Windows Desktop Search

Discussion created by Tom Nicholson on Feb 21, 2008
Latest reply on Jan 26, 2009 by Jeff Mowry

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Am I the only one that gets a bit peeved every time when I install/upgrade SWX it decides for me to install windows desktop search and I have to go and uninstall it?

I wonder if SWX is getting a kickback from microsoft.. heh

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14 Replies

1-6TXHTM Feb 21, 2008 2:44 PM
Tom

Don't uninstall it kust set it to index one empty folder. This way it just does nothing.

Lorne
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Karen Pechacek May 21, 2008 2:03 PM
If it does nothing why not uninstall it?
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- Dan Riffell @ Karen Pechacek on May 21, 2008 5:33 PM
  Nope, this agitates me as well. At least ask me if I want it installed in the first place, will ya?
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Kelvin Lamport May 21, 2008 6:51 PM
What are the problems you are having with Windows Desktop Search? If it is affecting performance of your PC, there are two simple things you can do to eliminate/minimise its impact:

1) Most Important ... RMB on the icon in the system tray, select Windows search options > Advanced > File Types then deselect the .xml option.

2) Set WDS to search only the folders which contain your SolidWorks models. I have found that to be useful a few times.

I found the Dissection function to be far more of a performance hit than WDS, so that has been totally disabled. As an aside, I found that trying to use the dissected features was more time consuming than the regular cut and paste methods, and therefor totally useless for me.
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- Dan Riffell @ Kelvin Lamport on May 21, 2008 8:24 PM
  My problem is that I don't like having programs running or installed on my machine that I do not use or do not use enough to warrant their installation. I find that many of the day-to-day processes that I run are much happier if I don't have a bazillion other odds and ends installed. I'm pretty anal when it comes to a tidy machine.
  
  When I use someone else's computer and they have 57 programs running that they don't know about, I nearly sully myself each time.
  
  As far as WDS goes, I just fail to see its use. I have around 9K models on my machine in about 900 folders, and I never have an issue finding what I want in a timely fashion. And I'm with you (Kelvin) that I feel the normal cut-and-paste methods are usually faster anyways in SW.
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Kevin Quigley May 21, 2008 9:49 PM
When you install each service pack now you can choose not to install desktop search.....so I don't.
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- Andy Sanders @ Kevin Quigley on May 22, 2008 2:43 PM
  I tell people all the time who don't like it to remove it from their startup folder. That way, it doesn't even get, um..started.
  
  Actually it's been a lifesaver to me many a time searching for emails in Outlook. I do that at least once a day.
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  - Dale Dunn @ Andy Sanders on May 22, 2008 7:47 PM
    Having a desktop search tool is very handy. I just tried WDS again for the last few months, and I still don't like it. Very slow searching, and poorly organized results.
    
    I'm much more satisfied with Copernic, even though it doesn't integrate with SW or index custom properties.
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Karl Hosking May 26, 2008 2:57 AM
Although the Windows Desktop Search tool is handy, when ever I update Solidworks (Currently on 2008 SP3.1) it over writes my predefined settings, adds folders, and corrupts my index!!! Currently, the search is borked (that's a technical term for f****d) and is causing my PC (Windows XP SP2) to stall, sometimes 20 seconds at a time etc when opening new programs, printing, searching etc. Taskmanger points the finger at searchfilterhost.exe, searchprotocolhost.exe and searchindexer.exe

I've unticked the XML file in the settings, and also removed all of the added Solidworks folders, but still no luck. I've rebuilt the index with only folders I require, but still the search is very very buggy. Note that it was working flawlessly prior to my Solidworks update!

I'm going to uninstall the search and reinstall it to see if I can get my PC back to the way it was running prior to the Solidworks update. I've found that the search is a very important tool that I use daily, multiple times! It finds a job for me in two seconds, compared to the old fashioned search which used to take minutes.
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Scott Chabineau Oct 13, 2008 2:29 PM
I use Google Desktop search. Indexes across the network, and finds most anything - inlc SW files. Very few issues - and FREE. I do not use WDS - slower and finds less...
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Jim Stalewski Oct 13, 2008 7:14 PM
But the problem isn't with whether or not there's a search program you use, it's the fact that SolidWorks (I think specifically, SolidWorks Explorer, IIRC) wants to use Windows Desktop Search to index stuff for it, so it wants to install WDS if it's not installed. Fine and dandy if you want WDS there at all, but one major beef with WDS is that it, by design (which sucks) wants to index your Outlook emails for you, so you have to make sure Outlook is deselected from the indexed locations if you don't want that to happen.

Interesting thing about that is, it will attach to all of the MAPI profiles you might have stored and try to contact the email servers associated with those MAPI profiles - without asking - BEFORE you can even access the dialog to tell the damn thing not to index Outlook - and regardless of what MAPI profile might actually be active. Really poor code design, there. Almost as bad as SolidWorks' programming practices of putting all the eDrawings settings in the HKCU hive, having hidden "default" registry values, and not presenting easy administration of those settings. But I digress...
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Robert Hoover Dec 18, 2008 5:06 PM
Bottom line: is Windows Desktop Search necessary for Solidworks 2008 or 2009? If I uninstall it, will my Solidworks installation be corrupted?
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- Anna Wood @ Robert Hoover on Dec 18, 2008 5:07 PM
  Windows Desktop Search is not needed to run SW. I do not have it installed on any of our workstations.
  
  Cheers,
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Jeff Mowry Jan 26, 2009 10:06 PM
Just installed v2009 (finally!). No silly, resource-absorptive WDS until I updated to SP2. I saw no options to keep this off my computer during SP2 upgrade. So I'm with Tom on this one--annoying. I'll uninstall it.
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