WDS 3.0 beta 2 experiences
Windows Desktop Search is one of my favorite and frequently used tools. For its search capabilities obviously, but also because of its launch features. You can define your own shortcuts and launch everything you want (including Win-R shortcuts) with or w/o parameters, which makes it IMO more versatile than Win-R. You probably won't even need specialized tools like SlickRun.
So I was pleased to read there was an update (now with a UI!). Excited as I was, I installed it (of course after uninstalling the previous version as instructed). Here are my experiences so far:
1. installation - The installation didn't go smoothly. In fact at first it didn't install at all. Luckily I recalled similar problems I had with a previous version and also with IE7, so I looked into the logfiles KB917013.log and updspapi.log. It turned out I had some (5 to be precise) registry permission errors. I could find the keys in the log and changed the administrator rights (see also articlehttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/919163/en-us).
My second try failed as well. The log (now KB915865.log) told me I should have restarted my system! After restarting the system I finally succeeded in installing WDS 3.0b2.
Note: Pleasesave your shortcuts before you install; they will be overwritten. You can find the ini file here C:\Documents and Settings\YourName\Application Data\Windows Desktop Search\WindowsDesktopShortcuts.ini
2. Indexing - seems to be quicker. Be aware, the rebuilding of the indexes starts immediately! You can specify, in a somewhat different way, which locations to index. Personally I think the tool should ask you thatbefore the indexing starts.
3. UI - don't expect major changes. In fact I noticed only a slight change in the button near the bar (first it was green with a tiny arrow, now it's grey with a magnifier glass). Nothing to be excited about.
4. Deskbar options - not an improvement! First you have to find them! (bad design). As in the previous version it's the little square button with the windows logo that pops up when you click on the bar. If you click or right-click the button only a few options appear (what happened with the nice dialog?). What bothers me most is that you cannot redefine the hotkey anymore. Now I'm stuck with the rather strange Ctrl-Alt-M combination (I used Win-Q). Also, you will not find the Desktop Search options over here! For some unknown reason you have to start up the Windows UI first (not the popup UI) with the button next to the bar. Than find a tiny button (second to the right a bit below the top) to find the desktop search options. Strange.
5. Support - There are many links to WDS resources. But that's the problem. Where to go to? There's a thread in the MSDN WDS forum with a nice overview of links, but it doesn't really help where to find specific help. The best thing is to go through all the links and stop when you're lucky to find what you are looking for. In addition, a lot of information is still focussed on 2.6.5. If you are lost maybe the best starting point is the Windows Desktop Search Home Page (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/desktopsearch/default.mspx).
6. Conclusion - For the average user I wouldn't recommend installing this beta. For the experienced user don't upgrade, unless you want to experiment and use it together with the beta's Onenote+Outlook2007 and/or Vista.
Regards.
