Is there a free way to make Windows 7 Search return results like the X1 search client?

Question

X1 has a pretty nice desktop search product. Windows 7 comes with a built-in search indexer. Is there a free/open source way to make the Windows 7 search return search results like the X1 client?

The specific features I like are the file-type based tabs - so I can quick go to emails or to, say, PowerPoint slides, the quick filtering by text matching on different properties of the files, and the sort ability based on those same properties of the files.

Answer 1

I'm not aware of a specific tool/plug-in, but I do know there are a crap load of switches you can use with Windows Search to add restrictions to the search results.

Lets say you only want to see emails sent to "david" with the keyword "lunch" you could search:

lunch to:david kind:email

All the possible switches you can combine are detailed here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/desktopsearch/technicalresources/advquery.mspx

Personally I prefer this kind of approach, you can get down to the exact filter you want by combining numerous switches - not always possible with a prescribed UI.

Answer 2

Agent Ransack is a very powerful and easy to use tool for finding files and information on your hard drive fast and efficiently. You can search for file names or text in files with support for Regular expressions. When searching the contents of files Agent Ransack displays and highlights the actual text segments found in a separate window so you can quickly browse the results without having to open each file! The program features several wizards that can help you if you are not familiar with the use of Regular Expressions. Agent Ransack integrates into the Windows Find menu, so it is readily available to be used instead of the common Windows search dialog.

Agent Ransack is freeware.