Windows 7 Search Network Path

Question

Is there any way to index a UNC / Network Path with Windows 7 without making that path "Always Available offline"?

With Windows XP there was Windows Desktop Search that allowed to index a UNC Path but with Windows 7, this option seems to have disappeared.

Since many people use a external NAS storage, there must be some way to index those from Windows 7 to be able to find text in Files like Pdf, Word, etc.

Making the entire NAS "Always Available offline" is of course not a valid solution

Any help is appreciated

Andy

Answer 1

The easiest way to add a folder to the index is to simply add the folder to a library. Choose Start→Documents (or Music or whatever), click the Library Locations link in the upper-right corner, and add the folder. The folder you add can be on your PC or on the network. - This will add a network folder to as a non-indexed library.

Addendum: To index a network folder, consider using google desktop with the following registry changes: Using Google Desktop Search as a network search server