LookDisk

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on January 12, 2012

LookDisk is the sort of search tool we like: fast, no-nonsense text, file, and duplicate searches, including wildcard and file attribute searches, of any disk or directory you specify, including networks. It uses few system resources. And you can save your searches and return to them later. It also displays disk and system information.

LookDisk opened with an optional tool tip with an advisory about duplicate files. This feature can find duplicates by content or name, but it can't verify that any two files are actual duplicates. The program recommends backing up any files before you delete them, and we agree. LookDisk has a clean, efficient interface with a familiar layout that still manages a unique look. Its left-side panel accesses all major features and options: Find Duplicate Files, Search Text, Search Files, Disk Overview, Options, and Help. The program displayed a variety of information about our system, including the capability to open the Windows Directory, System Directory, Internet Cache, and Temp Directory and even empty the caches. Tabs let us configure Search and Extension Parameters, exclude files and folders, and set file size and other limits. We started with a simple file search, which completed quickly and returned excellent results. The Duplicates search took much longer, of course, but LookDisk displayed all suspected duplicates in a color-coded view listing Folder, Size, and much more. The Search Text feature actually uses a separate interface, a compact dialog offering many check boxes to select Hex codes, match case, and other options. Clicking Disk Overview opened a page of detailed information about our disks and volumes, including capacity, free space, and volume serial number. By default, the program selects the check box that ignores CD/DVD drives; unchecking this displays these peripherals. LookDisk offers few options, though we could choose which archives to search and how to search them.

Like we said, we like LookDisk. It's fast, flexible, and capable, yet it's also easy to use. It's a viable alternative to the built-in Windows search tool, and its duplicate file finder works as well as any we've tried.