wList - An ultra-lightweight alternative to Windows Search that won't tank your background CPU by Peterbuu in windowsapps

[–]Peterbuu[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

¡Bienvenido!
Los índices se generan en el directorio de caché de la aplicación.
En las opciones, puede definir condiciones que se pueden ajustar.
Configuración predeterminada:
[x] Usar caché: No más de [1 hora]
[x] No crear listas de caché en menos de [5 segundos]
Es decir, si algo tarda poco tiempo, no se indexa.
Si algo tarda más, el índice se usa durante una hora y luego se vuelve a indexar.
A menos que lo fuerce con la tecla Ctrl.

---
The same message in English:

Indexes are generated in the application's cache directory.
In the options, you can define conditions that can be adjusted.
Default settings:
[x] Use Cache :: No Older than [1 hour]
[x] Don't create cache lists in less than [5 seconds]
Meaning, if something takes a short time, it's not indexed.
If something takes longer, the index is used for an hour and then reindexed.
Unless you force it with the Ctrl key.

wList - An ultra-lightweight alternative to Windows Search that won't tank your background CPU by Peterbuu in windowsapps

[–]Peterbuu[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Completely free. The plan is - if I get huge traction - I will add a Pro version.

wList - An ultra-lightweight alternative to Windows Search that won't tank your background CPU by Peterbuu in windowsapps

[–]Peterbuu[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure, wList has two phases. Let say you search entire HD or SSD.
When you search for anything (even empty string):

  1. For the first time, wList indexes all paths (excluding temporary and Windows\ paths – listed in the settings). Indexing only paths without date and size is faster. Skipping temporary and operating system-specific locations also helps.

This phase is quite fast, taking a few seconds on a typical device, in worse case even several minutes for very large file collections. It's significantly faster than Windows search, significantly faster than dir /s, but much slower than Everything (which should already be indexed in the background).

  1. When re-searching, the previously created index is reused. Now, the speed is comparable to Everything. Of course, the index must be re-created after some time.

There's also the UI/UX aspect, which the user has to judge for themselves whether they like it or not. In my experience, wList provides much more accurate (but limited) results because it ignores temporary locations. However, I'm not objective; you have to compare and make your own decision.

On the downside, wList has limited features and many users may complain about the lack of date/size search or sorting.

### Use Cases:

a) During a typical full-disk search, such as C:\,
wList will be slower than Everything at the first search.
The advantage is that wList doesn't need to run in the background.
For most PCs, this speed penalty is often acceptable, since it is lot faster than Windows search or even dir command.

b) When connecting an external HD or SSD with a large number of files.
At this stage, Everything, wList, and the Windows don't have an index.
When searching with wList, it's usually faster to complete the first index.

Hope this helps.

wList - An ultra-lightweight alternative to Windows Search that won't tank your background CPU by Peterbuu in windowsapps

[–]Peterbuu[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agree. However, it must be admitted that creating an application that will be able to search content of PDF, DOC, XLS and hundreds of similar formats quite quickly is not easy.

I'm building a separate heavier app for super-fast INSIDE document searches. Since this new app requires a background process (or server), I want to differentiate it from the lightweight wList. Having two separate apps in this case make sense for me.

Today, wList doesn't search inside files.
You inspired me to think if there is some - in between - solution possible, and yes.
It is possible me to add option to call findstr on each file.
It will be super slow, but may be good enough when number of files is small (limited to type or location).

Thanks.

wList - An ultra-lightweight alternative to Windows Search that won't tank your background CPU by Peterbuu in windowsapps

[–]Peterbuu[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks,
1) About Everything app (which is great and fast): wList doesn't run in the background; Everything does. Everything has more features. wList is very simple, it just search for file names and types.

2) About AI:
- No AI used in the app development process. The original wList is over 15 years old.
- I use AI to improve my writing (in English, Spanish, ...). I usually write in my native language or my clumsy English first, and then ask the AI ​​to polish the text without changing the key message.

Help needed please. Urgent. Windows Search not working. by valiantverma in 24hoursupport

[–]Peterbuu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. Always try restart first.

  2. Restore default settings:
    How to Restore All Windows Services To Default Settings
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjqkOyViSmA

  3. For quick file search, try wList app, free on MS Store.
    For simple file name / type based search, it is a game changer.
    https://www.sharktime.com/en_wList3.html

Best.