Everything Indexes Every File On Your PC

Windows only: As the name suggests, Everything is a file search engine which tracks every single file on your PC. Unlike full-on search systems like Google Desktop or Windows Search (both recently updated), Everything doesn’t index file contents. The default view is all files on your machine: as you type in search terms (including Boolean operators like AND or OR if necessary), the list shrinks to just those files that match. The filenames-only approach makes it less useful when you’re searching for a specific nugget of information, but if you’re trying to track down a particular file whose name you remember but whose location is elusive, or want to get a sense of how many files of a particular type are on your machine, it’s a good solution. It’s also considerably leaner than full-blown indexing alternatives; on my test machine, the index was up and running in just a few seconds, although the developer notes that performance may slow if you have a very large collection of nested files. Everything is freeware for Windows only.