Locate files by name, size, date, time and more with this portable search tool
Instant File Search Professional is a simple search engine for local files, enabling you to locate files by name, extension, size, creation or modification time.
There's no option here to search for the content of a file. And that means you can't use filters to, say, locate MP3 files by a particular artist, or JPEGS taken by a specific camera model.
Of course this also means the program doesn't need to run in the background, building up and maintaining an index. And you don't have to remember complex filter syntax, as you do with Windows Search. Instant File Search Professional is more like Windows Search used to be. Type a keyword; choose where you searching and (optionally) the file type (documents, images, videos and so on); select a file size or date/ time if you like, and click Go to start.
What happens next may be the real problem. As there is no index, the program must now search your entire drive to locate whatever you've specified, and despite being called "Instant" File Search Professional, this is inevitably going to take a while. If you value performance above all else then you'll be better off mastering the Windows search filters and using those instead.
Instant File Search is both convenient and easy to use, though, and if your system is fast, or you don't mind waiting a few seconds, then performance may not be an issue.
Final Verdict: Instant File Search Professional offers easy, old-style searching where all the size, date and other filtering options are available up-front. The lack of an index means it's also relatively slow, but if you preferred the old XP-style searches then that may not be a problem.
Trial Software
Create, open, edit, convert and otherwise work with CD, DVD and Blu-ray disc images
Function Limited Demo
Get the low-down on every aspect of your PCs hardware and software with this in-depth system information tool
Function Limited Demo
Automatically optimise, tweak and enhance your PCs performance in just a few clicks
Trial Software
Keep your life in order with this capable scheduling tool
Trial Software
Free up space on your Mac by removing unnecessary files
Trial Software
Powerful dual-pane file manager with strong archive, FTP and macro support
Trial Software
A powerful dual-pane file manager with strong archive, FTP and macro support
Open Source
Run multiple command line windows from a single tabbed interface
Free, for personal-use only
Take control over the drive letters assigned to your USB devices
Free, for personal-use only
Take control over the drive letters assigned to your USB devices