How it sets up its local web server. I dont think so that it needs IIS.
  2. Which technology it uses.
  
  Thanks

• The dark side of Google Desktop
  2006-01-10 14:11:44  dlaub [View]
  
  
  1) Version 1 had a 4 GB max. When you hit that limit, no new index entries will be made. This size is not adjustable.
  
  2) Version 2 issues
  a) On my 40 GB drive, the Google Desktop index is already taking up 7 GB.
  b) there is no way to limit the index size
  c) there is no way to analyze what is taking up "most" of the space - is it Emails? is it Web history?

• Does it come with ads?
  2005-08-18 17:22:21  Zedper [View]
  
  
  That would be beyond bad. In fact I had to change my blog provider to this one (http://www.livelogcity.com/users/cin/) because my previous one would put annoying advertising on it. I hope Google doesn't get too greedy. I saw that already they have added an extra adwords spot on their search results.

• Does it come with ads?
  2005-08-18 17:18:36  Zedper [View]
  
  
  That would be beyond bad. In fact I had to change my blog provider to this one (http://www.livelogcity.com/users/cin/) because my previous one would put annoying advertising on it. I hope Google doesn't get too greedy. I saw that already they have added an extra adwords spot on their search results.

• Another useful enhancements for Google Desktop Search
  2005-08-17 10:22:04  TrieTech [View]
  
  
  Greetings!
  
  We have just released our tool that extends Google Desktop Search with archives, mht support and customizable GUI shell for search.
  
  I would like to hear your comments and suggestions on our forum.
  
  Visit http://www.trietech.com/gdstools.php
  for more information about this tool.
  
  Regards, Maxim.
  TrieTech - Enhancements for Google Desktop Search
  

• HELP Please - Refreshing the Index
  2005-05-12 18:52:29  TechGermz [View]
  
  
  Hi Guys
  
  I am very sure it is a great tool, and am very happy with the searches.
  
  I just came across a weakness though, I am not sure if there is a workaround, or if I am handling it incorrectly, or if it is fixed in a post-Beta release (I'm still on the Beta)!!
  
  I was looking for a particular text file on my PC. It satisfactorily found the file, but when I tried to click the link to access it, it came up with the following message:
  
  The following file cannot be found:
  C:\Documents and Settings\Karm\My Documents\Bigpond Stuff\BigpondADSL.txt
  This may happen if you renamed or deleted this file.
  
  Now, I do understand that it is an application that constantly needs to run in the background, and I may have switched it OFF a couple of times, and I DID move the file across to a different location while GDS was turned OFF, but still shouldn't it go back and look for changes somehow!!
  
  I tried looking hard for a REFRESH INDEX button to possibly assist me in Re-Indexing, but couln't find anything even close to it. The only option I can think of is uninstalling & reinstalling GDS!! I don't mind doing it for once, but shouldn't there be a better work-around, in case I DO have to turn the GDS off for a while in the future??
  
  Please advise if you have a solution to this, I'll now go ahead and try installing the post-beta release to see if the problem is fixed!! Thanx...

• My own plugins
  2005-04-26 00:30:41  longhorned [View]
  
  
  Hi, I've created a few plugins for GDS myself, you can download them here: (they're free)
  
  C++ file indexer
  Yahoo! Archive indexer
  Java source indexer
  
  And more coming soon. Enjoy!
  
  -MJ

• Google Desktop Clipboard plusin
  2005-02-17 17:47:15  braysoft [View]
  
  
  Hey,guys,I wrote a program named Clip History.
  
  Clip History 1.0 is a add-on to Google Desktop Search to make it possible to index your clipboard history.
  
  url: http://www.braysoft.com
  

• Google Desktop Firefox Plugin
  2005-01-25 08:49:28  amwmedia [View]
  
  
  Hey guys, I wrote a script that will auto-generate a Firefox search plugin for GDS. Makes it much easier to get to your information.
  
