Locate

In the personal computing space, Windows today has a complete dominance over other operating systems. Both Unix and Linux have failed to make a dent in the personal computing space even though they possessed an entire range of cutting edge features. Now if you have worked on an Unix machine before and miss its Locate utility then you can have the same functionality in Windows using the Locate 1.0 application. It offers a basic GUI interface that you can choose to use or opt to run it from command prompt.

When you launch the Locate 1.0 application in graphical mode, you are greeted with a compact grey shaded interface. Basically it builds up an index of filenames and once that is prepared, finding a file in it can be done in a matter of seconds. The results can displayed on a notepad or even in the console. Now once you are through with your search tasks, you can delete the Index that you have created by clicking on the Delete DB option placed on the top right corner. One must note that the application is constrained by the fact that it does not go through the contents of any file. In other words if you are looking search something within a file, the application is practically useless. On the positive side, it is extremely light on your system and makes you feel nostalgic about good old days on a Unix machine.

We found the Locate 1.0 application rather limited in features despite the fact that it does meet its basic objectives. We mark it with a score of two rating stars for its fast lookup capacity. The tool is ideally suited for technical specialists like system administrators etc who love the command prompt and need to look up files in quick time.

An enhanced Windows equivalent of the Unix Locate utility. It allows command line and GUI searches for filenames. Locate continuously updates itself as the system creates, deletes, or renames files. Searches can be sorted, limited to files or directories, and can include any character.