Re: Mathematica and desktop search
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg104622] Re: Mathematica and desktop search
- From: David Reiss <dbreiss at gmail.com>
- Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 03:49:13 -0500 (EST)
- References: <hcjilq$jee$1@smc.vnet.net> <hcr9sh$9m0$1@smc.vnet.net>
On Nov 4, 2:18 am, Mac <mwjdavid... at googlemail.com> wrote: > On Nov 1, 9:59 am, ntgl... at gmail.com wrote: > > > A recent computer failure has afforded me the opportunity to rethink th= e > > tools I use. > > > I have accumulated 1000s of notebooks over the years and have found the > > Copernic search engine a good way to rediscover old work. However, the > > Copernic search logic (in the free version, at least) is more limited t= han > > I would like. > > > I'm sure many mathgroup regulars have come up with good methods for > > searching their libraries of notebooks. > > Would you share your experience? > > > Thanks, > > Tom Gladd > > I use Windows XP. Finding the right notebook can be a problem for a > number of reasons: > > 1) The content within each notebook is very dynamic and I often copy > text and calculations between notebooks to address different problems. > This makes it difficult using seach engines to formulate the query > using the right key words > > 2) There are practical limits to how much can be put into a single > notebook and work effectively, both in terms of functionaliy (e.g. a > split sceen to view content at two different locations, methods/ > keyboard shortcuts to jump around within the notebook) and often > physical size of the notebook esp. if there are a lot of graphics. As > a result I often start a new notebook to address work subthemes and > this leads to a lot of notebooks on my disk addressing similar > material. > > My main approach is to organise my notebooks in structured > directories, each addressing different workthemes and using the Google > seach bar with the Mathematica plugin which works reasonably well. > > Mac The structured directory approach is exactly the model that is used in http://scientificarts/worklife along with a wide variety of tools to automatically work within that approach. --David