What happens now?
You will see this:
The Initializing Index message means that blinkx is getting ready to catalog the files in the folder that you made available for local searching, so that it can show them to you as search results.
None of these documents ever leave your machine!
This message is displayed until blinkx is ready to start cataloging your files.
Next you will see this:
The message changes to display the title of documents. blinkx has started cataloging your documents, and displays the name of the file that it is currently indexing.
Next you will see this:
The message changes again to display the number of documents that have been indexed so far. Once blinkx has finished indexing, it will only index again if you add a file to the folder it is indexing from, or edit a file in this folder.
Note:
You can adjust blinkx's indexing speed by moving the slider bar on the search box. blinkx has three indexing modes:
When blinkx is running a small toolbar is displayed in the top right hand corner of your active window.
You can highlight a section of text in your active window to search for results that are relevant to this bit of text.
Whenever you switch to a new window on your screen, the blinkx toolbar turns dark blue to indicate that it is searching for web logs, video clips, web pages, products, news articles as well as email, jpegs and documents on your machine that are related to the content of your active window.
When results are found, the icons on the toolbar become colored.
Note: the blinkx toolbar only searches for related web pages if you move your mouse towards it.
Click on: | To display: | ||||||||||||||||||
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the blinkx search box | ||||||||||||||||||
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related documents on your hard drive, for example: | ||||||||||||||||||
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related news articles | ||||||||||||||||||
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related web pages | ||||||||||||||||||
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related products | ||||||||||||||||||
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related video clips | ||||||||||||||||||
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related web logs |
You can display the blinkx search box by clicking on the blinkx icon in your system tray or by clicking on the blinkx icon on the blinkx toolbar. If you want the search box to be always on top of your open windows, right-click on its title bar and select the Always On Top option.
Enter your search in the search box. blinkx searches your desktop and returns relevant results on your machine: email, email attachments (indicated by a paperclip), JPEG images, email contacts, MP3, PDF files, PowerPoint files, Excel files, Word files and files you've recently looked at.
You can view a result's summary by hovering over the result's link. To view a result, click on its link.
In addition to desktop results, you can also search for relevant news articles, websites, video clips, blogs or a visual representation of your query by clicking on the Search Web buttons:
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displays relevant news articles |
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displays relevant websites |
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displays relevant video clips |
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displays relevant products |
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displays relevant blogs |
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opens blinkx visualizer to visually represent your search |
Note: if your computer is protected by a firewall, your firewall may display messages that blinkx is trying to act as a server or trying to access the Internet. You should set your firewall to allow blinkx to act as a server and to access the Internet, so it can index the local documents you want to be able to search and search for web results.
Click here for more details on firewalls.
You can sort local results by clicking on the available headers (these are Type, Title, To/from, Date and Subject).
You can search local results by title, sender, recipient, date and subject. Enter your search text in the appropriate text box above the local results' Title, To/from, Date or Subject headers.
Note that you can switch between a sender and recipient search by clicking on the down arrow above the To/from header, and between different types of date search by clicking on the down arrow above the Date header.
Click on: | To display: |
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all local document results |
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only PDF documents |
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only PowerPoint documents |
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only Excel documents |
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only Word documents |
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only email and email attachments |
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only JPEG images |
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only email contacts |
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only MP3 audio files |
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only recently viewed files |
Note: results that are displayed with a paperclip are email attachments.
You can use the Boolean operators AND, NOT and OR to restrict the results that blinkx returns.For example:
cat AND dog | only returns documents that contain cat and dog |
cat NOT dog | only returns documents that contain cat but not dog |
cat OR dog | only returns documents that contain either cat or dog(or both) |
If you want to use phrases, you need to use brackets.For example:
city AND (New York) | only returns documents that contain city and New York |
city NOT (New York) | only returns documents that contain city but not New York |
city OR (New York) | only returns documents that contain either city or New York (or both) |
blinkx only reads local files (email, email attachments, JPEG images, email contacts, MP3s and documents on your machine) if you told it to do so during its installation (it cannot produce local result without reading local files).
