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I was always very skeptical about the need for search indexing for local files - how often do you search for stuff to need indexing in the first place? I have a

I was always very skeptical about the need for search indexing for local files - how often do you search for stuff to need indexing in the first place? I have a ton of files, certainly more than the average Windows user and i do search for things often enough (at least once a day). To search i use Total Commander (allows for both wildcard/regex searches, archive searches, content search with a bunch of options) which doesn't use indexing at all and search speed was never something i had as a problem (and in general i hate waiting for the computer to do stuff). In what workflows is search needed so often and for so many files that it necessitates indexing? Even back when i first encountered it (in Vista - AFAIK it existed in XP and before but it wasn't enabled by default) i thought it was a waste of resources and unnecessary complexity.

ptidhomme 7y ago
Totally agree. Back then in XP I'd always disable search indexing, prefetch and superfetch in order to reduce that constant disk activity.
mlang23 7y ago
Agreed. updatedb from the locate package is typically the first thing that I uninstall on a new Linux installation. The nightly cronjob definitely consumes a lot more resources over time then it will ever save me waiting time.
tjoff 7y ago
Every time? Searching everything takes lots of time, searching through an indexed database takes less than a second. When in windows I use a locate-port[1] that I use to index any local disks as well as remote network shares of interest. It would take about an hour to search everything. But an hour wouldn't be that bad, the problem arises when you are not quite sure what you are looking for. Getting the response back instantaneous is invaluable because you can refine your search in seconds. [1] https://locate32.cogit.net/ https://locate32.cogit.net/
- caspper69 7y ago
  And your use case makes sense; but your use case is not typical for 99% of desktop OS users. And instantaneous results mean nothing if they're worthless. I'd rather let you turn on indexing because you need it and it matches your use case. Leave the other 99% alone.
  - tjoff 7y ago
    Indexing benefits the other 99% as well. Windows default was ok but slow in XP and absolutely unusable since. Any benefit to search would be a massive benefit to millions of people. Doesn't have to be indexed but would certainly help. I guess SSDs are quick enough many times but it is absolutely essential if a regular hard drive is in the picture.
- mintplant 7y ago
  I use Everything [0], a similar program which is designed to stay resident and essentially become part of your keyboard muscle memory. I have a couple custom shortcuts configured so I can easily open the result, open the result and hide the Everything dialog, or open the folder containing the result. [0] https://www.voidtools.com/support/everything/ https://www.voidtools.com/support/everything/

ptidhomme 7y ago

Totally agree. Back then in XP I'd always disable search indexing, prefetch and superfetch in order to reduce that constant disk activity.

mlang23 7y ago

Agreed. updatedb from the locate package is typically the first thing that I uninstall on a new Linux installation. The nightly cronjob definitely consumes a lot more resources over time then it will ever save me waiting time.

tjoff 7y ago

Every time? Searching everything takes lots of time, searching through an indexed database takes less than a second. When in windows I use a locate-port[1] that I use to index any local disks as well as remote network shares of interest. It would take about an hour to search everything. But an hour wouldn't be that bad, the problem arises when you are not quite sure what you are looking for. Getting the response back instantaneous is invaluable because you can refine your search in seconds. [1] https://locate32.cogit.net/ https://locate32.cogit.net/

caspper69 7y ago
And your use case makes sense; but your use case is not typical for 99% of desktop OS users. And instantaneous results mean nothing if they're worthless. I'd rather let you turn on indexing because you need it and it matches your use case. Leave the other 99% alone.
- tjoff 7y ago
  Indexing benefits the other 99% as well. Windows default was ok but slow in XP and absolutely unusable since. Any benefit to search would be a massive benefit to millions of people. Doesn't have to be indexed but would certainly help. I guess SSDs are quick enough many times but it is absolutely essential if a regular hard drive is in the picture.
mintplant 7y ago
I use Everything [0], a similar program which is designed to stay resident and essentially become part of your keyboard muscle memory. I have a couple custom shortcuts configured so I can easily open the result, open the result and hide the Everything dialog, or open the folder containing the result. [0] https://www.voidtools.com/support/everything/ https://www.voidtools.com/support/everything/