TopOCR and Windows XP Search Companion

You can use TopOCR together with the Windows XP Search Companion to make an extremely powerful document search and indexing system. First, when saving documents in the TopOCR text window, you must save documents in the ".rtf" format. Later, when you need to search, you invoke the search companion in the following manner:

Basic Search With Search Companion

  • Click "Start -> Search" to open Search Companion.
  • Select "all files and folders".
  • Select "Use Advanced Search Options".
  • Type the search criteria into the boxes provided. For "all or part of
    the document name"    , put "*.rtf", then type in what keyword you
    want to search for in "A word or phrase in the document".
  • Click "Search" to start the search.

When the search has completed, you can select any of the found documents which will bring them up in Wordpad.

The Indexing Service

Windows XP comes with an Indexing Service which boosts the efficiency of searches. When enabled, the Indexing Service works in the background, extracting the contents and the properties of documents and organising them in a way streamlined for fast searching. If your computer strains under the weight of Windows XP, you may want to keep the Indexing Service switched off, as it slows your system somewhat. If you'd like to have faster searches, then turn it on. You can switch the Indexing Service on and off, and adjust its properties, via the Search Companion:

  • Open the Search Companion and click "Change Preferences".
  • Click the "With Indexing Service option" (if Indexing Service is
    already enabled, the option will be "Without Indexing Service").
  • Select the options you want and click "OK".

And that's all there is to it! You now have the ability to search and/or index all of the documents you processed with TopOCR!

Note: An alternative approach is to use the Google Desktop utility to do the search/indexing on your PC, go to http://desktop.google.com/ to learn more.