Review of:
Search32 
by Dr. Bob O'Connor

 Search32 is easy to install and once installed can be used immediately. Anet has included a sample index that includes all *.txt, *.html, and *.doc files to get a quick start. In the sample index, for example, a search looking for the word "friend" produced 14 entries in nine files and did so in well under a second. It found the words "automatically" and "run" in shortly over two seconds. Such search capabilities are invaluable to most of us who may create many data files but not always remember the names that we gave them! As in most searches, the more peculiar or unusual the word, the more useful the search will be. Creating indices is easy and very customizable. Indices can (or not) be updated upon opening the program, which naturally delays the opening. Once opened though, the program is lightning quick and exceptionally useful. 

 The Search Results window reveals the full path of the files found, a highlighted search word in the context of the file (although the files are not always viewed in a native format), the number of files found, and the number of instances (of the search expression) that were found. Instances can be advanced by F3 or reversed by F2. All in all a very easy operation. 

 It comes with several language character sets, case sensitive or insensitive English, English & German, and English and Russian. This last is not surprising since the authors (and Anet headquarters) are in Moscow. Technical support is effective, but requires either e-mail or a toll call to the company. But they returned my call the following business day and returned an e-mail query within a day as well. 

 The interface is simple and everything is more or less easily in reach. Indices can be created easily including or excluding certain folders, file extensions, or files themselves. Indices can span drives or partitions and be updated manually, upon Windows startup, or upon opening Search32. Searches accept wildcards and Boolean logic and there's a switch for searching only whole words. Another nice feature is the automatic "cache watcher" which enables rapid searches of cached material that is often desperately sought by desperate surfers. (At least this desperate surfer runs into that problem! 

 There are, of course, sufficient viewing options to satisfy most users, e.g., font and color settings. One of the more useful, I believe, is the opportunity to display the search results in a word-wrapped format. 

 Problems: Search syntax is a bit peculiar. It's difficult to search for words that have apostrophes (e.g., O'Connor) and the error message is not very helpful "Search operation failed. Make sure the search expression is correct." The program can search for short phrases with no difficulty but long phrases slow the search considerably. The only other "problem" is simply the "cost" side of the great "benefit" of rapid searching — added hard disk space for the indices. That should be less of a problem since hard disk cost has become so reasonable. But the buyer should remember that neither lunch nor speedy searches are free. 

 On balance, I believe that this utility would be a boon to most users, especially those who use their computers extensively. 

 As mentioned, Search32 can be ordered through www.taylortrade.com for $39.95. Although that may be a bit pricey for a restricted purpose utility, if it's the one that will save you much time, then it's probably a value. 

 Anet can be reached at Taylor Trade Talk, 315 Alamo Square Alamo, CA 94507, 888/709 - 2638 (TTT - 709 - ANET) or 510-743-2794, E-Mail: ttt@anetusa.com, search32@ anetusa.com (registration/sales); s32support@anetusa.com (technical support).