Desktop searching has recently become all the rage, and this latest version of Copernic Desktop Search offers many more features than Google Desktop and others.

Once installed, Copernic will ask you which types of content you wish to index (files, emails, contacts, bookmarks, history etc). It will also allow you to specify particular folders to add to the index. Copernic will then index the contents of your hard drive(s), including network drives (if you choose).

Unlike other desktop search tools, Copernic has a pretty wide file support. It can index email from Outlook/Outlook Express, Thunderbird and Eudora, numerous audio and video formats, as well as bookmarks from Netscape, Mozilla (all variations) and IE. It also handles all the standard file formats: .doc, .pdf, .txt, rtf, .ppt etc.

Another neat feature is the preview pane, which lets you preview documents from within Copernic. An embedded player lets you preview audio and video files, and it also has an integrated web browser/search facility.

This is the new v3 and is a major update. The interface has received a small makeover and a number of fixes and other improvements.