FileHawk
The File Organizer
User Manual
30 January 2007
Table of Contents
1 Overview 6
1.1 Introduction 6
1.2 Compare all versions of FileHawk 6
1.3 Where can I get support? 7
1.4 Supported Operating Systems 8
1.5 Supported File Types 8
2 Getting Started 9
2.1 Setup 9
2.2 Registration 10
10
2.3 Quick tour 11
A. Simple Search 11
B. Advanced Search 12
12
C. Active Folders 13
D. Fixed Selection Folders 13
E. Search Results and Preview 14
F. ADMINISTRATION 15
G. INFO 15
H. Document preview text on and off button 15
3 Search with FileHawk 16
3.1 Find documents easily 16
3.2 Perform an Advanced Search 16
3.3 View Results for Desktop Search 17
3.3.1 Useful features in the results screen 17
3.3.2 The results context menu 18
3.4 View Results from Removable Media 19
4 Organize with FileHawk 20
4.1 Active Folders - Never retype your search criteria again 20
4.2 Active Folders - Organize your computer 21
4.3 Active Folders – More features 22
22
4.4 Fixed Selection Folders – Definition and comparison with Active Folders 23
4.5 Fixed Selection Folders – Save links to specific files 23
24
4.6 Fixed Selection Folders – More features 25
5 About Indexing 25
5.1 What is an Index? 25
5.2 Build an Index for the Desktop 25
5.3 Cancel the Indexing 26
5.4 Manage index of local discs 26
5.5 Selecting file types to be indexed for local discs 27
6 About Cataloging 28
6.1 What is the Catalog? 28
6.2 Build a Catalog for Removable Devices 28
6.3 Manage your Catalog 30
6.3.1 Principal functions in the Manage My Catalog screen 30
6.3.2 Useful features in the Manage My Catalog screen 30
6.4 View detailed information from removable devices in My Catalog 31
6.5 Selecting File Types to be indexed for removable media 33
7 FileHawk and Security 33
8 Configure FileHawk 33
8.1 Configure Index 33
8.1.1 Schedule to rebuild your index of desktop files 33
8.1.2 Automatically update your index of desktop files 34
8.1.3 Index Computer Only when Idle 34
8.2 FileHawk Updates 35
8.2.1 Automatically be advised of FileHawk updates 35
8.2.2 Manually download a FileHawk update 36
8.3 Configure the sequence number to identify removable devices 36
8.4 Change the Program’s Language 37
9 License Agreement 37
10 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) 40
10.1 Why would I buy FileHawk? There is a search function in Windows... 40
10.2 Why should I buy FileHawk if free desktop search software is available? 40
10.3 I'm concerned about privacy on my computer. Is there any spyware or adware in FileHawk? 41
10.4 I don't know much about computers. Is FileHawk difficult to learn? 41
10.5 What languages are available for FileHawk? 41
10.6 Is the online order form secure? 41
10.7 What happens after I purchase my product? 41
10.8 What is the difference between the trial version and the full versions? 42
10.9 How do I upgrade to a newer version of FileHawk? 42
10.10 What is a file type and which ones are supported by FileHawk? 42
10.11 After installing the software, how do I begin searching? 42
10.12 Will FileHawk slow my computer down while indexing? 43
10.13 How can I organize my documents using FileHawk? 43
10.14 Is there a limit to the number of files indexed? 43
10.15 Can I open a file from a CD if the device is not in the computer? 43
10.16 I did a search for a document that I know exists and contains specific keywords but FileHawk did not find it. Why? 44
10.17 How does FileHawk handle file and folder security aspects? 44
10.18 Are any .DLL files installed in the Windows directories? 44
10.19 How can I export information from My Catalog to a spreadsheet? 44
1.1 Introduction
FileHawk is designed to index, search and find your files fast and at the same time help you organize your documents. It will let you define your searches using a number of criteria including simple word searches, file name matching, file date and time and more. FileHawk can even find documents with words that are reasonably similar to those that you enter as search criteria!
FileHawk was conceived with document location and organization as a key feature. It will let you search your desktop and removable devices such as CDs or USB memory keys at the same time. It will find files even if the device that contains them is not in your computer. A catalog of your removable devices is automatically created to assist you in managing them.
To assist you in classifying your documents, FileHawk allows you to create active folders that are defined by your search criteria. This will help organize your computer the way that makes sense to you. Once your search criteria are saved as an active folder, it is constantly and automatically updated to match the criteria as your documents are modified, deleted or created.
1.2 Compare all versions of FileHawk
Compare all versions of FileHawk to determine which version best suit your needs.
Features |
FileHawk Basic |
FileHawk U3 |
FileHawk Pro |
FileHawk Enterprise |
---|---|---|---|---|
Indexes, helps organize and searches files' content in your computer |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
FileHawk runs from your U3 smart drive. Indexes, helps organize and searches files' contents on your U3 smart drive. |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
Indexes, helps organize and searches files' content in removable devices such as CDs, USB drives, flash memory cards. |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Indexes Network drives |
1 drive |
None |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
Save personal search criteria in Active Folders, helps keep your files organized in a way that makes sense. |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Save links to files in Fixed Selection Folders for easy file retrieval. |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
User friendly in a unique and easy to use interface |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Supports similar words, exact phrase, any word, without these words, file date and file size searches. |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
From the results window, let's you preview the file and can shortcut to the application capable of opening it |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Produces CD/DVDs with index and FileHawk read-only runtime |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Fully integrated with Window's security for file access permission |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Provides simple Intranet search |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Allows users in a small network to read a previously created index and associated files, on another computer, in a simple manner without requiring complex configurations. |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Customized search tool for your corporation. |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
1.3 Where can I get support?
In this manual: Instructions in this user manual are easy to follow.
The software’s tooltips: Every button and field in the program has instructions and descriptions which pop up when the mouse pointer is passed over the control. Tooltips describe the specific actions of the control (field or button) and their context in the application.
Pressing FileHawk’s INFO button opens a screen which will let you access our FAQ (list of Frequently Asked Questions) or the FileHawk site on the World Wide Web. You may also access the FAQ directly from the FileHawk Web site, as well as extended information on this product.
If you have any other specific questions, please go to the Contact Page and email your question to us.
1.4 Supported Operating Systems
Windows XP and Windows 2000 are supported by FileHawk.
Using Microsoft's iFilter technology which is provided with Windows, FileHawk is able to index over 260 file types to ensure that you can find the files that you have. View the list of supported file types in our Web site by pressing the following link: http://www.filehawk.com/en_filetypes.htm
A file type is also referred to as a file extension. It is a label assigned to a file to distinguish what program opens it. Typically, it is a 3 letter designation following the file name. For example, a text document called "Document123.doc" would be opened by Microsoft Word where "doc" is the file type.
You may find that some file types are not indexed in FileHawk. By using iFilter, this allows third-party developers to create plug-ins that enable new file type indexing. Consult the list below to obtain links to useful web sites that provide free iFilter plug-ins for file types that you may be looking for.
