Surprisingly, even files such as .exe and .dll will show Windows meta-data in their preview windows. This is a nice feature for when you cannot remember what the executable was for. Sometimes the embedded data can help geeks like us discern what is going on.

There are a few formats that don't preview well. Macromedia Flash and Apple's QuickTime formats are two of the most glaring omissions. Flash just shows a jumble of characters, whereas the QuickTime preview says that there is no filter available. Font files also do not preview the font and Camera RAW files do not preview as well. It would be nice to see all of the above added in a future release.

Focusing in
X1 indexes pretty much every data file you have, but in actuality, you don't need to search every file on your machine every time.

You can tailor your searches to a specific category of data. You can search the following categories: Email, Inbox, Sent Items, Attachments, Files, Documents, Pictures, Music, Contacts and All files. Simply click on the toolbar button (inexplicably called a Favorite) at the top of the screen, and then type your search. The search will then be limited to the category you choose. This can help you narrow down the results rather quickly.

Once you've done the initial search, you can further refine your results by entering additional terms in the context-sensitive fields that appear, as shown in Figure C. For example, if you are searching within Email, you could narrow results by adding search terms in the Subject, To or From fields.

FIGURE C


You can narrow your results easily. Roll over picture for a larger image.

These searches are incredibly fast. X1 begins showing its search results as you type. No having to enter a term and hit a button. The search just happens as you type-ahead, and the speed at which it does so is pretty amazing. With each keystroke you can see the result set narrow in scope. It definitely helps make the prospect of searching your machine less tedious.

Notes database support
One of the most powerful features of X1 is the ability to index your Lotus Notes email and contact databases. You also have the ability to add other databases to be indexed. Anything based on the mail or personal address book templates will work out of the box. So things like archive databases, and group contacts that some companies roll out are supported. I've found that even some custom databases will work if their main field is a rich-text field called "Body."

Custom databases aren't officially supported at this time, although X1 hopes to include that feature in future versions of the client, so for now, your mileage may vary.

Indexing isn't limited to local replicas either. You can index server based databases, but it's not recommended that you do. For best results, you should replicate any Notes database locally that you want to index. Still, it's nice to have the option if you happen to have a fast network.

Compared to Google
When it comes to Lotus-capable desktop search, there are a lot of players trying to get into the game. Most noticeably Google has entered the fray with its Google Enterprise Desktop.