Effective File Search 6.5

Effective File Search is a very useful search utility. It can effectively replace the Windows search utility. Even with the latest versions of Windows, I still find that the search utility fails to even find files after I tell it exactly where to look for them. It is one of the most frustrating bugs of Windows, and it has been that way forever! Effective File Search is a small utility that can help you find any files on your computer or throughout a network.

Effective File Search can carry out simple searches, but you can also customize the way the application looks for files. For example, in the main window, you can specify the directory of the search, as well as how far down it should go to find files. By default, it looks in the folder you specified and all subfolders, but you can change this. This application does not search as-you-type, but that is not really a necessity for me. The searches are not blazing fast, but they are accurate.

There are two more searching modes that can be accessed via a few tabs on the main window. These modes allow you to search for files by specifying dates and sizes. You can look for files that were modified or created on a particular date or files of a specific size, or larger or smaller than that size. Also, you can look for text and HEX codes in files.

All in all, this app works very well as a replacement search utility. It lacks Explorer Integration, but it makes up for that with accurate results.