** PD/Shareware review / 416 words **

Finder v1.12e
87%

** BC **
Utility
Shareware, all Ataris
Email: Holger_Weets@ol.maus.de
http://www.cix.co.uk/~inactive/
Any BBS connected to the FANfiles distribution network
** /BC **

** FINDER.GIF here **
** Caption **
The Parallel search option also works under single TOS
** /caption **

As your hard drive fills with applications and data files a search utility becomes more of a necessity and less of a luxury.
I'm particularly impressed with Finder which has recently been translated into English by Peter West of the TransAction crew. There's long filename (LFN) and AVSERVER support and single TOS folk are catered for so long as the WDIALOG.PRG system extension is installed in your Auto folder to enable the pop-up menu system (WDIALOG.PRG is freeware, bundled with NVDI and other apps, and available online and from PD/Shareware sources).
Finder offers many features which require an AVSERVER so folks running Thing, jinnee or MagXdesk (so long as Alexander Barton's AVSERVER extension is installed) gain the most benefit.

Almost any operation you can perform on a file from an open desktop directory window can also be performed using Finder's "hit-list" of found items. Searches can be for files using a range of wildcard options, for text contained within a file, and uniquely, for filenames contained within one of the popular archives such as ZIP and LZH. Look in a single folder or all your partitions, Finder lists all found items in a scrollable window with full keyboard navigation. Double-click on any program to run it, or to open a data file using its installed application. Drag a bunch of BAK files to the trash can or open a directory window onto that item - it's all in a days work for Finder.

My favourite feature is the catalog - one every CD-ROM owner will appreciate. Catalog the contents of your CDs and you'll have a ready reference which Finder can use to quickly locate any file or application and launch it - after double-clicking on it you'll be prompted to install the relevant CD.

But don't take my word for it, it's try before you buy so grab a copy and try it for yourself. There's ST-Guide and BubbleGEM help, GEMScript and Simple Script support I can almost guarantee you'll be reaching for your cheque book to send InterActive the extremely reasonable shareware fee of œ5. It's what every desktop has been waiting for - trust me!

Pros
You've read them!

Cons
The "Insert media" message can become tedious, no search for file size or time/datestamp.

Derryck Croker