Illumination 1.5.7 — Find document files on any disk, whether it's initially mounted on your Mac or not
reviewed by Harry {doc} Babad
Developer: Brian O’Brian Radical Breeze Software http://www.radicalbreeze.com/illumination/index.html Shareware: $20 USD File Size: ca. 2.9 GB Version Date: 05 November 2005 Requirements: Mac OS X 10.3 or later including Tiger. Windows XP and Linux versions are also available. Audience: All user levels Strengths: Find files on any disc. Whether it's currently on your Mac or not. Weakness: A help file for those who are not yet intermediate level Macintosh users would be useful. The software was tested on a 1 GHz dual processor PowerPC G4 Macintosh with 2 GB DDR SDRAM running under OS X 10.4.3. Product and company names and logos in this review may be registered trademarks of their respective companies. |
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Introduction
I have used DiskTracker http://www.disktracker.com, as has MacAddict Magazine, for years as a means of indexing my archival CDs. This allowed me, in principal, to retrieve the files located on them. [There is an assumption here that when you named your document files, you gave them meaningful names. This was more difficult in early Macintosh operating systems where you were limited to 27 letters in a document name.]
The DiskTracker software functioned as a resource for finding files, after I indexed all my archival disks, but I found its interface cumbersome to use. Although the catalogs I created made me aware of what I owned, I had to then manually search my target disk since. DiskTracker offers no path information to speed up to finding the needed file.
I was therefore intrigued when I read the description of Radical Breeze’s Illumination, to learn that if I mounted the target disk containing the file, Illumination would take me right to it. This review is a result of my following my curiosity. I’m glad I did.
Using the Product
Making a disc searchable from Illumination is a simple process. Insert the disc into your Mac and either drag and drop the disc onto the "Discs" list in Illumination or click the "Add Disc" button. The disks I loaded were primarily shareware and computer related, and contained both my ongoing shareware collection, articles of interest, macC review files and an assortment of volumes containing clip art and fonts.
For this review, I indexed 17 disks (CDs and DVDs, using my built in Superdrive [Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-105] in less than 45 minutes. Their net content was 8,969.1 MB and contained 38,094 files. The database created was 11.8 MB in size, but my zip archive copy was only 1.6 MB in size. The nearly 12 MB of database files is not a heavy overhead for the ease of access provided me by the software.
Searching for files using both simple and detailed search modes was straightforward. In a number of instances, I verified search results by using my DiskTracker indices of my selected archival disks and duplicated the found files identified by Illumination.
Illumination makes it easier to find, within its few limitations, the files you're looking for in your archives or linked fileserver volumes. Once you find the right file, simply double click on it to open it on its original source volume. If not mounted, the software points you at mounting the source volume on which your file is located. Then, simply double click (or right click) on it to open your found file.
Note that its Disc Notes Drawer feature, if used in a disciplined fashion, makes it possible to add a note to yourself. A note reminding you where you’ve got the volume (e.g., CD, or DVD) stored. Remember this feature only works if you don’t move the disk to a new storage location—so no Spring Cleaning is allowed.
One significant limitation of my Illumination review was that I chose not to index my hard disk. It wasn’t a question of indexing speed, which certainly is fast enough. Rather, I continue to change the contents of my hard disk, archiving material to CD or DVD when I no longer use it. My day-to-day work also generates lots of new files. Therefore, any database I created would be soon be out of date. Instead, I use EasyFind [December 2005 macC] for searching my hard disk, with Apples Spotlight and Find File as last resorts. Note that a working hard disk is not an archival volume.
The Software-Its Features
Illumination allows you to index and search through any volume (any hard drive, CD, network volume). Online or offline, Illumination allows you to search through your files based on File Name, Path, Creation Date, Modification Date, Type & Creator Codes or File Size.
I also could, something not noted by its developer, easily search the database by document extensions [using the file name field. This turned out to be a mistake because there were more hits than I could easily deal with.
Brian, could you add another search field category that allowed searches, in addition to file name, for me to add the file extension?