  Check it out.
  http://www.amwmedia.com/?nId=17
  
  - Andrew

• Google Desktop indexing anomalies
  2004-11-04 05:14:48  RegAubry [View]
  
  
  Link to my blog detailing my continuing QA of the indexing:
  http://morningmail.blogspot.com/2004_11_01_morningmail_archive.html#109934722303174391
  
  I just don't get how it can so thoroughly index my Outlook Express mail on install, and then fail to do so 24 hours later. It's a little disheartening.
  
  

• STARTUP OF PROGRAM
  2004-11-01 07:03:37  N6FB [View]
  
  
  THIS ONE IS REALLY STUPID, BUT I CANNOT GET THE PROGRAM TO OPEN, EITHER WITH THE SHORTCUT, GOING INTO THE "MY PROGRAMS"FILE AND HITTING RUN, OR LIGHTING A BOMB UNDER THE MACHINE.
  NOR CAN I GET THE OPTIONS WINDOW TO OPEN, OR ANYTHING ELSE FOR THAT MATTER. THE ICON SITS THERE AND STARES AT ME!!
  DO YOU HAVE TO BE CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET TO MAKE THIS PROGRAM OPEN??
  
  ANYBODY WHO CAN HELP VIA E MAIL WOULD BE WELCOMED BEFORE I CLICK THE "UNINSTALL" BUTTON

• Google Desktop--network drive indexing
  2004-10-27 00:35:54  techfoundation [View]
  
  
  If GDS indexes all files stored on my network drives ONLY if I have openned them... how about a VBA or small app that would sequentially open all of my files recursively a la h:\user\+ sub-dir?

• Teller plõksib: fotod, mõtted, viited Kes sobrab su kõvakettal?
  2004-10-23 09:54:27  DrHoliday [View]
  
  
  Google on nõus su kõvakettalt asju otsima: Google Desktop. Sest see on ju ammu teada, et Windowsi enda otsing imeb sajaga. Ise ei ole proovinud ja vist ei proovi kah, leian kõik vajaliku piisavalt kiiresti üles (v.a. fotod), kuid kes rohkem teada soovib, siis Kottke ja Rael Dornfest valgustavad. Aga... Zack Bagga!

• Google search from a remote machine
  2004-10-22 09:12:09  arnaud.sahuguet [View]
  
  
  Here is a simple to access the search tool from another machine.
  
  To be able to send a query and get back the results, you simply need to configure Apache as a reverse proxy (see below).
  
  Google search runs as a web server.
  It acts as a web server to return the search results, but it DOES NOT serve the local files. From the Google search screen on your browser, when you click on a file link, a request is sent to the local web server (port 4664) but nothing is returned. The google search program spawns a new process to display the file, lauching Word, Powerpoint, etc.
  
  To be able to click on the results and view them (they are local files, remember), you need to have a way to serve the files from the local machine to the remote machine. There are many solutions for this: mount the local filesystem remotely, have Apache server those files, etc.
  
  Here is my setting:
  - google search running on host1 where the files are
  - apache running on host1 as a reverse proxy
  - apache running on host2 where the host1 file system is mounted
  - client accessing the google search service through host1:80
  
  In the Apache config, you need to:
  - enable the various proxy modules
  - enable mod_rewrite
  - tell apache to reverse proxy request to localhost on port 4664
  - tell apache to rewrite google search redir requests (prefixed by /redir?url= in the link) to a web server that can display the document.
  
  Note that local documents are using Windows path separator. The path needs to be rewritten. To do that, I am using a simple Perl script that rewrite the path and returns an HTTP Location redirect.
  
  Apache config:
  
  ProxyPass / http://127.0.0.1:4664/
  
  
  <Location /redir>
  RewriteEngine On
  RewriteRule url=([^&]+) http://another-web-server/cgi-bin/show_file.cgi?$1 [R,L,NE]
  </Location>
  
  
  The show_file script is given below:
  
  use URI::Escape;
  my $file = uri_unescape($ENV{QUERY_STRING});
  $file =~ s/\\/\//g; # to replace \ by /
  $file =~ s/\+/ /g; # to replace + by space
  
  print "Location: http://another-web-server/$file\n\n";
  
  
  One last thing. When accessing google search, you need to pass some special parameters in the initial query: e.g. &s=.
  
