Software Tools for Searching: Copernic

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Copernic Desktop Search Tool

Download Copernic

Use Copernic

Update a Copernic Index

IT Help Center
Last Updated: 11/07/05
Copyright © 2005 University of Delaware

Copernic Desktop Search Tool

Copernic is a software program for Windows computers that allows you to search your entire computer for text in a file title or within the file itself. With Copernic, you can search:

• E-mail
• Files
• Music
• Pictures
• Videos
• Contacts
• Favorites
• Browser History

Note: Copernic finds e-mail files in Outlook, Outlook Express, and Mozilla Thunderbird. Your mail program must be open for you to preview the search results in the Copernic window.

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Download the Copernic Program

You can find Copernic at http://www.copernic.com/.

1. Click the Free Download button. This takes you to the Copernic Products page. Click the Free Download button again. On the Download page, click Copernic Desktop Search - English.
2. Save the file to your computer's desktop.
3. To install the Copernic program, click the icon on your desktop. Follow the installation prompts. On the final installation screen, leave the check in the box next to Run Copernic Desktop Search. Click Finish.
   You will then see a configuration window like the one below:

   

4. In the configuration window, leave the check in the Use default indexing settings box. Clear the boxes under Select browser toolbars to install. (You can add the toolbars to your browsers if you wish, but they will affect browser performance.)

5. Click Finish.

The Copernic window will open and Copernic will begin to index your computer. The default setting is to index only when the computer is idle. If you want to proceed with indexing immediately:

1. Click the Options menu item, then click the Index Update tab. You will see a window like the one below:

   

2. Clear the box for “Suspend indexing when I use my computer and the program runs in background” (the first check box under Indexing Performance).

3. Click OK.

   Indexing will begin, and you will see its progress at the bottom of your Copernic screen. When the indexing is finished, you will see the word “Idle” at the bottom right.

   The program will be added to your "All Programs" list. Installing Copernic places a search bar in your system tray.

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Use Copernic

Before you can search for files, Copernic must finish indexing your computer. The program creates an index file and stores it on your computer to help find file content.

To search for files: 

1. Choose the type of file by clicking the appropriate button on the Copernic toolbar. For example, to search for text in files, click the Files button:

   

2. In the Search For box at the left of the window, type your search terms. As you type, Copernic begins to find files. You can refine your search by choosing File Type, Size, or Date from the pull-down menus; you can also type the name of a specific folder or use the Browse option from the folder pull-down menu.

   

As an example, if you were to type the word "test" in the Search For box, Copernic would search for that word in file titles and also in the text of files. After it finishes searching, the program displays the results. Click one of the results to view the file's contents in the Preview pane at the bottom of the window. The search word is highlighted in the Preview pane:

Copernic will also search in the Outlook and Outlook Express mail programs. While Copernic can find files or content in e-mail, you will not be able to preview the results after you highlight an item unless your mail application is already open.

When you search for text in one category, for example, Files, the results are displayed in the Matching Files pane. The Other Search Results box, at the left of the Copernic windows shows results for other categories:

To see the other results, click the link beside a particular category. The items will appear in the Matching Files pane.

When you close Copernic, you receive a confirmation that the program is still running in the background to index your files. You can select the "Don't show this again" box so that you'll see the notice only once.

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Update a Copernic Index

• You can update the indexes for any or all file types at any time. To do so, click the down arrow at the right of the Copernic Options toolbar item and choose Update Index.

  

  You can choose which indexes you want to update:

  

• You can check for updates to the software by clicking the down arrow to the right of the Help button and choosing Check for Software Updates.

• If your index file is corrupt and you cannot search, click the Options toolbar item. Click the Advanced tab and at the bottom of the window, click the link “Clear index contents and reindex all files and folders.”

  

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