If you selected not to let blinkx read local files and have changed your mind, or if you want it to read different files from the ones you selected during the installation, you can do the following:
If you move the slider bar to: | blinkx: |
the left | stops indexing documents |
the middle | only indexes documents when you are not using your computer |
the right | indexes documents at maximum speed. This may have an impact on your computer's performance, so it is recommended that you set blinkx to fast indexing if you are not using your computer for a period (for example overnight). |
By default blinkx passes web searches to the search provider you selected when you installed blinkx. You can switch to a different provider by doing the following:
By default the blinkx toolbar displays web logs, video clips, web pages, products, news articles and local files that are relevant to the content of your active window. You can restrict the results the toolbar displays by doing the following:
If you want to only run the blinkx search box and disable the blinkx toolbar, you can do the following:
If your computer is protected by a firewall, your firewall may display messages that blinkx is trying to act as a server or trying to access the Internet.
You should set your firewall to allow blinkx to act as a server and to access the Internet, so it can index the local documents you want to be able to search and search for web results.
For example:
Check the Remember this setting box and click on Allow
This executable needs to access the Internet, so that you can register blinkx.
Check the Remember this setting box and click on Allow
blinkx needs to access this website in order to display online help.
Check the Remember this setting box and click on Allow
The blinkx application needs to access the Internet to search for web results.
Check the Remember this setting box and click on Allow
This executable needs to act as a local server, so that blinkx can index the local documents you want to be able to search.
Check the Remember this setting box and click on Allow
This executable needs to access the Internet, so it can search for web results.
If you are uninstalling blinkx, this executable needs to access the Internet, so it can un-register blinkx.
From the What do you want to do drop-down list, select Always allow connections from this program on all ports .
This ensures that blinkx can access the Internet to search the web.
From the What do you want to do drop-down list, select Always allow connections from this program on all ports .
This executable needs to access the Internet, so that you can register blinkx.
From the What do you want to do drop-down list, select Always allow connections from this program on all ports .
This executable needs to act as a local server, so that blinkx can index the local documents you want to be able to search.
From the What do you want to do drop-down list, select Always allow connections from this program on all ports .
This executable needs to act as a local server, so that blinkx can index the local documents you want to be able to search.
From the What do you want to do drop-down list, select Always allow connections from this program on all ports .
This executable needs to act as a local server, so that blinkx can index the local documents you want to be able to search.
From the What do you want to do drop-down list, select Always allow connections from this program on all ports .
This executable needs to act as a local server, so that blinkx can index the local documents you want to be able to search.
Select the Grant Access option.
This ensures that blinkx can access the Internet to search the web.
Select the Grant Access option.
This executable needs to access the Internet, so that you can register blinkx.
Select the Grant Access option.
This executable needs to act as a local server, so that blinkx can index the local documents you want to be able to search.
Select the Grant Access option.
This executable needs to act as a local server, so that blinkx can index the local documents you want to be able to search.
Note: depending on which firewall you are using, you may also get messages that ablinkx.exe, oblinkx.exe, eblinkx.exe or pblinkx.exe are trying to access the Internet. In order to enable blinkx' file and email indexing service, you should set your firewall to allow these executables to access the Internet.
Don't panic! If blinkx looks at one of your emails or documents and it contains a virus, your anti-virus software automatically displays a warning. Simply follow the instructions of your anti-virus software to quarantine and eliminate the virus, and carry on using blinkx as usual.
Yes, blinkx (in particular the application "iblinkx.exe") needs to access sites on the Internet in order to supply you with news and web site results. Set up a rule that allows blinkx to always access the Internet, if you don't want to have to okay firewall messages every time blinkx needs to access a website.
Note: if your machine is protected by a corporate firewall and you can access the Internet already, you should be able to use blinkx without any problems. If you can access the Internet but can't use blinkx, please contact feedback@blinkx.com.
When you first run blinkx, it needs some time to read the files and emails that you have pointed it at. Until it has finished reading them, it may miss results and there may also be a small effect on machine performance. However, once blinkx has caught up on its reading, your searches will produce local results.
Also, if you are using Outlook, blinkx can only return email and email attachments to you, if your Outlook is running.