Determine the file type that you need to index. For example, a text document from OpenOffice 2.0 uses the file extension .odt, you will need to obtain the iFilter for OpenOffice documents.
Click on an iFilter link below or find an iFilter on the Internet to download. For the file extension in this example, click on the link http://www.ifiltershop.com/sofilter.html and follow the instructions below.
In the Web site, press Download for the corresponding iFilter.
When prompted, press on Save to disk and Ok.
Open the file that you just downloaded in your downloads folder.
Follow the instructions in the installation wizard to install your new iFilter.
Rebuild the index by following these instructions: Build an Index for Desktop Now or Schedule to Rebuild your Index.
FileHawk is now ready to search for documents of types that are supported by the new iFilter.
iFilter Links:
To index full contents of Acrobat .pdf files, get the iFilter from the Adobe Web site: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=2611
OpenOffice documents: http://www.ifiltershop.com/sofilter.html
Corel's WordPerfect and other various file types: http://channel9.msdn.com/wiki/default.aspx/Channel9.DesktopSearchIFilters
Links to other iFilters: http://www.ifilter.org/
2 Getting Started
2.1 Setup
Following are the steps that you will have to take in order to install and start using FileHawk.
Once FileHawk has been downloaded and saved to disk, open the file in your downloads folder. The Welcome to the FileHawk Setup Wizard will pop up.
Follow the instructions in the Wizard by closing all other applications before starting the Setup. Click Next.
Review the License Agreement and click I Agree to proceed.
Choose the installation folder and click Next.
Choose the installation type. Click on Current user if you want to install FileHawk only for the person using the computer at this time. Click on All users if you want to install FileHawk for every Windows user of this computer and then press Next.
Set the parameters to your preferences, click Install. The parameters can be changed later, in the FileHawk configuration screen, if desired. The default settings were optimised so that they work for most users.
The Setup has been completed, click Finish.
In order to begin using FileHawk, you need to index your files. Immediately after installation, a screen will be displayed, giving you three options for indexing your files:
Index all documents in your desktop now.
Manually select the documents to index.
Press on the first option and FileHawk will begin indexing all of your files. The amount of time that the indexing takes depends on the amount of files that are in the computer. The initial index may take a long time, while the index updates are performed quickly.
If you do not want to index all of the files in your computer, click on option 2 and manually select the folders that you wish to index. After exiting that screen, press on the build index now button. Press this link for more information about indexing.
2.2 Registration
If the Trial version has been downloaded, it will let you test FileHawk for a maximum of 30 days before having to register the software. If the 30 day period has expired and FileHawk has not been purchased, it will no longer be functional.
In order to purchase FileHawk, please follow these steps:
Go to the FileHawk Web site at http://www.filehawk.com.
Click on the Buy Now! tab.
Choose the FileHawk version that you wish to buy.
Fill out the form and submit your purchase.
Immediately after the purchase is done, you will receive an e-mail message giving you a serial number to activate the registration.
Open
FileHawk and press on the
button on the main screen.
Enter your serial number in the assigned field.
Press the register button to complete the registration process.
2.3 Quick tour
A. Simple Search
Enter all of the key words that are to be searched for in the field labelled Your Search Words. Documents that match all of those words will be matched.
Press on the Eraser icon and the search criteria will disappear.
Click on the Diskette to create an active folder with your search criteria as properties. The new active folder will be displayed in a familiar folder tree, like Windows Explorer, in the left part of the results list. You must press the tab to show the tree.
Similar Words: Check the box and the software will find documents with similar words. This is particularly useful if spelling errors are found in the document and to find words ignoring the fact that they are singular or plural.
Include CDs / Media: Check this box and the documents in your external devices catalog will be found on top of the files in your computer.
B. Advanced Search
Enter the criteria required for a more refined search. You can enter multiple criteria if desired.
Exact Phrase: Documents found will contain the precise phrase entered in this field.
Any Word: Documents found will contain at least one of the words entered in this field.
Without These Words: Documents found will contain none of the words entered in this field.
File Name: Document names that correspond to this field will be found. Enter part or all of the name of the file or files to match. To find all files with a certain file type, insert a period followed by the type’s extension. For advanced file name searches, you can separate individual file name expressions by the pipe “|” symbol to match any of the specified file names. FileHawk respects the regular Windows wild characters “*” and “?” for specifying a file name expression. For example, you can specify *.mp3 to find files with the mp3 extension or Barcelona*jpg|Barcelona*avi to find JPG pictures and AVI videos that include the word Barcelona in the file name.
File Date: Specify a date range in order to match files that were modified during that period. If you specify only the initial date, all files modified on or after that date will be matched. If you specify only the final date, all files modified on or before that date will be matched.
Size: Specify a file size range in kilobytes (kB) in order to match files that fall within that extent. If you specify only the lower limit, all files of that size or greater will be matched. If you specify only the upper limit, all files of that size or less will be matched.
C. Active Folders
Active
Folders
are one of the key functions of FileHawk. They are a central point
from which you can locate your files and organize your documents by
determining common properties that relate them one to the other.
The tree of your active folders can be displayed by pressing the active folders tab which is located to the left of the results list and displays a red arrow pointing to the right. Clicking on that tab will toggle the opening or closing of the active folders pane, changing the direction of the arrow.
You can build a tree of active folders by placing them in regular folders. In turn, the regular folders can be created within other folders, just as you would do with Windows Explorer. The active folders pane shows three buttons with the following icons:
a folder with a + to add a regular folder to the tree below the current position;
a folder with an X to remove the current regular or active folder;
the letters abc to rename the current regular or active folder.
On top of the three buttons, you may use a context menu that will have the same options. You have access to the context menu by right-clicking on an item in the folder tree. You can also drag your folders and drop them inside other folders to reorganize your tree.
Creating a new active folder is very simple. All that is necessary is for you to enter your search criteria and press the red diskette icon. This will save your search criteria as a property of a new active folder. If a regular folder in the tree is selected, the new active folder will be saved in this location. If the active folder pane is closed when you do so, the new folder will be created in the top level of the tree.
D. Fixed Selection Folders
Fixed
Selection Folders
are a place where a link to a file can be saved for easy retrieval.
The fixed selection folders are complementary to the Active Folders
because they allow you to manually organize specific files without
disturbing the way that your files are organized in your computer's
directory.
Fixed selection files can be used in many ways:
Manage work flow. For example, create “To-Do”, “Pending Approval” or “For Review” folders to be reminded which files need further work.
Add links to frequently used files.
Shortcuts long trajectories to files.
Create a photo album by copying the picture files into a folder.
Create play lists of your favorite music.
The tree of your fixed selection folders can be displayed by pressing the fixed selection folders tab which is located to the left of the results list and displays a green arrow pointing to the right. Clicking on that tab will toggle the opening or closing of the fixed selection folders pane, changing the direction of the arrow.
