November 8th - 2008

WIRED OFFICE: Find it fast with Google Desktop

Like many professionals, REALTORS® can accumulate a lot of information on their computers over time. Between E-mails, instant messages, digital photos, PDF documents, spreadsheets, and other files, locating a specific tidbit of information can be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Like many professionals, REALTORS® can accumulate a lot of information on their computers over time. Between E-mails, instant messages, digital photos, PDF documents, spreadsheets, and other files, locating a specific tidbit of information can be like finding a needle in a haystack.
 
But a tool like Google Desktop can be a great time-saver. It’s free, easy to install and use, and can greatly reduce the time you spend finding information on your computer.
 
For example, with Desktop you can search for all correspondence and documents relating to a specific client or property. Without this handy tool, you might first have to search E-mail, and then search documents, and then potentially search yet another database or system for other items. Things like contact lists, E-mails, appraisal reports, contracts, ad copy, photographs from listings, and other documents all become easily accessible using Google Desktop. Because it searches the actual contents of the files– not just file names – this desktop search program is much more effective at organizing and locating information on a computer than the Windows search application available on most PCs.
 
How it works
When you install Google Desktop it starts indexing the E-mail, files and Web history stored on your computer. This one-time indexing occurs only when your computer is idle for more than 30 seconds, so it shouldn't slow down your machine's performance. However, depending on the number of items, this process can take a total of several hours. After the initial indexing, Desktop makes sure your index stays up to date by adding new E-mail as you receive it, files as you update them and Web pages as you view them.
 
You do desktop searches the same way you do Google Web searches. Simply enter your search terms into a query box and either hit Enter or click the Search Desktop button. When you do a Desktop search, you'll go to a page showing you the most relevant search results, each of which include the file name and a brief snippet with your search terms highlighted. You can filter for a particular type of item – only files, for instance – by using the links at the top of the page. You can also preview your Desktop search results right inside the browser which means you don’t have to wait for an entire application to open just to verify that you've found the file you were looking for. By clicking "Advanced Search" next to the search box on the Desktop, you can easily specify the type(s) of search you want to do without having to remember specific search operators. You can also restrict what time period your results are from.
 
The great thing about Google Desktop is that it creates cached copies (snapshots) of your files and other items each time you view them, and stores these copies on your computer's hard drive. As a result, you can often use Desktop to find items you accidentally deleted, instead of having to recreate them from scratch.
 
An added security feature with Google Desktop can make your search experience safer as well by helping to combat both phishing and malicious software Web sites. Whether you're clicking on links from documents, IMs and E-mails on your desktop or browsing the Web itself, you may receive a warning when you're about to visit a site that might be trying to steal your personal information or install malicious software on your computer. Then you can decide if you want to use the site or not.
 
Along with searching your computer, Google Desktop also helps you gather new information from the Web and stay organized with its Gadgets and Sidebar features.
 
Google Gadgets can be placed anywhere on your desktop to show you new E-mail, weather, photos, personalized news, and more and Sidebar is a vertical bar on your desktop that helps you keep your gadgets organized. You can move the different parts around your desktop or up and down the sidebar by clicking and dragging each application to where you want it to go. You can also personalize your gadgets by moving your mouse to the upper right hand corner of the specific application until a little grey bar appears.
 
Desktop search engines such as Google’s have the potential to greatly improve productivity and to reduce the frustration of locating difficult-to-find files. To download a free copy of Google Desktop visit www.desktop.google.com.

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For more information contact

Ontario Real Estate Association

Jean-Adrien Delicano

Manager, Media Relations

JeanAdrienD@orea.com

416-445-9910 ext. 246

Ontario Real Estate Association
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The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA. The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license.

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