  And it works. The only thing that does not work is the access to "cached results". This require to rewrite the HTML page returned by google search. This can be done using mod_proxy_html (see this article for more info.

• Google Desktop Search problem
  2004-10-22 08:51:35  Portland42 [View]
  
  
  for 2 days Google Desktop Search was great - until somehow it got corrupted. Am I the only one in the world this happed to? I tried to uninstall it but am left with a file "GoogleDesktopNetwork1.dll" wich I cannot remove. When trying to reinstall Google Dektop Search I get message that 'this version is already installed'! Can someone please help me out?

• All File Types?
  2004-10-22 01:37:29  paraplex [View]
  
  
  I'm really enjoying this Google Desktop software (who knew i still had all these old photos) however i'm encountering some problems...
  
  For example if i have a file called "Oreilly83" and do a search for "oreilly" it won't return the jpg unless i rename the file with a space before the number (which i won't)
  
  also, I can't change my prefs to search for files outside of the few multimedia filetypes known to google... which is a real nuisance.. I can't use it to manage all my files so it will not become integral to my day to day operations...
  
  theres no link to open up a windows explorer window of the parent folder, and additionally I can't highlight and paste location information if they are within certain folders (EG if they are in the "my documents" folder, the google search doesn't list the location as "C:\my documents" but just as "My documents"... so i can't know which drive its on...
  
  Its still in beta i know, but these are the things i'd like to see them address
  
  Lachlan

• Similar search program.
  2004-10-18 22:40:46  EHewitt [View]
  
  
  If you think Google Desktop search is useful, here's a link to a program that I use much more often. It replaces the start menu, desktop icons, and Windows Explorer with an instantaneous (tenths of a second) search! Plus, its integrated with Windows, allowing access to copy/paste, drag and drop, right click menu, etc.
  
  Its called ESP, check it out at: http://www.espsw.com
  
  

• Google Desktop vs Lookout (Lookoutsoft.com)
  2004-10-16 10:32:25  Yoav [View]
  
  
  I have been using Lookout for quite some time now. Apparently it does what Google Desktop does but as an Outlook add-in. It indexes both personal folders as well as Exchange public folders, local files as well as files residing on the LAN (other servers, NAS, etc.)
  
  For corporate users this would be a better solution I believe.
  
  

• And then this will become the hugest P2P network
  2004-10-16 02:31:16  phauly [View]
  
  
  When millions of users will have Desktop.google.com installed, Google will simply release a new version in which the user can check a box and say "Share the files in my disk" (maybe only files in a certain directory). This will create in a second an enormous P2P (peer-to-peer) network, in which you can search for files directly on other users' disks.
  See paolo's post

• Google Desktop as LAN search tool?
  2004-10-15 11:17:38  cdevers [View]
  
  

  So Google has finally offered a form of desktop search, but it only works on localhost. This seems reasonable for the average home user, but an obstacle to setting up something even cooler: a slick Google powered local LAN search engine. Think about it: even on a mostly Mac / Linux network, you can set up one Windows box that has Samba mounted your main network shares with the Google software, and through the magic of HTTP reverse proxying, your whole LAN can have a nice Google search interface into your local documentation.
  
  

  So. The obvious thing to try then is to set up Apache (or Squid, or similar software) running as a reverse proxy on that machine.
  
  

  The first thing I did when finding out about this tool was to install it on a spare Windows machine with a couple of Samba mounted network drives (I'm hoping that it will index the content of these drives, but I can't tell yet), then set up Apache as a reverse proxy to provide the indexed material as a URL that would be widely accessible on the local LAN.
  
  

  So far I can't quite get it to work -- I can connect from another computer (a Mac running Safari), but first I get complaints about running the wrong browser, and then I get errors about invalid URLs that apparently aren't being passed through. Still though, it seems certain that this should be doable, and if it can be done, this would beat the living snot out of the current ht://Dig based search engine we're using.
  