You can build a tree of fixed selection folders by placing them in regular folders. In turn, the regular folders can be created within other folders, just as you would do with Windows Explorer. The fixed selection folders pane shows four buttons with the following icons:
a folder with a + to add a regular folder to the tree below the current position;
a folder with an X to remove the current regular or active folder;
the letters abc to rename the current regular or active folder.
A document with a + to add a new file link to a specific file.
As well as the four buttons, you may use a context menu that will have the same options. You have access to the context menu by right-clicking on an item in the folder tree. You can also drag your folders and drop them inside other folders to reorganize your tree.
There are four different ways to add a file link:
Perform a search and with right click menu, copy and paste the file into the tab.
Drag and drop files in this tab from a Windows Explorer screen
Copy files from the Window's Explorer and paste them in the fixed selection folder by right clicking on it and selecting “Paste file link”.
Press on
the
icon
to browse for the file
E. Search Results and Preview
As FileHawk finds documents that match the criteria that you entered, they are displayed in a list in the middle of the screen. Each line in the list shows the name of your document, the folder that contains it as well as the document’s icon on which you can click to open it and another icon to open its folder. Lines also show the document’s date and time as well as its size.
Furthermore,
each line offers a preview of the document by showing the text
surrounding the words that FileHawk has matched. You may view more
of this text by clicking on the
button in the top right corner of the line.
If the matched document is a video or audio file, you can press the play button below it for a quick preview or pre-audition. You can then use the available pause and stop buttons.
By default, the documents are organized by descending date and time order. The list can be sorted by those attributes, the file name or the folder, in both ascending and descending order by right-clicking on the line and selecting the appropriate action from the context menu. The context menu also supports printing, copying and deleting documents, opening the document in the default or other applications and contains the familiar Send To submenu found in Windows Explorer. In addition, you will find a handy Copy the file name option as well as Copy the text which, respectively, copy the document’s file name and the complete text of the document to the Windows clipboard.
F. ADMINISTRATION
The Administration screen enables you to manage the index of local disks, Add a CD, DVD or external media such as a USB memory key to your catalog, manage your catalog of CDs, DVDs and external media and build an index for a CD, DVD or external memory media (note: this feature is only available in the Pro and Enterprise versions). The Administration screen will also bring you to the Configuration screen.
G. INFO
You may go to this screen for support information and to obtain recent updates of FileHawk.
H. Document preview text on and off button
This button offers you the option to show the preview text for documents or not. If this button is set to not show the preview text, the result list will be displayed more rapidly and more entries will fit the screen than with the preview text display enabled. If you need to see the preview text so that you can quickly find the document that you are looking for in a list of several documents that match your criteria, you should enable the text preview. The results will first be displayed quickly and then the preview text will fill the lines, one after the other.
3 Search with FileHawk
3.1 Find documents easily
Write in the Your Search Words field, a word or keywords that can be found in the document which you are looking for.
View the results in the results list.
Right click anywhere in the results screen and use the context menu to sort the results to your preferences.
Click on
the Eraser button
to delete the search criteria to begin another search.
3.2 Perform an Advanced Search
In order to perform an advanced search, follow these instructions:
In the Main Screen, click on the red arrow next to Advanced Search to display the possible search options. If you enter search criteria and close the Advanced Search pane by clicking on the red arrow, the button’s picture will change to reflect the fact advanced criteria have been entered.
This feature is used to refine your search criteria. It is possible to use multiple criteria. Please review the different options to fine tune your search:
Exact Phrase: Will search the precise phrase that you are looking for.
Any Word: The document found will have at least one of the words entered in the field in it.
Without These Words: The document found will have none of the words entered in this field.
Similar Words: Check the box and the software will find documents with similar words. This is particularly useful if spelling errors are found in the document and to find the plural of your search words.
File Name: Document names that correspond to this field will be found. Enter part or all of a name of the file. To find all files with a certain file type, insert a period followed by the extension. For advanced file name searches, you can separate individual file name expressions by the pipe “|” symbol to match any of the specified file names. FileHawk respects the regular Windows wild characters “*” and “?” for specifying a file name expression. For example, you can specify *.mp3 to find files with the mp3 extension or Barcelona*jpg|Barcelona*avi to find JPG pictures and AVI videos that include the word Barcelona in the file name.
File Date: Specify a date range in order to match files that were modified during that period. If you specify only the initial date, all files modified on or after that date will be matched. If you specify only the final date, all files modified on or before that date will be matched.
Size: Specify a file size range in kilobytes (kB) in order to match files that fall within that extent. If you specify only the lower limit, all files of that size or greater will be matched. If you specify only the upper limit, all files of that size or less will be matched.
Press
the Search button
to display the results.
3.3 View Results for Desktop Search
Once your search criteria have been entered, the results will appear in the preview list, on the main screen. Follow the steps below to find the document that you are looking for.
Select a file to view by clicking on the line that displays it. Selecting a line is done by clicking on it; you will notice that it is selected because it will be highlighted in blue.
You may use any of three methods to open the document in its associated application:
Click on the document icon near the left edge of the line that displays that document.
Double-click on the line that displays the document.
Right-click on the line that displays the document and select Open With. You can use the default application which is the first item in the menu or any other application listed in the context menu.
Start working with your file!
3.3.1 Useful features in the results screen
Press the
button located to the right of the results screen to toggle the
display of the listed documents’ text. If you choose not to
display the text, only the file name, date, size and path will be
displayed in the result lines. Press the button again and the text
will appear. If this button is set to not show the preview text,
the result list will be displayed more rapidly and more entries
will fit the screen than with the preview text display enabled. If
you need to see the preview text so that you can quickly find the
document that you are looking for in a list of several documents
that match your criteria, you should enable the text preview. The
results will first be displayed quickly and then the preview text
will fill the lines, one after the other.
Press the
green
in the result line and more text from your document will appear.
More text will be added to the line each time that you press this
button.
Preview videos and pre-audition music files directly from the results screen without opening the file by pressing the media buttons below the icon in the results line.
3.3.2 The results context menu
The context menu that pops up when you right-click on a line in the results list is a powerful tool. From it, you will be able to open, copy, print and delete single or multiple documents and order the results using a variety of document attributes.
You can copy one or more documents and paste them in a Windows Explorer screen. Select a document by clicking on its line in the result list. You can select multiple documents by using the regular selection mechanisms in Windows.
A. Hold the Control key while clicking on a line will add this line to the selection.
B. Hold the Shift key while clicking on a line will select the range of lines from the current line to the last line that was selected.
C. Click on a line and dragging to another line, maintaining the mouse button depressed will select the range of lines that are traversed.
Once the documents have been selected, right-click to display the context menu and press Copy. Finally, open a Windows Explorer screen and paste the document or documents into the folder of your choice.
In the context menu, you will also find the option to print a selected document, open its folder in Windows Explorer or open the document with its default or other applications.