In the past, that combination is one of my most effective ways to find files. This is especially true when I’ve forgotten the exact name of the file. Oh sweet memories… Earlier versions of Apple’s find function allowed such searches. As an aside, gentle reader, I have still not figured out how to search document extensions in Tiger [e.g., .doc, .cwk] with either Spotlight or Apple’s find file [Command -F.]
So whether you're looking for an MP3 file, a picture, readme file or other document, Illumination ca help you find it. Uses the product to find any specific file on one of the volumes you’ve indexed (once only). It utilizes of a highly optimized database of volume contents to assist you in fast focused performing searches.
Although Illumination will index packages as well as other documents, (.dmg) it will neither find nor index applications or folders. The reasons for needing to index (nested) folders are something I talk about below.
In addition, you can use the built-in, optional, web server link to search your files from any web browser, accessing the server using information designated in its preferences. [I have no server volumes so was unable to test this feature.]
Especial Kudos
Brian O’Brian was unusually responsive to my review questions, and based on the history of the product, the developer is quite active in maintaining this product up to date by responding to user requests for features and fixing an occasional bug.
A Few Minor Problems and One Gripe
Access to the Radial Breeze Forum — When I attempted to get to the forum at http://www.radicalbreeze.com/bbs/ neither Safari nor DEVONagent could access the link. Brian, by return eMail informed me “As for the forum... it got hacked. Hard. So we had to take it down for at least a while.”
Easier Database Backup Feature Needed – Because none of the information I was able to access provided a path to the location where the database was stored, I contact Brian O’Brian, it’s developer for that information. Backups can be made by accessing the database files at Illumination stores the database files in [~/Library > Application Support > Illumination].” Thanks Brian. A number of my applications [e.g., TheRecipeManager] actually have a menu item function-allowing backup of their database. It would be a nice addition to you excellent and evolving product.
Found Items Count — If the find window could list the number of files found at the bottom of the window, it would be helpful. Checking Get Info only provides the total size of the database.
Gripe; A Key Feature I’d Love to Love
The Inability to Search for folder names and associated folder sizes limited my use of the test database I created. Although finding information in Illumination Is fast any easy, some searches were difficult if not impossible to do. [No this is not a developer design defect. It is rather a problem created by the way I organize archival shareware disks.] Finding folders and their sizes is the only feature in DiskTracker I’d love to have you port to Illumination.
Why is finding folders and know their size is important to me? In each of the 27 CDs that contain my Macintosh OS X shareware collection, I use a consistent standard set of folders to store my goodies. For example, I use a generic folder called Icon Collections for storing such downloads. If I could find all Icon Collections folders in my new database, including their sizes, I could more easily find where I stashed that large &%$#@# set of downloaded Icons that had for several years taken too much space in my hard disk. I know it had in it a great icon of a telephone, one I need.
The Good News
Brian O’Brian Shared… In Addition, the Future Might Hold
“Just so you know, here is the list of potential improvements as it stands right now for Illumination 2:
- Faster indexing (not by a lot, but noticeable) - Faster searching.
- Optional column view of files (Babad notes I still Prefer List view.
- Import/Export of discs as XML or tab delimited files - Export search results as XML or tab delimited file.
- Spotlight plugin (to allow searching of Illumination indexed discs via Spotlight).
- Various interface improvements (icons, control layouts, etc).
- Disc icon stored within the database (it is currently stored as a separate .icns file).
- Preference to allow the location the disc database(s) is stored to be changed .
“Some of this is already complete, others may not make it into the final 2.0 release. But I thought it would be of interest to you.”
Conclusions
If you archive all sorts of files to collections of CDs and DVDs, with the thought of access some of that material in the future you need a first class cataloging system. Such a system should be easy to create, and make it easy once created to find and access that file you need. The one whose name you vaguely remember which you know contains just that information you need to finish a project to find that great old song or picture. Illumination is such a tool. Within its limitations, it is the fastest way I’ve found to search my archives. Try it, buy it; find those lost document files will never be the same again. I rate this product 4.0 macC's
