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How To: Optimize Instant Index Search In Vista
The index is like a library that stores information about files, including the file name, the date it was modified and properties such as author, tags or rating. Instead of looking through your entire hard disk for a file name, Instant Search scans the index, which allows most results to appear in a small fraction of the time that a search without the index would have taken. By default, Instant Search indexes only a small number of folders such as the Start Menu, the names of the files opened, the Documents folder and the user’s e-mail.
The index can be customized by the user at any time. You can remove locations or file types from the index in order to make Instant Search even faster or you can add even more locations or files types.
1) Click the Start button to open the Start Menu, then select Control Panel.Once in the Control Panel Type “index” in the top right search box and a options page should appear.
2) Click on the first one on the list which should be “Indexing Options” and a new windows should appear.Here you can see the locations that are included in the search index.
If you want to add or remove locations, click on the Modify button. In the Indexed Locations window browse to the specific folders you want to add to the index and click on the corresponding check boxes. If you want to remove a location from the index, just uncheck the corresponding check box.
3) After you have selected all the locations you want to include in the index, press the OK button and you will return to the Indexing Options window.
If you want to configure other aspects of the search index, click on the Advanced button.
4) In the Advanced Options window you will find two tabs: Index Settings and File Types. In the Index Settings tab you can rebuild the index, restore the default settings or change the location where the index is saved on your hard disk. You can also set the index to include encrypted files or treat words with diacritics as different words.
In the File Types tab you can select the types of files that are indexed. Just scroll down the list of available extensions and check or uncheck the ones you want to include or remove.You can also configure it so that it indexes only the file properties or the files properties and their content.
Final Note
Configuring the Windows Vista search index is very easy. Before you make any changes you should decide what you want: better speed or more comprehensive search results?
If you want more speed, then you should keep the indexed file types and locations to a minimum and try to include only those which are important to you as a user. If you want comprehensive results, then you should include all the locations where you store your files. Also, it might be a good idea to index properties and file contents. However, the more you include in the index, the more time it takes to build that index and to return search results. This is why we recommend you to experiment a bit before making the final configuration and try to create a balance between speed and quality.
Also Read:
- Best Of: Best Free Desktop Search Tools
- How To: Create/Manage Email Contacts Group in Windows Vista
- How To: Remove The Text From An Icon
- How To: Customize The Look Of Your Start Menu In Vista
- How To: Boot Windows XP Faster
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Tags: , better search options in vista, change vista search options, improve search in vista, optimize search vista, tweak search options vista, vista vs google search Discussion
2 comments for “How To: Optimize Instant Index Search In Vista”
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Hello!, Matthew is awesomely cool with tons of knowledge and lots of experience in blah blah blah ...he doesn't like writing about himself cause it always seems to come out sounding self-centered, instead he will write this in a third person which most authors do anyway...perhaps it's because it makes us sound important cause it gives the illusion someone (non biased) thinks so highly of us they took some time off their own to write this :).Read more about me here...
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I have a folder in my desktop and some .jpeg files in it. I have deleted the folder completely. If i search for .jpg in the search, it lists the files that are deleted. How to delete those files when i search for .jpg.
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Have you tried rebooting? also look in the options ifs theres a re-indexing button so vista can check the files you’ve modified and re arrange your index cache accordingly.
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