From the right-click context menu, you may also select to copy the selected documents’ text or their file names to the clipboard and paste the results in a text document. Once the documents have been selected, right-click to display the context menu and select Copy the text or Copy the file name. You can then open a text document or spreadsheet application and paste the data there.
Another option that is available from the context menu is the possibility of deleting the selected documents. When deleted, the document will be placed in the Recycle Bin.
Another interesting function of the context menu is the Send To sub-menu. By selecting items from this menu, you will be able to easily send your documents as e-mail, copy them to a USB memory key, CD-ROM or another drive, or your My Documents folder. Depending on your computer’s configuration, items in this menu will vary.
Finally, the context menu is what you will use to sort the search results. You can order the results by Document Name, Date and time, Folder and File Size. Furthermore, the results can be sorted in ascending or descending order.
3.4 View Results from Removable Media
Your documents can be stored on a wide range of devices, including CDs, DVDs, diskettes, portable flash memory drives, also known as thumb drives, memory keys or pen drives, portable hard disks, flash memory cards through a card reader, MP3 players, media drives and more. These devices are usually connected to the computer through a USB port or a BlueTooth wireless connector or they are inserted in a drive, as is the case of CDs, DVDs and diskettes. We will use the terms removable device, external device, removable media or external media to refer to this type of devices.
In order to look for documents on the external media that have been added to your catalog, you will have to perform the following actions:
Enter your search criteria, check the box Include CDs / Media.
Enter your search criteria in either Your Search Words, in the Advanced Search fields or both.
Press
on the search button
.
Your
results list will show documents from your Cataloged external media
as well as from your local disk. If you are looking for a file
that you know is on a removable device, you can easily determine
which documents from external devices by looking at the folder
path. The drive letter (e.g., a:, d:, e:, g:)
will not be shown in the path as it may vary from one time that it
is connected to the computer to the next. Instead, its Catalog
description will be displayed. Also, the folder path showing the
document’s location will have a different icon if it is that
of a Cataloged file. Local drive
documents will show a folder while external media documents will
show a USB memory key
,
a CD
or a combination of the two
.
FileHawk will also display a remote drive icon
in the case of results being found on a drive that is connected
through a network.
If the media was properly labeled with the Catalog description, it will be easy to find in your collection. Connect the removable device to your computer. For example, insert the CD into the drive or the thumb drive into a USB port.
When
you search for documents on removable media that is not connected
to your computer, a new button
will appear to the right of the results list. It displays a CD and
a USB key and can be used to display preview text for devices that
were not connected at the time of search. After connecting the
removable media that contains your document, you may click on that
button to display its preview text as well as that for all
documents from the results list that are on that device. To
quickly preview the text of a document in a given line, simply
click on that line or press the
button.
Once you have located the document that you wish to work with, open it with the application icon or by double-clicking on that line or right-click to see the context menu for more functionality.
Start working with your file!
4 Organize with FileHawk
4.1 Active Folders - Never retype your search criteria again
One simple use of Active Folders is to enable you to save your search criteria.
Enter your search criteria.
Press
the button to save your search criteria into a new Active
Folder. This button displays a small red diskette
above the search criteria pane.
Pressing
this button will create a new Active Folder. If a regular
folder in the tree is selected, the new active folder will
be saved in this location. If the tree is not
open, the new Active Folder
will be put in the topmost level. The default name of the folder
will be composed of a combination of your various search criteria.
4.2 Active Folders - Organize your computer
Active Folders help you organize all of your documents according to keywords. Use this as a central point from which to work. All of the documents relating to a particular subject or date range can be found here. With FileHawk, the categories do not have to be determined at the time that you create the file. Instead, you can build up new Active Folders as your search needs come up.
For example, you may decide to create folders for recipes and further divide that category into Meat, Vegetable and Desserts.
Open the folders tree pane by clicking on the side tab with the red arrow.
Press
the Add Folder button
to add a new folder in the root. Name that folder Recipes by
typing in that word over the selected text New Folder.
The selected folder in the tree is that with the open folder icon. If your new folder is not selected, click on it to select it.
Press
the Add Folder button
again to add three new sub-folders, Meat, Vegetables,
Desserts, selecting your Recipes folder between
making each new sub-folder. You will now see a tree of folders
with Recipes at the top level and Meat, Vegetables
and Desserts below that.
You are now ready to create Active Folders below each regular folder. Type the words chicken recipe in the Your Search Words field. The results list starts filling up with documents containing the words chicken recipe.
Select the Meat folder by clicking on it.
Press the button to save you search criteria into a new Active Folder. A new folder will be created below Meat with chicken recipe for a name. The Active Folder will be different from a regular folder, with a magnifying glass added to the folder.
Now change the text in the Your Search Words field to beef recipe. Select the Meat folder again and press the save button to create a new Active Folder. A second folder was added below Meat, named beef recipe.
Do as above with chocolate cake in the search field, then selecting the Desserts folder and saving to a new Active Folder.
You can enter any search criteria to use as attributes for an Active Folder. For example, you can check the Include CDs / Media box for searching on external media or select a date range for your documents. You could, for example, create an Active Folder with the keyword contract and the period Last Year.
When, in the future, you want to find your contracts for the previous year, you won’t have to browse through various levels of folders in My Documents using Windows Explorer, searching for documents that may have been mis-categorized. You will simply select your Active Folder labelled contracts Last Year and the documents will appear immediately in your results list. More important, Last Year will always refer to the year that is prior to the actual year, not depending on the year of creation of that folder. Let us say that the Active Folder was created in 2006. If opening the contracts Last Year folder in 2006, the documents resulting documents will all have been created in 2005. When the year turns to 2007, that folder will contain only documents created in 2006. Furthermore, you can save new contracts anywhere on your computer. As long as the containing folder is indexed by FileHawk, it will appear in your Active Folder during the year that follows its creation.
4.3 Active Folders – More features
You can
delete a regular or active folder by first selecting it and then
pressing the delete folder icon
,
above the Active Folders tab.
You can
rename a regular or active folder by first selecting it and then
pressing the rename folder icon
,
above the Active Folders tab, and replacing the current name
with new text.
The above actions can also be achieved by selecting a folder, right-clicking on it and selecting the appropriate item from the context menu.
You can move regular folders as well as active folders into regular folders by dragging them and dropping them into the target folder.
4.4 Fixed Selection Folders – Definition and comparison with Active Folders
Fixed Selection Folders allow you to save links to specific files. This enables you to easily find your files and gives you an alternative way to organize your files. The fixed selection folders complements the active folders by allowing you to manually save links to files according to your own preferences. They do not affect the way your files are organized in your computer's directory.
Active folders allow you to organize your computer according to your personal criteria. It was designed to enable you to arrange your files in a way that makes sense to you.
The difference between Active Folders and Fixed Selection Folders is best illustrated through an example. Let's push the example of recipes in the Active Folder – Organize your Computer section a bit further. Active Folders will group your poultry, soup and chocolate recipes together in separate folders. If you are preparing a dinner party or this week's food plan and want to build a menu of specific recipes, the fixed selection folder will allow you have your chosen recipes detailed in this folder. The fixed selection folder will have links to your favorite pea soup, chicken dumplings and brownie recipes in the same folder, enabling you to quickly find your recipes to prepare your dinner.
