The Web is a big place, and even bookmarks and history files won't help you remember where you saw that prediction on widget production in Guatamala. That's why I recently turned to two utilities that help keep my Web-based research straight. AskSam's SurfSaver lets you easily save Web pages to disk and then conduct complex searches of them off-line. Conversely, WebTools' Mata Hari searches more than 100 Web search engines at once and builds a database of hits that you can search and winnow until you have a list of sites that exactly suits your needs. Both programs can save you tons of time and effort in finding and recalling information on specific subjects.

SurfSaver

Do you want to capture and organize Web pages on the fly and sift through them later with a powerful Boolean search engine? SurfSaver is the answer. SurfSaver is like WebWhacker, except it saves the page-text, graphics, frames, and links-you're currently viewing. It's helpful to anyone who does Web research and needs to archive pages for later reference, even if the original Web site has gone the way of all flesh.

Why not just save the page with your browser? Browsers don't capture everything on the page (such as graphics); SurfSaver does. Unlike a browser, SurfSaver archives a page in folders you designate. It also creates a special database that lets you search pages in many ways.

I examined a prerelease version of the product, which only worked with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0. A Netscape Navigator version should be released by the time you read this.

SurfSaver acts more or less like a browser plug-in, letting you save pages with a click. You can rename a page if its title isn't descriptive enough and create a new target folder or dump the page into an existing one with a few more clicks.

Installing SurfSaver is a snap. Download the program from the AskSam Web site (or order the boxed set for an extra $10), exit IE4, and log off the Internet. Run the executable file and the program will consume a mere megabyte of disk space. (Of course, you'll use more space as you save Web pages.)

When you start your browser, SurfSaver runs in the background. To save a displayed page, right-click anywhere on the page and choose SurfSaver Quick Save from the pop-up menu. In the subsequent dialog box, you can change the page title and add key words and notes that can be searched later. Another menu option lets you drop the page into a folder or create a new folder on the spot.

Searching is just as easy. When you're off-line, right-click a displayed page and select SurfSaver Search. From the dialog box, pick the folder (or folders) you want to search, then enter the search terms. You can search by key word, proximity, exact phrases (ˆ la InfoSeek), date, title, and text in notes or on the Web page. Boolean operators at your beck and call include AND, OR, and AND NOT. You can also create nested phrases, such as chicken AND (cream OR cheese OR yogurt) AND NOT barbecue. SurfSaver then splits your browser screen, piling the results in the bottom half. Click a result and the page is displayed in the top window.

You can even use SurfSaver as a simple reminder system. Add the word todo to the title, key word, or notes field of a page you save. Later, search for all pages containing the word todo. You can also share SurfSaver files with other SurfSaver users. Every folder you create is an ASK file that can be sent as an e-mail attachment.

In short, SurfSaver is a handy tool for researchers of all stripes, and the price is right. There are some downsides, however. For starters, you can only save the page you're viewing; you can't tell the program to also save pages several levels down. There's no compression, so your hard disk will quickly become packed. And although the program can save graphics, you have no control over which graphics on a page are saved or how.

Updated information on SurfSaver is available at the company Web site. Help is available online, as are documentation and regularly updated FAQs. As maintenance releases become available, they will be posted online.

Mata Hari 1.01

Every Internet search engine has its limits, biases, and talents. Mata Hari gets the best out of more than 100 search engines, sifting through the dross to deliver pure gold. The program not only taps into multiple search engines simultaneously, it lets you craft much more specific queries and thus get more relevant hits. Results are stored on your system and can be searched further to deliver finely targeted hits.

In essence, Mata Hari is a powerful database of search engine commands and capabilities, a single interface for scores of Internet search engines. You can refine your search terms and be picky about which search engines are used, what results will be rejected out of hand, and so on. For example, you could limit a search to sites in Japan, exclude anything before a certain date and from a specific domain (such as .mil), and use specific search engines to simultaneously search the Web, Usenet, and image sites.

Mata Hari installs easily under Windows 95 or NT, prompting you to confirm Internet connection data and so on. It works with Navigator and Explorer, runs over local area networks, and gets along with third-party Winsocks.

Mata Hari is aimed at users who understand Web searching, but there's an excellent tutorial online for newcomers. In fact, you can use the program even if you're ignorant about search engines. By default, the program searches all domains and uses all the search engines it knows.

Go online, fire up Mata Hari, and you'll see that it offers up not one, but two query fields, which really helps narrow your searches. You can search for an English phrase (such as International Space Station), use wild cards, and combine terms (and the two query fields) using the AND, OR, and AND NOT Boolean operators. There's even a fuzzy logic-like feature that will decipher your typos. Mata Hari will pour the results into its proprietary database and index just about everything so you can then refine your search even further. One big time-saver is that Mata Hari will not return dead links. Before it lists results, it tests every URL to make sure it's still active. It also eliminates duplicate Web pages. That saves a lot of clicking.

You can view any retrieved page off-line in Mata Hari's own viewer or reconnect to the Internet and view the page live. You can sort results in a dozen different ways, including by title, date, terms, search engine, and scoring systems. Then see where results overlap. Ultimately, you'll get highly accurate hits.

For example, I wanted to find work relating to the International Space Station. With a single search engine like InfoSeek, I'd spend a lot of time sorting through erroneous hits and near misses. But with Mata Hari, I zoomed in on the information I wanted. In one query field, I entered "International Space Station" and in the other, "Boeing AND subcontracts". Then I looked for results that overlapped and got a precise collection of hits about business opportunities for subcontractors.

As you gain experience, you'll want to change Mata Hari's default settings or drop some search engines, exclude domains and languages. You'll also find yourself using Mata Hari to search your bookmark files and other Web page collections.

I tested Mata Hari 1.01, which seemed to progressively run out of memory. Company president Jerry Tardiff assured me that this memory leak will be fixed by June when version 1.02 ships.

Either way, Mata Hari is indispensable if you search the Internet often. If you add SurfSaver to your online kit, you'll save loads of time, money, and frustration. That's easily worth the price tags on both of these programs.

© 1998 Elizabeth Powell Crowe. All rights reserved.

Contributing editor Elizabeth Crowe specializes in online services, online research, and information brokering. She's the author of The Electronic Traveler, Information for Sale (with John Everett), and Genealogy Online, Web Edition. You can reach her via libbi_powell_crowe@bigfoot.com or care of Computer Currents.

Where to Buy

SurfSaver
AskSam Software
800/800-1997
www.asksam.com
List price: $39.95; $29.95, online; 30-day trial from Web site, free

Mata Hari 1.01
The WebTools Company
888/624-6429
www.theWebtools.com
List price: $34.95; 30-day trial from Web site, free