I quite enjoy Windows 7 (if nothing else, it’s better than the alternative), but I’ll readily admit that the operating system’s search function leaves a lot to be desired.

It’s considerably more cumbersome than it should be, and a process as simple as searching for a particular type of file created on a particular day turns into a war with the system’s search tags. It just doesn’t feel as fluid, simple, or intuitive as it should be – and it’s a crying shame that it drops the ball.

I’ve heard that the search function in Windows 8 is similarly low-grade, in spite of Microsoft’s attempts to improve upon the experience. There are plenty of options out there for anyone who’s looking to spend a bit of time testing and researching a few alternatives. However; one of the best apps I’ve come across is a little platform known as Ultra File Search.

It comes in two flavors: lite(free) and shareware(paid license). It’s user-friendly, intuitive to a degree that should make the engineers at Microsoft feel a little embarrassed, and offers full support for long path names. Filters include date, size, file type and file attribute, and can be arranged in whatever fashion the user sees fit.

It’s simple, it’s efficient, it’s easy to use, and it doesn’t take up much space.

If none of the big names out there do it for you, and the Everything search engine isn’t your cup of tea, Ultra File Search could wind up being exactly what you’re looking for. You can download it here.

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