Other examples of helpful ways to use the Fixed Selection Folders::
Manage work flow. For example, create “To-Do”, “Pending Approval” or “For Review” folders to be reminded which files need further work.
Add links to frequently used files.
Add a link to a file to shortcut the long trajectory through Windows Explorer to retrieve the file.
Create a photo album by copying the picture files into a folder.
Create play lists of your favorite music.
4.5 Fixed Selection Folders – Save links to specific files
There are four different ways to add a file link:
Perform a search and with right click menu, copy and paste the file into the tab.
Drag and drop files in this tab from a Windows Explorer screen
Copy files from the Window's Explorer and paste them in the fixed selection folder by right clicking on it and selecting “Paste file link”.
Press
on the
icon
to browse for the file
4.6 Fixed Selection Folders – More features
You can
delete a regular or fixed selection folder by first selecting it and
then pressing the delete folder icon
,
above the Active Folders
tab.
You can
rename a fixed selection folder by first selecting it and then
pressing the rename folder icon
,
above the Active Folders tab,
and replacing the current name with new text.
The above actions can also be achieved by selecting a folder, right-clicking on it and selecting the appropriate item from the context menu.
You can move regular folders as well as fixed selection folders into regular folders by dragging them and dropping them into the target folder.
You can also change the order of the file links using the drag-and-drop within a folder.
5.1 What is an Index?
An index is a database that contains a list of all the files and contents of files in your computer. The index needs to be built before you are able to search. The list has information on the location of the file as well as other information such as the date and time of creation and file size. Each time that a file has been changed, the index will automatically update according to the parameters that you have determined. Click here to know how to set the parameters. Searching will not reflect the change to the file until the index has been updated. The Index will not move or change files in your computer when it is created. You can configure FileHawk to add certain file types and to only index certain folders.
5.2 Build an Index for the Desktop
By default, FileHawk will build an index for all of the documents in your computer. If you want to only index certain documents or folders, please read section 4.4 Manage Index of local discs.
From the main screen, press the ADMINISTRATION button.
Click on the icon Open the Configuration Screen option.
Press the Rebuild the index now button.
or
Find
the FileHawk icon
in the Windows System Tray, which is in the task bar, at the bottom
right corner of your screen.
Right-click on the icon.
Select the option Start Refreshing the Index Now.
5.3 Cancel the Indexing
It may happen that you find the need to cancel the indexing status. Here are the steps to take:
Find
the FileHawk icon
in the Windows System Tray, which is in the task bar, at the bottom
right corner of your screen.
Right-click on the icon.
Select the option Cancel Indexing.
Make sure that you complete the index or documents will be omitted from the index. In the Windows System Tray, the FileHawk icon will be filled with red lines to indicate the indexing status. You may find that the initial index is takes time complete. However, the updates are very quick to perform. The index is managed in the background and its updating should not disturb you while you are using the computer. If you believe that FileHawk is affecting your computer’s responsiveness, you can configure it to build the index only when the computer is idle.
5.4 Manage index of local discs
FileHawk enables you to select manually the folders in your desktop that you wish to index if you do not want to index all of the files in your computer. To begin searching among the new folders, the index must be rebuilt.
From the Main Screen, press on the ADMINISTRATION button.
Press on the Manage the Index of My Local Discs button.
To add a folder to the index, press the Add a Folder icon, browse the folder tree, select the required folder and press Ok.
To delete a folder from the index, select the folder to be removed and press the Remove a Folder button. When prompted, confirm by pressing Ok to complete the process.
In
the Index column, press on either the check mark
or the red circle
to enable or disable the folders from the index. If the green check
mark
is displayed, the folder will be included in the index. If the red
circle
is displayed, the folder will be disabled from the index.
If needed, press on the Cancel the Changes button to reinstate the list of folders prior to any changes made since the screen has been opened.
When you exit the screen, there will be a message to prompt you to rebuild the index now or rebuild the index at the scheduled time. It is recommended to rebuild the index at a time that the computer is idle so that the index is completed more efficiently.
When prompted, if you choose not to refresh the index now, make sure that the index is configured to be scheduled to be rebuilt automatically or you must remember to manually press the rebuild index button in the configuration screen when you are ready.
5.5 Selecting file types to be indexed for local discs
FileHawk allows you to select specific file types to be indexed. You may select different file types for each local folder or disk that is indexed. For more information on file types please follow this link.
From the main screen, click on the ADMINISTRATION button.
Select Manage the Index of My Local Disks.
For every folder that needs file type specifications, click on cell in the last column, that which displays three dots. A small red and yellow star is shown above the three dots to indicate that no file types are defined for the corresponding folder. If there is no star, file types have been defined. When you click on that cell, a file type selection window will be displayed.
Select all desired file types by clicking on the first column on that line. Selected file types are denoted by a green check mark while unselected file types are designated by a red circle crossed with a diagonal red bar.
Close the window to save your changes.
6 About Cataloging
6.1 What is the Catalog?
The Catalog contains a list of removable devices that have been indexed by FileHawk. A removable device can be any device that can be recognized by windows CDs, DVDs, diskettes, portable flash memory drives, also known as thumb drives, memory keys or pen drives, portable hard disks, flash memory cards through a card reader, MP3 players, media drives and more. Those devices are usually connected to the computer through a USB port or a BlueTooth wireless connector or they are inserted in a drive, as is the case of CDs, DVDs and diskettes. The term CD or DVD is mostly employed because these devices are most commonly used to archive documents but the removable devices are not limited to CDs and DVDs. The file names and file contents on the devices are indexed. FileHawk will search for keywords and other criteria and find documents even if the device that contains them is not connected to the computer at the time of search. In order to search them, though, a Catalog entry needs to be created. If a file is modified or added in a removable device, it needs to be re-Cataloged.
6.2 Build a Catalog for Removable Devices
Here are the steps to follow to build your Catalog:
From the main screen, click on the ADMINISTRATION button.
Click on Add a Disk or Media to my Catalog.
Insert or connect a removable device to your computer.
If the Use a sequence number in the description box is checked, a sequence number will automatically be put in the description field as a prefix. In the sequence number field, you may type your own number and FileHawk will continue using your sequence format.
Following the sequence number prefix, you may write a description of the contents on the device in the Description field. In order for FileHawk to catalog your device, a sequence number or description must be entered to identify the media.
By
default, FileHawk will index all file types.
If you wish to modify the list, click
on the File Types button
and select the required file types from the list of types available
for indexing.
Click on any or a combination of the boxes: Eject the CD or DVD when done, Close this window when done, Play a sound when done to be advised when the index is complete.
Click on Build the Index.
Do not forget to write the sequence number and description on the device for later recognition.
or
Find
the FileHawk icon
in the Windows System Tray, which is in the task bar, at the bottom
right corner of your screen.
Right-click on the icon
Select the option Add a CD or a DVD to my Catalog.
Insert or connect a removable device to your computer.
If the Use a sequence number in the description box is checked, a sequence number will automatically be put in the description field as a prefix. In the sequence number field, you may type your own number and FileHawk will continue using your sequence format.
Following the sequence number prefix, you may write a description of the contents on the device in the Description field. In order for FileHawk to catalog your device, a sequence number or description must be entered to identify the media.
By
default, FileHawk will index all file types.
If you wish to modify the list, click
on the File Types button
and select the required file types from the list of types available
for indexing.
Click on any or a combination of the boxes: Eject the CD or DVD when done, Close this window when done, Play a sound when done to be advised when the index is complete.
Click on Build the Index.
Do not forget to write the sequence number and description on the device for later recognition.
6.3 Manage your Catalog
6.3.1 Principal functions in the Manage My Catalog screen
Here is how to access the main functions of the Catalog.
From the Main Screen, click on the ADMINISTRATION icon.
Click on Manage my Catalog.
Press on Add to the Catalog to add a CD or media to the list of devices indexed. This will bring you to the Add disc or media to my Catalog screen. Follow this link for instructions to build a Catalog for removable devices.
To delete the index for a removable device, select the device from the list by clicking it (you will know it is selected because a box surrounds the description). Press the Remove from the Catalog button. When prompted, respond either Yes or No to delete the index permanently from the Catalog.
In
the first column, press on either the check mark
or the red circle
to include or exclude the media from the searches. If the green
check mark is displayed, the media will be included in the
searches. If the red circle is displayed, the media will be
excluded from the searches.
Exit the screen to save the changes.
6.3.2 Useful features in the Manage My Catalog screen
The context menu which is displayed when right-clicking on lines in the Catalog list allows you to perform various tasks:
The menu allows you to export three things to the clipboard:
general information concerning a selected device;
a detailed list of files for a selected device;
the whole Catalog, consisting of the list of devices indexed.
After the information is copied to the clipboard, you will be able to paste it in documents such as a Notepad file, a spreadsheet or a database. See instructions in the following section.
Using the context menu, you can sort the list of removable devices by date and time, device description or by the inclusion indicator, which specifies if a given device should be included in the searches or not. The sorting can be done in ascending or descending order.
You can also sort the list by date and time, device description, volume label, serial number or by the inclusion indicator, in ascending or descending order, by clicking on the column headers..
6.4 View detailed information from removable devices in My Catalog
In order to view detailed information concerning the indexed removable devices in your Catalog, FileHawk provides three ways to present the data. With FileHawk you can export information concerning the indexed removable devices to the clipboard and import it into a database, a spreadsheet such as Excel or a Word processor such as OpenOffice.org Writer. When they are exported, the items are placed on the clipboard and are tab separated to simplify their import in a spreadsheet or database.
To view information about a specific external device on your list in your Catalog, follow the steps:
Enter the Manage My Catalog screen.
Select an item from the list by clicking on it. You will know it is selected because a box surrounds the description.
Right-click to display the pop-up context menu.
Select Export the information for the selected item.
Open a document in the application of your choice as, for example, a database or spreadsheet program
Press the paste button to import the data from the clipboard.
The information is displayed on one line in columns as follows: description or name of the external device, date of the external device, time of the external device, number of files and folders that were indexed for that device.
To view the information about the contents of a specific external media and view the detailed list of the files located on the device.
Enter the Manage My Catalog screen.
Select an item from the list by clicking on it. You will know it is selected because a box surrounds the description.
Right-click to display the pop-up context menu.
Select Export the contents for the selected item.
Open a document in the application of your choice as, for example, a database or spreadsheet program
Press the paste button to import the data from the clipboard.
The first line of the information is as follows: description or name of the external device, date of the external device, time of the external device, number of files and folders that were indexed for that device. This line is followed by one line for each file indexed for that device. Each line is composed of the following elements: file path from the root (without the drive letter), file creation date, file creation time, file size in bytes. Note: The first line reflects the number of files shown and includes folders but the folders are not detailed in the list below it. Therefore the number of files listed below the first line will be less than the last number in the first line.
To view the complete list of external devices and related information in your Catalog:
Enter the Manage My Catalog screen.
Select an item from the list by clicking on it. You will know it is selected because a box surrounds the description.
Right-click to display the pop-up context menu.
Select Export the information for the whole Catalog.
Open a document in the application of your choice as, for example, a database or spreadsheet program
Press the paste button to import the data from the clipboard.
Each line displays information about one entry in the catalog in columns as follows: description or name of the external device, date of the external device, time of the external device, number of files and folders that were indexed for that device.
6.5 Selecting File Types to be indexed for removable media
FileHawk will normally index all file types. If your computer does not have the required iFilter to index a document of a given file type, only its file name will be put in the index. You have the option of defining exactly which file types are to be indexed, for both the main desktop index as well as for each removable device index.
Defining indexable file types for removable media is done directly from the screen which adds the device to the Catalog:
From the main screen, click on the ADMINISTRATION button.
Select Add a Disc or Media to My Catalog.
Press
the button labelled File Types
to open a file type selection window.
Select all desired file types by clicking on the first column on that line. Selected file types are denoted by a green check mark while unselected file types are designated by a red circle crossed with a diagonal red bar.
Close the window to save your changes.
7 FileHawk and Security
Not all files are meant to be shared! In a network, the files that should not be shared are protected. FileHawk is fully integrated with the Windows security access permission. See our privacy statement for more information.
8 Configure FileHawk
8.1.1 Schedule to rebuild your index of desktop files
FileHawk can automatically rebuild the index at a given scheduled time without requiring you to rebuild it manually. By rebuilding the whole Index, this will ensure that any changes to files will be reflected in the index. It is recommended to schedule the automatic rebuilding at a time when the computer is unoccupied (for example, during your lunch hour or at night) so that the indexing be completed more efficiently. It is possible to rebuild the index while the computer is in use; the performance should not be overly affected. However, this task will be more time consuming because FileHawk will work in the background so that the impact on computer performance is minimized. If you choose to not schedule a time to rebuild the index, you will need to do it manually from time to time.
From the main screen, click on the ADMINISTRATION button.
Select the Open the Configuration Screen option.
Put a check mark in the box Automatically Rebuild the Index.
Enter the time at which you want FileHawk to rebuild its index. As stated above, it is recommended to rebuild the index at a time when the computer is idle.
Exit the screen and the new configuration will automatically be saved.
8.1.2 Automatically update your index of desktop files
Configure FileHawk to automatically update your index as the files are modified. Note: If the Update the index only when the computer is inactive is marked, the computer will need to be idle for the assigned period in order to update the index.
From the main screen, click on the ADMINISTRATION button.
Select the Open the Configuration Screen option.
Put a check mark in the box Update the Index Automatically when Files Change.
Exit the screen and the new configuration will automatically be saved.
Please note that only the index of desktop files will be updated. Indices in the catalog of external devices will have to be rebuilt manually as they are not usually inserted or connected to the computer.
8.1.3 Index Computer Only when Idle
This feature enables you to optimize your computer's performance. FileHawk will wait until the computer is not in use to update or rebuild the index. This can be used if you have an older computer that is affected by FileHawk’s indexing and its goal is to ensure that the indexing does not interfere with your current activity.
From the main screen, click on the ADMINISTRATION button.
Select the Open the Configuration Screen option.
Put a check mark in the box Update the Index Only when the Computer is Inactive.
Enter the amount of seconds that you want the computer to be inactive before the updating begins.
Exit the screen and the new configuration will automatically be saved.
or
Find the FileHawk icon in the Windows System Tray, which is in the task bar, at the bottom right corner of your screen.
Right-click on the button.
Select the option Index only when computer is otherwise idle.
8.2 FileHawk Updates
8.2.1 Automatically be advised of FileHawk updates
FileHawk can inform you of program updates. To let it do so, simply follow the instructions:
From the main screen, click on the ADMINISTRATION button.
Select the Open the Configuration Screen option.
Put a check mark in the box labelled Automatically update FileHawk on a regular basis.
Exit the screen and the new configuration will automatically be saved.
or
From the main screen, click on the INFO button.
Put a check mark in the box Automatically update FileHawk on a regular basis.
8.2.2 Manually download a FileHawk update
From the main screen, click on the INFO button.
Press the Look for a FileHawk update button.
If an update is available, follow the installation wizard like in the Setup process. FileHawk will advise you if your current version is up-to-date.
or
Go to our http://www.filehawk.com website.
Go to the downloads page in the Support section.
Click on Download the Latest FileHawk Update.
8.3 Configure the sequence number to identify removable devices
When building an index for your removable devices, you must identify the device either with a sequence number or description or both. You may configure FileHawk to automatically add a sequence number as a prefix to the description field in the Add a disc or Media to My Catalog.
From the main screen, click on the ADMINISTRATION button.
Select the Open the Configuration Screen option.
Put a check mark in the box labelled Use a sequence number in the description.
In the sequence number field, type your own number and FileHawk will continue using your sequence format. For example, you may use 00001 to have FileHawk generate sequences 00001, 00002, 00003, etc. You may also use letters in your sequences, such as A0001, A0002, A0003, etc.
Exit the screen to save your new configuration. Every time that you add a new external device to the Catalog, the sequence number that appears in the field labelled Next sequence number will be incremented by 1.
or
From the main screen, click on the ADMINISTRATION button.
Select the Add a CD or Media to my Catalog.
Put a check mark in the box labelled Use a sequence number in the description.
In the sequence number field, type your own number and FileHawk will continue using your sequence format. For example, you may use 00001 to have FileHawk generate sequences 00001, 00002, 00003, etc. You may also use letters in your sequences, such as A0001, A0002, A0003, etc.
You may then start adding your removable devices to the Catalogue or exit the screen to save your new initial sequence number. Every time that you add a new external device to the Catalog, the sequence number that appears in the field labelled Next sequence number will be incremented by 1.
8.4 Change the Program’s Language
FileHawk is currently available in three different languages: English, French and Spanish.
From the main screen, click on the ADMINISTRATION button.
Select the Open the Configuration Screen option.
Click on the arrow in the drop box labelled Change the Language and select the language desired.
Exit the screen and your new configuration will automatically be saved.
9 License Agreement
1. LICENCE
1.1.Quadrom grants the licensee to use only one copy of the version of the FileHawk software on any one hardware product for as many licenses they purchase. The licensee is authorized to store, load, install, execute or display the software. The license is not transferable to another person or entity. The license may not be sub-licensed, commercially distributed or shared with any other party without Quadrom's written consent.
1.2. A single user license will license one copy of FileHawk for use on any one computer at any one time.
1.3. Quadrom offers a 30 day trial period to run FileHawk. In order to keep using the software after this period, the licensee must register and purchase the permanent license at http://www.FileHawk.com.
1.4. Quadrom may provide updates or upgrades of FileHawk and the software documentation at it's own liberty.
2. OWNERSHIP
2.1. FileHawk is owned and copyrighted by Quadrom. This license does not grant in any way the licensee to copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks or any other rights, functions in regards to FileHawk.
2.2. The licensee may not reverse engineer, copy, decompile, disassemble, clone, rent, sell, transfer, recreate any component or modify the software, except as provided in this agreement. It is prohibited to export the software into any country that does not protect or have copyright laws. Any such unauthorized use can result in termination of the license and may result in criminal charges.
2.3. The software is protected by copyright laws and international treaty provisions. The licensee may treat the software like any other copyrighted material except that the licensee may install the software on a single computer.
3. DISTRIBUTION
3.1. FileHawk may not be sold or included in a package that intends to receive compensation in return without written consent from Quadrom. The FileHawk installation program may be freely distributed, provided the distribution package is not modified.
4.WARRANTY
4.1. FileHawk is provided in an “as is” basis, will all faults. Quadrom does not provide the licensee any warranties, including that the software will operate uninterrupted and error free, that the software will work with any other hardware, software or system. Neither Quadrom or anyone else involved in the software development or distribution will be liable for any indirect, consequential, special, indirect or incidental damages arising out of the use or inability to use the software. The licensee bears all risk associated with the use, quality and performance of the software. In no event shall any theory of liability exceed the amount paid for the license.
4.2. Quadrom should not be liable for any non-authorized use or misuse of the software nor the interruption or the slowdown of the services of a network that may be caused by the licensee or the software.
4.3. Some jurisdictions do not allow limitation or exclusion of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to the licensee to the extent that the liability is by law incapable of exclusion or restriction.
5. REFUNDS
5.1. No refunds will be given, except at the discretion of Quadrom. During the trial period, the licensee is encouraged to fully evaluate the software.
6. TERMINATION
6.1. Quadrom can terminate the agreement at it's discretion, if the licensee fails to comply with the agreement, and the licensee must uninstall the software.
7. SUPPORT
7.1. Support for the software can be provided via the web site http://www.fileHawk.com. It can also be supported by the means of email from the day of license until decided by the license agreement.
8.MISCELLANEOUS
8.1. This entire agreement between Quadrom and the licensee supersedes any prior agreement or understanding, whether written or oral, relating to the license.
8.2. The parties have consent that the license agreement is written in the English language only.
Thank you for your interest in FileHawk.
Quadrom Services, S.L.
C/Tuset, 20-24, 3e
Barcelona 08037, Spain
10 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
10.1 Why would I buy FileHawk? There is a search function in Windows...
The search function in Windows is very slow. It is not flexible to users needs and it does not help you organize your files. FileHawk is very different from the search function in Windows. It is designed to be used as a central point from which to work, saving you time and organizing your documents. Please read the feature descriptions of each version to obtain more details of how different we are from the Windows search program. FileHawk will also catalog CDs and DVDs allowing you to find your documents even if the disk is not in the computer. Even the new version of Windows that will be made available in a year won't address those issues.
