Quick search for files with individual keywords

Daily work requires you to consult many important documents. However, it is difficult to find the files that contain the necessary documents amidst the messy data arranged in the computer.

PowerDesk Pro file management utility ($ 50, find.pcworld.com/49510) and many other programs allow adding metadata to multimedia files, but assigning this keyword can it is useless because you have difficulty or cannot access keywords that were 5 years ago.

You can create annotations for your files in Windows Me, 2000 and XP without the help of any software. For many file types, Windows allows you to add your own keywords and comments. This information is stored right in the file content, so you can determine where to store the file using the search function available in Windows. File types can be added with annotations entirely depending on the version of Windows in use and the software installed in your computer. In Windows XP, annotated file types include JPEG and TIFF files, MP3 and WMA files; WMV as well as Word, Excel files; Office applications and many other file formats.

First of all, open the Windows Explorer utility, right-click on the file you want to add keywords or other information and select Properties. If this Properties dialog box doesn't have an Summary label, you're out of luck. If yes, select the Summary tab (if >. It is possible that these text boxes will not appear until you have not clicked on the right under the Value section, corresponding to a certain item (Figure 2). Then enter the keywords, click OK and repeat these steps for each file you want to search quickly in the future. You can only perform these steps for one file at a time. In case you try to open the Properties dialog box for multiple files, the Summary boxes will be disabled.

In rare cases, you can add and edit a file's metadata directly using the program you use to process the file. For example, in Microsoft Word and Excel, simply select File.Properties and you can adjust the metadate for the open file. Make sure that the Summary label appears in front of you and fill in these dialog boxes with your keywords.

From here on, whenever you need to find one of the annotated files, simply select Start, Search, For Files and Folders or Start.Search.All files and folders, depending on the version of Windows you are using. . Next, enter one or more keywords in the dialog box labeled "Containing text" or "A word or phrase in the file". Then, continue to identify other search criteria and click Search or Find Now to proceed. Windows will search for your keywords and return the results that you requested.

Minh Xuan
PC World USA 12/2005