Go to Windows 7 Insider Guide
- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000
- Date added: January 22, 2008
- Total Downloads: 332,208
- Downloads last week: 770
- See full specifications
A newer version of Google Desktop is available.
(Download doesn't provide access to previous versions of this program.)
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 335 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: CNET Staff
Simple, small, and free, Google Desktop indexes your hard drive the way the company's own servers index the World Wide Web. Your search results are returned in a Web-page format that looks very similar to the Google Web site, and the app's sidebar shows regular updates to your favorite programs, from e-mail to your My Pictures folder to RSS feeds and weather.
Although the initial indexing process can take a very long time--especially if you have a lot of e-mail, contacts, chat transcripts, and documents for it to parse through--it's well worth the wait to be able to search any of them from a text entry box that lives next to the Quick Launch bar. You'll still find the same basic gadget content: a music player, sports and stock tickers, a file shredder, and even some "wacky" items like an interactive plant. Along with e-mail updates, the weather, and current chats, the Desktop sidebar has a built-in to-do list, notepad, and the ability to integrate other gadgets with ease.
Version 5 is fully compatible with Windows Vista, emulating the rounded corners and translucent panels and capable of overriding the native Vista sidebar, allowing the user to swap one Big Evil Corporation out for another. There's also cross-indexing for multiple machines and sharing panel items directly with friends. The sharpest new feature is the preview window for search results, which saves a lot of time on clicking, opening, and closing.
Other programs with lighter feature sets may offer quicker and easier indexing and searching. Nevertheless, the efficient and feature-rich Google Desktop Search stands as yet another feather in the company's cap.
Watch the CNET video review of Google Desktop:
Publisher's description
From Google :Google Desktop will offer full text search over your email, computer files, chats, and the web pages you've viewed. By making your computer searchable, it puts your information easily within your reach and frees you from having to manually organize your files, emails, and bookmarks. It introduces new ways to access relevant and timely information. When you view a web page in Internet Explorer, it caches or stores its content so that you can later look at that same version of the page, even if its live content has changed or you're offline. It organizes email search results into conversations, so that all email messages in the same thread are grouped into a single search result. Version 5.7.0801.01629 includes unspecified updates.
What's new in this version:
Version 5.7.0801.01629 includes unspecified updates.
More popular Search Tools downloads
- 1,998 downloads 1. Google Desktop
- 1,173 downloads 2. Music MP3 Get
- 1,097 downloads 3. WebFerret
- 301 downloads 4. Youtube EXE
- 293 downloads 5. Cell Phone Number Trace
- See all Search Tools downloads
User reviews of Google Desktop 5.7.0801.01629
- Average user rating: 3.3 stars out of 335 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
-
Showing 5 of 6 user reviewsSee all 6 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
Version: Google Desktop 5.7.0801.01629
"Good Product Google is good at accomidating their customers"
Pros: Will Index your files for you it makes searches so much easier. Go to there plug in page and they have quite a few plug ins. Get the gd suite plug in. It will allow you to see your search results on your desktop instead of in your browser. I tried windows live and this product is better.
-
Version: Google Desktop 5.7.0801.01629
-
Version: Google Desktop 5.7.0801.01629
"It's really good, but it's slow"
Cons: it's slow
-
Version: Google Desktop 5.7.0801.01629
Cons: The following crucial options are missing in Google-Desktop
1. An option to delete all references [index] to a particular
URL. Ex: If in my web-cache I have a reference to aaa.com
and I intend to delete that, I should be able to.
2. An option to delete all references [index] to a particular
category. Ex. If I need to clear the web-cache completely, I should
have an option. This will help me to clear the web-visit-history.
After clearing this, google-desktop can start creating a new web-cache for my
NEW [URL] activities starting NOW.
Without these features, it is impossible for me to delete particular references [indexes] and thus I lack control on an app that runs on MY desktop.
-
Version: Google Desktop 5.7.0801.01629
Pros: whilst this software isnt exactly neccessary, it does offer a some visual appeal to the usual monotone desktop. Additionally it has some useful gadgets (etc sticky notes to set personal reminders)
Cons: As i mentioned above, there isn't anything about this software which made it stand out as being a 'must-have'. It is simply just a nice looking time saver
- See all 6 user reviews Write review
Submit your review
Previous Versions:
