Google Desktop provides two ways, in addition to Sidebar, to
quickly do a desktop or web search without first having to go to a web page.

• Deskbar
  
  
  
  The Deskbar is a small search box in your Windows taskbar. Just type in
  your query and results will appear in Quick Find. You can access the menu
  and maximize the Sidebar with the buttons to the right of the search box.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Floating Deskbar
  
  
  
  The Floating Deskbar is the draggable version of the Deskbar. It looks
  and works just like the Deskbar, except you can drag it to anywhere you want
  on your desktop. It will always float above all other windows, so it's
  always visible and easily accessible. It will first appear at the upper
  right corner of your screen.
  
  
  
  
  

• 
  Deskbar
  Menu
  
  
  
  Just click on the triangle next to the Deskbar or Floating Deskbar to
  bring up its menu. You'll see options to Pause Indexing, see the indexing
  status, go to Preferences, go to the Desktop About page, choose between your
  display options, and close the Deskbar.
  
  
  
  Note: Only one of Sidebar, Deskbar and Floating Deskbar can be open
  at the same time.

Google Desktop adds a toolbar into Outlook that makes searching your email more convenient. Just open Outlook and type a search term into the search field. Your email results will be displayed in a familiar list view within Outlook, including columns for "From", "Subject", and "Date". A snippet that contains your search terms will also be displayed with each result. You can sort the list view by clicking on columns and jump to a specific result by typing a letter. For example, if you sort results by "from" and type the letter "J", you'll jump to seeing results where the sender begins with the letter "J".

The Google Desktop home page is your command center for managing your computer's information. You can do the following from the home page: Set As Home Page - Makes the Google Desktop home page the page that comes up when you launch your web browser. Privacy - Describes how Google Desktop protects your privacy. Index Status - Shows how many items of each type Google Desktop has indexed and when the last item was indexed. About - Includes the version of Desktop that's installed and links to info on getting started, online help, privacy, and uninstalling.

You can use these advanced search operators when you do a
desktop search:

• Phrase search
  
  If you enclose all or part of your query in quotation marks, Desktop will
  only return items that contain that exact quoted phrase. For example, if
  your query is ["Copyright 2005"], Desktop only returns items
  containing exactly that phrase. An item containing that phrase's words only
  in the sentence "In 2005, I filed for copyright" will not be
  returned.
  
  
  
  


• "-" search
  
  When put directly in front of a word, the - operator causes searches
  to not return items that contain that word. For example, results for
  the search [bats -baseball] would include all items in the Desktop
  cache that contain the word "bats," except for the items that also
  contain the word "baseball".
  
  
  
  


• "site:" search
  
  If you include the site: operator in your query, Desktop will only
  return results from the website you specify. For instance, a Desktop query
  of [help site:www.google.com] will return only pages you've seen from
  www.google.com that contain the word "help". Note there can be no space
  between the "site:" operator and the domain you specify.
  
  
  
  


• "filetype:" search
  
  You can restrict what type of files Desktop returns via the filetype:
  operator and an argument of either a file type extension or the full name of
  an Office application. For instance, if you search for [tax filetype:xls]
  or [tax filetype:excel], your search results will include only Excel
  files containing the word "tax". If you search for [filetype:abc],
  your results will include only files that have a .abc file extension. As
  with the site: operator, do not put any spaces between filetype:
  and its extension or type argument.
  
  
  
  


• Advanced email search
  
  You can restrict your search to look for matches within email message
  headers. The available email search operators are:
  
  
  
  • Subject:
  
  
  • To:
  
  
  • From:
  
  
  • Cc:
  
  
  • Bcc:
  
  
  
  

  Sample usage:
  

  
  
  • subject:spirit returns all emails with the
    word "spirit" in the Subject: field.
  
  
  • subject:"Will Eisner" returns all emails with
    the exact phrase "Will Eisner" in the Subject: field.
    
  
  
  • subject:(spirit eisner) returns all emails
    with both words "spirit" and "eisner" in the Subject: field. Both
    words must be present in the Subject: field, but they can be in
    any order and do not have to be next to each other.
  
  
  • subject:spirit eisner returns all emails with
    the word "spirit" in the Subject: field and the word "eisner"
    anywhere in the email, including the body.
  
  
  
  

  You can combine multiple email header restrictions in one
  query. For example, a search on [subject:spirit from:denny] will
  return only those email messages that have both "spirit" in their
  Subject: field and "denny" in their From: field. As with the
  other operators, you cannot have a space between any email header operator
  and its related search term.
  

You can also combine either or both the phrase search
operator and the - operator with any of the site:, filetype:
or email header operators. For example, a query for ["graphic novel" -comics
from:denny] will only return those emails containing the exact phrase
"graphic novel", not including the word "comics", and that have the word "denny"
in their From: header.

Note: You cannot combine the site:,
filetype:, and/or email header operators in a single query. Why? Because the
site: operator can only return web history results, the filetype: operator
can only return file results, and the email header operators can only return
email results. If a query's operators require different result types, nothing
can successfully match your entire query.

How does the Google Desktop search results page work?

By default, results are sorted by date. If you want to sort
them by relevance to your query, just click the Sort by relevance link at
the upper right of the page.

The Google Desktop search results page includes every type of
item found in its index: files, emails, web pages, chats, and "other" which
includes contacts, appointments, tasks, notes, and journal entries. Your results
page also shows you how many results of each type were found for the query.

If you want to see just one type of result, click on the link
for that type. For example, if you click on a 3 files link, you'll go to
a page that shows only the 3 file results for the query. From a one-type-only
results page, just click the All link to return to a complete results
page.

You can also filter your results even further. After clicking
the "Files" link, you will see options to filter by specific filetypes: Word,
Powerpoint, Excel, HTML, PDF, Image formats (GIF, JPG, PNG, BMP), Audio formats
(WAV, MP3, AAC), and Video formats (WMV, MPG, AVI). After clicking the "Email"
link, you can also filter results by sender or recipient.

Files Results Page

Individual file results have seven parts:

• An icon indicating the file type:
  
  
  
  • 
    
    Word file
  
  
  • 
    
    Powerpoint file
  
  
  • 
    
    Excel file
  
  
  • 
    
    Text file
  
  
  • 
    
    PDF file
  
  
  • 
    
    Music file
  
  
  • 
    
    Image file
  
  
  • 
    
    Video file
  
  
  
  


• The file name, linked to the current version of the file
  itself.


• A brief snippet from the file with your search terms
  highlighted.


• The file's full pathname (where it's stored on your
  computer).


• A link to open the file in its folder, so that you can
  perform actions such as moving or emailing the file.


• A link telling you how many versions of this file are in
  your Desktop cache.


• The last time Desktop indexed a new version of the file
  (if the file already existed when you first installed Google Desktop, this
  will be the file's last modified date). The date is linked to the
  appropriate place in the Timeline view.

What happens if I click on the file name link?

The appropriate application (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, your
default editor for text files, etc.) will open with the file's current contents.
If the file no longer exists, you'll see an error message.

What happens if I click on the cached versions link?

• If there's only one cached version of this file on
  your computer, you're taken to a page showing that version.

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

  This page contains the file's text content; any Word or
  Powerpoint formatting isn't shown here.
  

• If there's more than one cached version, you're
  taken to a page listing all the cached versions.

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

  On this page, you'll see the total number of versions of
  the file and the file's complete pathname, which links to the file's current
  version.

  
  

  Each version is identified by the date and time it was
  copied into the Desktop cache (or, in the case of files that existed before
  you first installed Desktop, the last time the file was changed before the
  installation). The date/time links to that cached version of the file, and
  will take you to a single cached version page as previously described.
  

Email Results Page

Individual email results have up to seven parts:

• An icon indicating that it's an email and whether it has
  any attachments.
  
  
  
  • 
    
    Email message.
  
  
  • 
    
    Email message with attachment.
  
  
  
  


• A link consisting of the message's subject.


• A brief snippet from the email with your search terms
  highlighted.


• Who sent the message.


• The folder in which the email is stored (Outlook only).
  


• Link to open the email in the native application (e.g.
  Outlook, Gmail)


• If the email is part of a conversation thread, a link
  showing how many messages are in the thread.


• The date and time when this email was sent. The date is
  linked to the appropriate place in the Timeline view.

If you click on the "number of messages" link...

You'll go to a page listing each message in the thread,
oldest first. For each message, you'll be shown who sent it (which is also a
link to a page showing only this message), the first line or two of the message,
and when it was sent.

From this page, you can also delete individual messages in
the thread. Just click on the Remove emails link in the upper right
corner of the page. You'll be taken to a page where you can delete individual
messages from the cache (but not the message in your mailbox) the same
way you can delete individual search results (see
Removing Results).

If you click on the "Subject" link...

You'll see the entire email, along with these options
before and after the message:

• Reply


• Reply to All


• Forward


• Compose


• View In Application (e.g. Outlook, Gmail)
  

Click any of these options to take that action for this
email.

If the message is part of a thread...

The page showing you the email will also have links for
Older, Newer, and View Entire Thread (followed by how many
messages are in the thread). Use Older and Newer to move from one
message to the next in the thread. View Entire Thread takes you to a page
listing each message in the thread, just as if you'd clicked the number of
messages link on the original results page.

To delete a message from your Google Desktop search
cache...

Click the Remove email link in the upper right corner
of the page. Remember, this only deletes the message from the Desktop cache, not
from your email application. If you look at this message again while Desktop is
running, it will go back into your cache.

Chat Results Page

Individual chat results have four parts:

• An auto-generated title based on the contents of the
  chat.


• A brief snippet from the chat with your search terms
  highlighted.


• The buddy name of the person you were chatting with.
  


• The date and time when the chat happened. This is linked
  to the appropriate place in the Timeline view.

If you click on the linked first line of a chat result...

You'll see the entire chat and information about it:

If you click the "Chat with [buddy name]"
link...

An AIM chat window for that person opens.

Web History Results Page

Individual web page results have seven parts:

• Either a generic web page icon or a favicon - an
  icon representing a particular website.


• The page's title, linked to the current version of the
  page.


• A brief snippet from the page that contains your search
  terms.


• The page's URL.


• A link showing how many versions of the page are in your
  Desktop cache.


• The time you last looked at the page. This is linked to
  the appropriate place in the Timeline view.


• A thumbnail image of the most recent cached version of
  the page.

If you click on a thumbnail image link...

You'll be taken to the most recent cached version of the page
that contains your search terms.

If you click on a "number of versions" link...

• And there's only one version...
  

  
  
  

  
  

  You'll be taken to the version of the page stored in the
  Desktop cache. Since Desktop stores the original URL's HTML, this page will
  look like any other web page.
  

• And there's more than one version...
  

  
  
  

  
  

  You'll be taken to a page listing each stored version,
  with the most recent version first. For each version, you're shown a
  thumbnail image, along with the date and time when Desktop stored it (if
  there's no image for this version, you'll see "image not available" in the
  box).

  
  

  If you click on the image box (even if it says "image not
  available"), you'll be taken to a page showing that stored version.
  Remember: web page contents can change over time so some stored versions
  may not contain your search terms.

  
  

  Other Results Pages

  
  

  Google Desktop also indexes "other" items, which includes
  contacts, appointments, notes, tasks, and journal entries. By default these
  items are indexed for Outlook, but you can also
  download plug-ins that
  may also index these types of content from other applications.
  
  
  
  
  
  

But remember, you're only deleting Google Desktop's
version(s) of the item. The current version is still in your computer,
mailbox, or on its website. If you want to get rid of the original, live version
of the item, you have to delete it from where it lives, the same as any file,
email, or web page that Google Desktop doesn't know about.

Here's how to make Google Desktop forget all
stored versions of selected items:

1. Go to a Google Desktop results page.
   
   
   
   
   


2. Click the Remove items link, located at the top right of the
   page. This will take you to a Remove Specific Items page, a modified
   version of the results page you were just on.
   
   
   
   


3. Click the check box to the left of each item you want Desktop to forget.
   You can click Check all to check all the checkboxes on the page or,
   if you decide you don't want to remove any items, click Uncheck all.
   
   
   
   
   


4. Click the Remove checked results button.
   
   
   
   


5. You're now back on the search results page. Notice that whatever items
   Desktop just forgot no longer appear here.

You can customize Google Desktop to work the way you want it
to. To go to the Desktop Preferences page, either

• Click the Desktop Preferences link to the right
  of the search query box on either the Google Desktop home page or any
  Desktop search results page.


• Click the Google Desktop icon in the taskbar to bring up
  its menu, then click on Preferences....
  
  
  
  

On the Preferences page, simply set the various options
described below, then click the Save Preferences button at either the top
or bottom of the page. Orange text will appear near the top of the page to
confirm that Google Desktop has saved your preferences and offer you a Return
to previous page link.

You can set these seven preferences:

• 
  Search Types: What type of
  things you want Google Desktop to be able to search.


• 
  Plug-ins:
  Plug-ins that can index other data types.


• 
  Search Gmail: Enter your Gmail username and password to see new
  email in Sidebar and search your Gmail even when you're not connected to the
  Internet.


• 
  Search
  These Locations: Index additional drives and network folders.
  


• 
  Don't Search
  These Items: What files or web pages you don't want Desktop to
  remember and find.


• 
  Encrypt Index:
  Encrypt the index and data files.


• 
  Search
  Box: Choose between displaying Sidebar, Deskbar, and Floating
  Deskbar.


• 
  Default
  Search Type for Search Box: Sets the search done after typing a
  query and hitting Enter in Sidebar, Deskbar, or Floating Deskbar.
  


• 
  Quick Find:
  See results as you type.


• 
  Number of
  Results: How many results are shown per page.


• 
  
  Google Integration: Include Google Desktop search results when doing
  a Web search.


• 
  Advanced
  Features: Send non-personal usage information and info about the web
  pages you visit to Google to improve personalization in Sidebar and help
  Google improve the quality and reliability of Google Desktop.

Search Types

Google Desktop automatically indexes these types of items
on your computer when it starts up for the first time:

• Email (including Gmail, Outlook, Outlook Express,
  Netscape Mail, Thunderbird, and Mozilla Mail)


• Chats (from AOL Instant Messenger and MSN Messenger)
  


• Web history (from Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscap,
  and Mozilla)


• Microsoft Word documents


• Microsoft Excel spreadsheets


• Microsoft PowerPoint presentations


• PDF files


• Media files (images, audio, video)


• Contacts


• Calendar appointments


• Tasks


• Notes


• Journal


• Text and other files


• Password protected Microsoft Office documents (Word and
  Excel)


• Secure web pages (HTTPS)

You can disable indexing and search of whole categories
listed above by unchecking the items you don't want to search.

Can I stop Google Desktop from searching only the secure
web pages I look at? Banks and merchants often use secure pages, so those pages
may contain private or financial information I don't want kept around after I'm
done. But I still want to be able to search other web pages.

You can have Google Desktop not store and search secure web
pages while still storing and searching other web pages. Secure web pages are
ones whose URL starts with https: rather than http: (yes, the "s" is for
"secure").

How about Office documents that I've protected with a
password?

Just uncheck the box next to Include password-protected
Office documents (Word, Excel), and Desktop will no longer store or index
any of those password protected documents.

Does turning off a search category remove previously
copied items of that type from the Desktop cache?

No, it doesn't. While a type is turned off, Desktop won't
return items of that type. But items of that type that are already in your cache
will stay there. If you turn that item type back on, those cached items can
again show up in your search results.

Does turning off an item category mean Google Desktop
won't index and store any items of that category?

Yes. While a category is turned off, if you look at an item
of that category, Google Desktop will not index or copy that item.

Plug-ins

Google has provided external software developers with tools
for writing extensions, called plug-ins, to Google Desktop. These
plug-ins let Desktop index and store content and return search results for
additional file types and applications (such as other instant message programs
or web browsers). To see what plug-ins are available, and to download ones you'd
like to use, click on the
Plug-in Download page link. Note that only plug-ins that index new types
of information are shown on this page. Plug-ins that show up in Sidebar are
accessible by clicking on Sidebar's menu and selecting "Add/Remove Panels".

Search Gmail

To enable offline search of Gmail as well as notification of
new Gmail in Sidebar, enter your Gmail username and password. If you enter an
incorrect username or password, you'll see an error message on the Google
Desktop homepage letting you know of the error.

Search
These Locations

To search folders that Google Desktop doesn't automatically
search, just click the "Add drive or folder to search" link to select one. This
is handy if you want to use Google Desktop to search a network drive, for
example. After adding a new drive or folder, Google Desktop will do an initial
crawl of that location and add the new documents to its index. Depending on the
file system of the added drive, items will be indexed as they change or once per
day. A status message will show when that drive/folder was last updated.

Don't
Search These Items

The Don't Search These Items preference lets you stop
Google Desktop from ever storing or finding certain files and web pages. Just
type each URL or browse to the folder you don't want Desktop to search and
index.

Examples of proper format for listing websites:

http://www.somewebsite.com
https://www.myinfo.com

If I list an item in the "Don't Search..." text box that's
already in my Google Desktop cache, is it removed from the cache?

No, it isn't. Once items are in your cache, they stay in it
until you delete them from the cache. Adding a file path or URL to your "Don't
Search..." list means Desktop won't notice when you view that item from then on,
and that item won't show up at all in your Desktop search results. But existing
copies of that item still live in your cache unless you
remove them.

Encrypt Index

Encrypt the index and all data files used by Google Desktop.
Enabling this feature will reduce the performance of Google Desktop. This
feature makes use of the Windows Encrypted File System (EFS) feature.

Search Box

The Search Box preference lets you choose between
displaying Sidebar, Deskbar, and Floating Deskbar. Sidebar is the default value
(see more details
about Sidebarr).

Default Search Type for Search Box

Defines what happens after you type a query into Sidebar's
search box or the Deskbar or Floating Deskbar and pressing "Enter." By default,
this is set to Web Search, but can be changed to search Desktop, Images, Groups,
News, Froogle or Local.

Quick Find

Quick Find enables you to launch applications and search your
desktop easily from any desktop search box (Sidebar, Deskbar, or Floating
Deskbar). It is enabled by default. You can also specify how many results you
want to see as you type, as well as whether to show full-text results and what
to do when you press Enter after typing.

Number of Results

The Number Of Results preference lets you specify how
many items can appear on your Google Desktop search results pages. You can
select 10 (the default value), 20, 30, 50, or 100. Note: the default (10
result) value provides the fastest results.

Google Integration

Once you have Google Desktop installed and running, your
results page for any ordinary web search you do on www.google.com will include
both Google.com and Desktop results. In other words, you’ll see results for both
web pages that Google.com found and items on your computer that Desktop found.
The Desktop results are summarized, and appear above the web search results.

If you want to keep Desktop results out of your Google.com
results, just uncheck the checkbox next to Show Desktop results on Google Web
Search result pages and save your preferences.

Advanced Features

Google Desktop sends Google non-personal data about how
you're using the program, along with reports if it ever crashes. It also sends
information about the websites you visit so that Sidebar can show personalized
info, such as personalized news. Analyzing this data from many users helps our
engineers better understand how people actually use Google Desktop and therefore
how we can improve it.

If you don't want Google Desktop to send this information,
simply uncheck the Advanced Features checkbox. Desktop will immediately
stop sending any of this non-personal information to Google.

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