10.2 Why should I buy FileHawk if free desktop search software is available?
Other companies offer free desktop search software. However their products are significantly different from FileHawk. Our software not only has the desktop search feature but also searches and organizes CDs and other removable media. FileHawk is designed to help you organize your numerous documents according to criteria that you determine instead of using the rigid Windows Explorer organization tool. You can catalog your CDs and search their contents even if the CDs are not inserted in the computer. Using Microsoft's iFilter technology allows FileHawk to index and search all common file types unlike other desktop search software. Rare document types can also be indexed by finding the corresponding iFilter on Internet or creating it specifically for your file type. Furthermore, FileHawk does not annoy you with bothersome ads.
10.3 I'm concerned about privacy on my computer. Is there any spyware or adware in FileHawk?
This is a great concern for many people. It is important to note that there is no spyware, adware or any such inconvenience to disturb your privacy. This is the principal reason why we cannot offer this product for free. Other companies will include ads in their software, covering up part of your screen and distracting you from your objective of organizing your documents. Even worse is the custom of integrating spyware into desktop search products to determine your computer usage habits, to detect software and hardware that is installed on your computer, to identify Web sites visited and to use your search words to target you as a potential customer for third party ad sellers. FileHawk will not share your private information with anyone nor will it allow anyone, including our company, to view any information that is in your computer. Please read our Privacy Statement.
10.4 I don't know much about computers. Is FileHawk difficult to learn?
This program is going to be very helpful to you. You will never have to remember where a file was placed. FileHawk will pinpoint all of your documents even as you type your search words! FileHawk is very easy to work with, the program guiding you when you need assistance. For example, if you do not know the function of a certain button, simply set your mouse cursor over it or over its label and a tooltip pop-up bubble will advise you.
10.5 What languages are available for FileHawk?
FileHawk is currently available in English, French and Spanish.
10.6 Is the online order form secure?
Yes, it is absolutely secure. Your payment information is confidential. Please read our Privacy Statement.
10.7 What happens after I purchase my product?
Immediately after the time of purchase, you will receive a serial number via e-mail. At this point, you will have to activate the product with the serial number. Enter FileHawk and press the register button on the main page and follow the instructions on the screen.
10.8 What is the difference between the trial version and the full versions?
The features are identical. However, there is a time limit of 30 days to use the trial version. Please register the product chosen before the 30 day limit in order to avoid interrupted service. The trial version allows you to try the product to make sure that it works according to your needs and enables you to get a feel for the software.
10.9 How do I upgrade to a newer version of FileHawk?
There are two functions on the Information screen that will allow you to upgrade FileHawk to the latest version. You can check the box to look for updates automatically and never have to worry about missing an upgrade or, instead, you can press the button that instructs FileHawk to look for an update. This will immediately find the latest version and guide you through its installation if necessary. Both methods connect to the FileHawk Web site to seek and retrieve updates.
10.10 What is a file type and which ones are supported by FileHawk?
A file type is also referred to as a file extension. It is a label assigned to a file to distinguish what program opens it. Typically, it is a 3 letter designation following the file name. For example, a text document called "Document123.doc" would be opened by Microsoft Word where "doc" is the file type.
FileHawk supports hundreds of file types. Please follow this link to obtain the complete list of supported files.
10.11 After installing the software, how do I begin searching?
After running the installation wizard, you will be presented with a screen giving you the choice of either rebuilding the indexing process now or to manualy select the documents to index. Depending on the number and size of files that you have on your computer, the initial indexing process can take several minutes to several hours to complete. As files are added or modified, the index updates are performed very quickly in the background. The initial indexing is normally done when the computer is not being used so as not to interfere with your work.
Once your index is built, you may begin searching by typing words in the Your search words line in the top left corner. You may also press the Advanced Search button to specify other search criteria such as file name schemes, file creation date range, file size ranges, etc. To find out exactly what the criteria do, simply set your mouse cursor above the criteria's label.
10.12 Will FileHawk slow my computer down while indexing?
Filehawk works in the background or during idle computer time. It should not disturb you in your tasks while it is indexing.
If you believe that FileHawk is affecting your computer responsiveness, you can configure it to build the index only when the computer is idle.
You can configure FileHawk to index when the computer is idle by following these instructions:
1. Right click on the FileHawk icon in the taskbar (bottom-right of your screen).
2. In the menu that pops up, click on the option Index only when the computer is otherwise idle.
10.13 How can I organize my documents using FileHawk?
You can set up folders that classify your documents according to criteria that you determine. To view Active Folders, click on the side tab with the red arrow. Your folders form a tree just like that in the Windows File Explorer, with names that you establish. The criteria for the documents that appear inside each folder are those that you saved from the advanced search fields, such as document modification time, documents that contain the word Invoice but do not contain the word computer, etc.
The easiest way to set up an Active Folder with certain criteria is to enter your criteria in the search fields and press the Save button, which is the diskette in the top-left corner. FileHawk will create an Active Folder with a default name determined by the criteria; you can then rename the folder, drag and drop the Active Folder to another folder, etc. When you click on it, documents that match the criteria will appear in the results window, even if the document was created after you generated the folder.
10.14 Is there a limit to the number of files indexed?
The maximum number of files that FileHawk can index is greater than the practical limit that can be attained in a normal PC.
10.15 Can I open a file from a CD if the device is not in the computer?
By entering your keywords and criteria, FileHawk will tell you which CD contains your file. However, you will need to put the CD in your computer and at that point, you will be able to open your file.
10.16 I did a search for a document that I know exists and contains specific keywords but FileHawk did not find it. Why?
The reason for not finding your document may be one of the following:
- The document that you are looking for is not in a folder that is indexed. Follow the steps in section 4.4 in the FileHawk User Manual to index the required folders.
- The file type was not selected. Follow the steps in section 5.5 in the FileHawk User Manual to choose the file type needed.
- The file type is not supported by FileHawk. FileHawk uses Microsoft's technology called iFilter to build the index. If the file type you are looking for is not supported by FileHawk (see list of supported file types), it is possible to download the corresponding iFilter to allow you to index and read those certain file types. Follow the steps in section 1.4 in the FileHawk User Manual.
- For security reasons, you are not authorized to access this file.
10.17 How does FileHawk handle file and folder security aspects?
FileHawk respects all file security defined by Windows.
10.18 Are any .DLL files installed in the Windows directories?
No, the FileHawk installation program does not install any files which affect system operation or configuration.
10.19 How can I export information from My Catalog to a spreadsheet?
FileHawk enables you to export the list of CDs/Media, related information and contents to a spreadsheet. From the Administration screen, click on Manage My Catalog. Right-click in this screen and choose an export option from the menu. Open any spreadsheet application and paste the data into the cells.