Google desktop hacked

I have a confession: I was not a Google Toolbar user, but we had a relationship. It always seemed to work, too: removing not only Google Toolbar but also Yahoo! Toolbar, Ask Jeeves Toolbar , or any toolbar would give back so much screen real estate we are talking about the x screen resolution days of the s that there was at least the perception of a tune-up.

The popularity of Google Toolbar — and other browser toolbars — in the s was what pushed web browsers to adopt web searches as a built-in feature. Internet Explorer 7 was one of the first browsers to have a dedicated search field next to the address bar, making web searches quick — though the default search engine was Microsoft Live Search, to the dismay of many.

With Chrome dominating web browser usage since , the redundant web search fields have finally come to an end. If you really feel like you need another toolbar fix, the Yahoo! Toolbar somehow still exists — but now as an extension for Firefox. Live updates. Load Error. You could do a Google search in the Google Toolbar, the IE8 search field, or the Google website — the choice is yours. A quick flip for me. Here at Lifehacker, we've got plenty of love for Google Desktop - like Wendy's recent beginner's guide to mastering Google Desktop search.

Personally, I love Google Desktop as a desktop search app, but I'm more interested in it as an application launcher first and search tool second. Out of the box, however, GDesktop isn't well-configured as an app launcher, and overall there are a few missing features that could really improve the program.

This week I'm going to introduce you to how I use Google Desktop search, from the best preferences configuration and plug-ins to a quickly scripted feature I feel is sorely missing. First, let's discuss settings. Out of the box, Google Desktop's defaults are fine, but since I prefer using GDesktop primarily as an app launcher I launch programs a lot more than I search for files , there is one setting that I consider absolutely necessary.

As Wendy highlighted in her feature, double-tapping Control will bring up your Google Desktop quick search box. Chances are, unless you're doing some hardcore digging for files, you'll be able to find the file or program you're looking for in the as-you-type quick search results, without the need to view the results in your browser.

This simple tweak turns Google Desktop Search into a much more useful application and document launcher, and though I'm sure many of you made the same change as soon as you installed GDesktop, it's one of those settings that can make all the difference if you haven't.

Often, when I'm looking for a file that I don't know the name of, I do remember the name of a file in the same directory. You can right-click a search result and select Open Folder, but I've always felt that a keyboard shortcut would be a lot easier Where would I be without you, AutoHotkey?!

Unfortunately, Google Desktop isn't always on top of its game, and from time to time files seem to disappear. For example, for a while Google Desktop could not find Opera, and as a result I couldn't launch it quickly and easily.

If you want to band-aid one missing file like my opera. Google Desktop should pick up on the move and re-index the file. Alternately, if you feel GDesktop is missing out on a lot of files, a re-index may be in order.

Google Desktop will start indexing your hard drive from scratch. Be warned: re-indexing your hard drives takes some time. I'd love to automate this process to re-index my hard drive every couple of weeks, but an afternoon with AutoHotkey proved fruitless on this one.