Computer information has become more and more important, but also more complex. A document find utility helps provide easier access to needed information, from digital photos to music to documents.
Computers and computer systems have gone a long way since their origins,
and now form vital and complex parts of many aspects of society. From personal computers housing countless pictures, songs, and documents to organizational computers holding day-to-day information, computers are everywhere. More and more information is being arranged into ever more complex systems, and sometimes, it can get more than a little overwhelming. This is where the document find utility comes in handy.
These find or search utilities aim to make it easier for users to access the information that they need. Often, that picture, document, or song that you need or want to access is buried deep beneath many folders, directories, and other layers of organization. Unless you have put shortcuts in place, it takes some time and many clicks or key presses to get to the document you want. This can get pretty frustrating in the long run. With these search utilities, finding the document you want becomes as simple as typing in its filename.
Now, of course, if you had to type in the entire filename every time, it would not be such an improvement – what if you do not recall the exact name of the file at the moment? Fortunately, many search utilities allow you to just type in part of a filename, and will show all files that it finds with that string in their names. For example, typing in “docu” would most probably show not only the “document.doc” file, but also “documentary.mpg”. This makes it even easier to find any document, as long as you recall some part of its filename.
Many search utilities also allow for specifying certain details about the file being searched for. For example, you may choose to search for files only with a certain extension, or only of a certain type, such as pictures or videos or audio files. This narrows down the set of possible results, making it possible to find the file that you want much easier and more quickly.
Some search utilities can even automatically complete a partial file name that you type in, automatically filling in with your most accessed files. Over time, this means that the utility displays adaptive behavior or learns from your queries. Eventually, you would be able to access your most used files with just a few key presses. Typing in just “d” would, for example, already offer “document.doc”, which you would then be able to access with just one more key press.
Universal search utilities also exist, with varying degrees of sophistication and effectiveness. These utilities not only search filenames, but also the contents of different files. Documents, such as text files, word processor files, and even PDFs may be indexed and searched by certain utilities. This gives users unparalleled access to all the information that they have stored on their computers, allowing them to bring up the necessary file even with just a rough idea of their contents. Many a document find utility dreams of being a real universal search utility, with the power to bring up any wanted file quickly and efficiently.
