Search the contents of documents on your computer.
DocFetcher is a free and open-source desktop search utility which might be described as a kind of Google for your PC. It deserves this title to a degree, since it effectively creates a comprehensive index of local files on your computer and provides a rather fast indexer and search utility making it quite easy and quick to access documents by simply searching for them.
It's useful to users who work with a lot of files and know what the content of the files are, yet don't have such a keen memory on remembering what exactly the file name is or where it's stored.
Getting started indexing with DocFetcher
To start indexing is easy to do and the search engine index of your system will update automatically when files have been modified, making it essentially faster than Google Search if it were a desktop program.
Getting the files you want indexed takes very little time as this program is extremely small, fast and robust. It takes a mere half-minute to index 100 documents (average sized). It will create a full-text index of what the documents contain and make them searchable.
Preview files without opening them
In addition to its search and index capabilities, DocFetcher also includes a file preview feature which allows you to view the contents of a file without having to open it. This can be helpful when you are searching for a specific document and want to confirm that it is the one you are looking for before opening it.
For many types of files and documents
DocFetcher supports a long list of recognized file formats. It can search through plain HTML or text files, those created by programs like Microsoft Office (Word Docs, Excel Spreadsheets) and fully supports the open source counterparts of OpenOffice documents like those created by Writer, Calc, Draw and Impress. It can also index Adobe PDF files.
All in all
Thanks to its full text search capabilities, DocFetcher can even find files whose filenames you don't even remember. Thus, the tool brings order to the chaos and saves your nerves. It's fast and comprehensive.
Features of DocFetcher
- Boolean search: Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to create complex search queries.
- Customizable indexing: Specify which folders and file types should be indexed and you can exclude specific folders from the index if needed.
- File preview: Displays a preview of the contents of a file, allowing you to see if it is the file you are looking for without having to open it.
- Full-text search: Search the contents of a wide range of file formats, including Microsoft Office documents, PDFs and plain text files.
- Portable version: Available as a portable application, which allows you to run it from a USB drive without installing it on the host computer.
- Regular expressions: Use regular expressions to create powerful search patterns.
Compatibility and License
DocFetcher is provided under a freeware license on Windows from file search software with no restrictions on usage. Download and installation of this PC software is free and 1.1.25 is the latest version last time we checked.
What version of Windows can DocFetcher run on?
DocFetcher can be used on a computer running Windows 11 or Windows 10. Previous versions of the OS shouldn't be a problem with Windows 8 and Windows 7 having been tested. It comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit downloads.
Filed under:
- DocFetcher Download
- Free File Search Software
- Open source and GPL software
- Portable Software
- Document Finding Software