  

  Google is right to make this tool inaccessible from non-localhost access -- the average home user does not need to have the contents of their hard drive set up with an easy to browse, globally accessible search interface. And I can see where Google wouldn't want this to work on LANs either -- it would cut into their business of selling search appliances. But come on, this is right on the cusp of working as it is, and it's only in beta. If Google doesn't provide a way to turn on access for local (e.g. 192.168.x.x) addresses, I'm sure that Apache or something like it can be configured to do this.

• Why is the article full of JPEGs?
  2004-10-15 08:51:16  sceen1 [View]
  
  
  I really wasn't expecting to have to load over 100KB for each screenshot I clicked on! Why are the images not in PNG format, where they would be at most 20KB or so for full quality?

• Webwasher
  2004-10-15 04:55:58  mpd1929 [View]
  
  
  It seems not to work if I use webwasher.
  Is it possible to install it, without having to remove webwasher?

• What a hack..
  2004-10-15 03:02:03  otto [View]
  
  
  I have no doubt that Apple's upcoming Spotlight search technology will blow Google Desktop away easily. First, it will be extensible, letting me write custum plugins to work with additional file types, and second, I hope I'll be able to use it as a search index for websites hosted on my MacOS machine.

• local and network drives??
  2004-10-14 20:23:59  agoober [View]
  
  
  So if this can only be installed on your system drive (bummer since I only have 300mb free on that drive), is it still able to search other drives/partitions? What about network drives? This would be great for networks where users have data spread out all over the place.

• Google Deskbar integrates with this beautifully
  2004-10-14 17:59:02  rsoderberg [View]
  
  
  I've introduced Firefox + Google Deskbar + Google Desktop to a friend of mine, and after searching for 'mom' from the taskbar and finding emails from their mother, they were jumping up and down with happiness. Full points to Google :)

• Boy, you're pretty easily excited.
  2004-10-14 15:32:58  LudwigX [View]
  
  
  Doesn't do pdfs? Doesn't do anything in zips? When's rev 2?

• Google Desktop
  2004-10-14 15:23:50  anonymous.kook@gmail.com [View]
  
  
  The cached aspect sold it for me. And it's really, really fast which makes it even more desirable. Finally! I can find that obscure passage that I remember verbatim but, for the life of me, I just don't remember what the damn filename was!
  --
  http://www.akook.com

• But Blinkx does all of that!
  2004-10-14 14:09:08  abhijit_nandy [View]
  
  
  Blinkx (http://www.blinkx.com) came out with a desktop search tool a few months ago and that does all that Google does anyway. And far more unobtrusively! First, I don't have to open a search window and second, I don't have to use Internet Explorer!

• But Blinkz does all of that!
  2004-10-14 14:09:01  abhijit_nandy [View]
  
  
  Blinkx (http://www.blinkx.com) came out with a desktop search tool a few months ago and that does all that Google does anyway. And far more unobtrusively! First, I don't have to open a search window and second, I don't have to use Internet Explorer!

• I am *crying* I don't have this for Mac OS X
  2004-10-14 14:08:44  alderete [View]
  
  
  Wow. From your article, they've done an absolutely beautiful job with this. I am deeply sad that it's not available (yet?) for Mac OS X.
  
  Hopefully Spotlight will give me some of this, and make it easy for Google to do a Mac OS X version that gives me all of it.

• Google Search
  2004-10-14 12:15:33  GaryPotter [View]
  
  
  Excellent write-up.

• Rather stupid installer
  2004-10-14 09:48:51  pixelgeek [View]
  
  
  The application itself is tiny, but it'll consume about 500 MB of room on your hard drive
  
  Actually it fails to install if you have less than 1GB free and will only install on your system partition.
  
  So if you have multiple partitions, don't like installing apps to your system drive or have less than 1GB free on it then you are SOL.
  
  Rather stupid if you ask me.