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Dave's Quick Search Deskbar

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET Staff on February 27, 2009

This toolbar program differs from many of its competitors by running on the bottom taskbar near the Start button, not at the top of your Web browser. That said, Dave's Quick Search Deskbar is very easy to use and won't take up much of your PC's resources. You simply double-click the word Search, and the toolbar gives you a field in which to enter text. You then type a term, select a site via the arrow icon, and the app automatically launches your browser and performs your search. Unlike many other toolbar add-ons for Web browsers, this one lets you access and search a great number of sites, including those specializing in travel, finance, construction, and entertainment, as well as Amazon and eBay. The only problem we found with it is that all the preferences are scripted in text files, making it challenging for the average user to customize. Dave's Quick Search Deskbar is a very handy and compact browsing companion that will help make your searches more effective.
 
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Publisher's Description

From David Bau:

Dave's Quick Search Deskbar is a minimal little search textbox for your Windows Deskbar. Type in some search terms and launch a Web search. It can launch searches on Google, Yahoo, Merriam-Webster, Switchboard, Bloomberg, AccuWeather, CNN, eBay, Amazon, and more than 100 other services. It also has other useful built-in features like a search history, calendar, and an expression calculator.

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All User Reviews
  • All versions:

    3.4 stars

    out of 9 votes

    • 5 star: 6
    • 4 star: 0
    • 3 star: 1
    • 2 star: 0
    • 1 star: 2
  • Current version:

    3.9 stars

    out of 9 votes

    • 5 star: 6
    • 4 star: 0
    • 3 star: 1
    • 2 star: 0
    • 1 star: 2
  • My rating:

    0 stars

    Write review

Results 1-8 of 8

  • 5.0 stars

    "Indispensable"

    August 18, 2006  |   By spirona

    Version: Dave's Quick Search Deskbar 3.1.8

    Pros

    More than just what the editor's review says it is-- you can launch programs (e.g., command prompt), use as a calculator, send email, pull up a calendar, display time/date, and much more. And it is not hard to customize at all-- there is a companion software called search wizard (download from Dave's website) that integrates w/ IE and let's you make ANY search site part of the deskbar. You can use Dave's w/ Firefox and Thunderbird also. And best of all, it's VERY small, NO impact on system resources, and VERY stable (don't listen to the idiotic negative reviews from ignorant, novice users).

    Cons

    I wish I could search my pc files with it and wish the help files were better. Other than that, it's perfect.

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  • 5.0 stars

    "The most indispensable software I use, after my browser..."

    April 30, 2006  |   By chaim32

    Version: Dave's Quick Search Deskbar 3.1.8

    Pros

    I have been using Dave's Quick Search Deskbar for over two years (recently upgraded to version 3.1.9.2). Similarly to other search tool-bars (I.e Google), it allows you to enter a search-string on the task-bar, and it will open your browser (or, as I use it, a new tab in my already open browser), and perform the search.

    But what makes this tool really unique is its extensibility and customization. There are over 500 pre-defined specialized searches, and it is very easy to define additional seatches (such as private intranet searches of various types). You have to try it yourself to realize how good this is. Highly recommended!

    Cons

    As of this writing, IE7 beta has a bug which prevents DQSD from working. The choice is simple: uninstall IE7.

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  • 3.0 stars

    "frustrating, but it works"

    April 12, 2006  |   By Raget

    Version: Dave's Quick Search Deskbar 3.1.8

    Pros

    this program, to give it merit, does work, and has many functions, which is great, it searches endless catagories which is great

    Cons

    Uninstallation took awhile to work out, plus the help file is poor. There are issues with SP2, which meant i removed it nearly straight away.

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  • 5.0 stars

    "Great Little Tool!"

    February 9, 2005  |   By tridom

    Version: Dave's Quick Search Deskbar 3.1.8

    Pros

    Allows me to quickly find what I want on the WWW. The help files are fantastic and once you begin to know the shortcuts, it cuts search time immensly.

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  • 5.0 stars

    "Easy and reliable"

    January 14, 2005  |  

    Version: Dave's Quick Search Deskbar 3.1.8

    Summary

    It is so small yet so versatile, really saves a lot of time.

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  • 5.0 stars

    "Makes you more efficient"

    October 11, 2004  |  

    Version: Dave's Quick Search Deskbar 3.1.8

    Summary

    Great tool for mouse weary users and those who are always looking to shave a few seconds off their everyday web browsing tasks.

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  • 5.0 stars

    "its a life saver"

    April 14, 2004  |  

    Version: Dave's Quick Search Deskbar 3.1.8

    Summary

    it makes a very easy four u to get hold of products much more easily

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  • 1.0 stars

    "Crashes Windows Explorer"

    April 12, 2004  |  

    Version: Dave's Quick Search Deskbar 3.1.8

    Summary

    When I ran the program it appeared in my Start Bar as it should, but my computer froze. Three Seconds later Windows Explorer crashed.

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