Offline Disks File Searcher 4+

Really Helpful

I never write reviews, but this deserves it. I was able to index multiple 4GB remote server volumes over VPN. Because it's remote, it took a couple hours for 4GB, but it worked. Before this, simple searching within the Finder simply would not be feasible. Now I can open an ODFS index and search there. And if the remote drive is mounted, I can double-click on the item and it opens, but because of the delay over the wire, it's better to right-click on a filename and Show In Finder. Then copy the remote file to my local computer. Just amazing. I used to use Disk Tracker for indexing, but that died back when MacOS went to 64-bit. It's very useful to have this functionality back. And it does more! I totally agree with another reviewer who said it would be good to be able to download and share an index file. I have other co-workers and it's a hassle for each of them to need to index and re-index when I've already done that. If I could share my indexes, I expect they'd be using this app...especially because some many of us are working remotely now. Shareable indexes would make this a 5-star.

Extremely helpful.

I have had Offline Disks File Searcher continuously open on my Mac for nearly a year, always ready to go. I have many old backup drives, and I’m combining and processing that information, and this app has been really useful in finding alternate copies and searching for original info on 17 hard drives. I can’t believe it’s free but, of course, I wish it would do more, and I’d pay for extra features. I really want the app to include the date of the files and folders it finds, so that I can plug in the right drive. A little thing: I would like something to tell me the search progress—or a least “still searching” and “search completed.” Does it work in the background?

Developer Response ,

Thank you for your advice! The progress feature you mentioned is under testing and will be added in the next version. The app doesn’t do any non-user initiated job in the background, but a long search will continue if the window is inactive.

Exactly what I needed.

Our organization has a ton of external HDD's and I needed a way to keep track of which projects were on which drives. This app was exactly what I needed, it scanned most of my drives in a number of seconds. Now I can browse and search file stuctures and know exactly which drive I need to grab for certain projects without having to keep a massive spreadsheet updated.
I have a few feature requests which would really take this app to the next level for me:
1. It would be nice if you could add color/category labels to drives like you can in the mac finder.
2. It would be nice if you could write a little description of on the drives, that way you could add extra info like what color the drive is, or where it's stored.
3. Some newer drives include an icon that shows you what the drive looks like, It would be nice if the app would pull this icon when available and display it with the drive.
Thanks again for this great app!

Developer Response ,

Thank you for your purchase and brilliant suggestions! I will be working on some, if not all of those. All the best!