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Suggestions to replace Net Snippets?
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Posted by Tom S.
Aug 12, 2007 at 09:33 AM
Derek Cornish wrote:
>Few if any of the programs of the type you are looking for can do
>full-text searches with highlighted results of either MS doc files or pdf files from
>within their interface. Usually they skate over this problem. As always, there are
>workarounds, like exporting all the data and using a desktop search program to do the
>job - but as the cost of considerable inconvenience.
Just a suggestion that might fit some people’s style and which might help withthe searchablility problem. I realized some time ago that most of my data was coming in through email. I also found that whenever I needed to find a document, I was more likely to actually go to Outlook and look for the email than I was to try to find it on my hard drive. For those anti-MS people, many of my friends do the same thing with Eudora. I’d ask them for a document and they’d fire up an email program to look for it 90% of the time.
So I gave in and started storing all of my data as attachments to emails or to posts. The advantages are:
1) All documents are all indexed and searachable.
2) All documents, indeed all electronic information that I collect, come into my system through a single email Inbox from which I can process them GTD-style.
3) Documents can generally be tagged with categories and filed into folders. In other words, they can generally be better organized and cross referenced in an email program than as part of a strictly hierarchical file system.
4) All data is backed up on an Exchange server or some similar email server.
5) Any good PIM that deals well with email will allow you to organize the data in any fashion just like any other document. You can generally create tasks and appointemts from the email data at least as easily.
Just a thought.
Tom S.
Posted by Derek Cornish
Aug 12, 2007 at 02:22 PM
Tom,
That’s a very neat idea for people who get most of their data via email. Presumably you can also use Outlook’s notes and journal entries in the same way. As the documents are attachments, how are you getting them indexed and searched? I seem to recall Outlook’s own search features as being none too swift. Are you using X1 or something like that? Since most desktop search programs handle Outlook files, that might work very well.
Most of my data comes in via the web these days, but this is still an intriguing idea. After all, Outlook is quite a powerful PIM in many ways, and the accessibility of its pst files for indexing and searching by external programs is a major asset.
Derek
Posted by Tom S.
Aug 12, 2007 at 03:57 PM
Derek Cornish wrote:
>Tom,
>That’s a very neat idea for people who get most of their data via email.
>Presumably you can also use Outlook’s notes and journal entries in the same way. As the
>documents are attachments, how are you getting them indexed and searched? I seem to
>recall Outlook’s own search features as being none too swift. Are you using X1 or
>something like that? Since most desktop search programs handle Outlook files, that
>might work very well.
Windows Desktop Search does a decent job of indexing Outlook attachments, at least. Not sure about Eudora.
>Most of my data comes in via the web these days, but this is still
>an intriguing idea. After all, Outlook is quite a powerful PIM in many ways, and the
>accessibility of its pst files for indexing and searching by external programs is a
>major asset.
The easiest way to get web content into your email inbox is to email the page to yourself. Internet Explorer does this (under the “Tools” menu) and I’m sure Firefox does as well. The Google browser bar has a button which will use gmail to do this, as well, and will even restrict itself to highlighed content only if you don’t want the whole page.
Tom S.
Posted by Derek Cornish
Aug 12, 2007 at 04:56 PM
Tom,
> and I’m sure Firefox does as well.
By default it can send links. I’m sure there will be an add-on somewhere to send pages.
Thanks very much. I hadn’t thought of using Outlook in this way.
Derek