Haystack helps you make the most of your time, by searching all your files and documents in the cloud in one place. It's been built for privacy from the ground up, so your data isn't stored on a server, just your computer.
Really excited to starting using it.
Is this a side project for you and how are you planning on monetizing it?
Personal problem/preference: I use a feature to cycle through multiple "new tab" style chrome extensions. If that is the case, what is the fastest way to bring Haystack up? Is it possible to have a dropdown option to click on the widget on the browser?
@itsabhinaya Thanks for giving it a go! This is a full product launch/company :).
For monetisation, our goal is to be free for the common work tasks (files, documents, history) and then have a paid version for Sales & Marketing specific data that can also be viewed aggregate (think 360 view of the consumer without the data headache).
For bringing up Haystack there are 3 ways:
1. Keyboard shortcut: Control + Spacebar, works as long as you are in Chrome.
2. Click on the Haystack icon (yellow circle with hourglass) in the top right of Chrome
3. Go to your New tab and type in the box. By default Haystack takes over your new tab with a beautiful and useful tab - however we know people often dislike this so its very easy to disable and return back to Chromes original one.
Love the questions, let me know if you'd like any more information on the above!
@cdouglasosborn1 Awesome!
I am currently using this and having trouble pulling up Haystack.
https://chrome.google.com/websto...
I can't use the shortcut, not able to see the icon, and "new tab" is a different extension from my list of extensions now.
@itsabhinaya Sorry to hear that! So I've not seen Multi-Tab before... The way it works is actually pretty limiting, as it actually disables all the other extensions in that list to ensure the extension you pick has the new tab view.
So there are 2 solutions to this:
1. SImplest way: Uninstall Haystack and then Install this 'No New Tab' version of Haystack here: https://chrome.google.com/websto...
2. Longer way: First we need to Re-enable Haystack: Go to chrome://extensions, go through the list, find Haystack and click on the toggle to re-enable it. This will get it to take over your new tab, so to set the new tab application you want, don't use the Multi-tab tool, instead uninstall and re-install the extension that you want to have the new tab. This will override Haystacks (as which ever extension you installed last takes priority).
I hope that helps, let me know if not though and I'm happy to help solve!
I haven't tried this yet but how does it compare to simply using Spotlight on a Mac? I have my Google Drive locally syncing with my MacBook and spotlight can find search queries inside documents too, so I wonder if using Haystack offers any advantage?
@anna_0x Hi Anna, great question! So if you just use Drive, then there is limited advantages (except maybe taking up less space on your machine). The main advantages would be:
- Searching Drive directly means files that have not synced will also show up
- Ability to search other file locations too (OneDrive, Slack, Gmail)
- Ability to also search your browser history
- Ability to add Drive documents into a 'Collection' and open them all at the same time when you want to.
However, this current version is also just a browser extension which means that it can only search your Downloads folder on your computer, so the advantage spotlight has over it are it can also search your Desktop/Documents folder. We have a version in the works that will support these though.
Overall Drive sync + Spotlight isn't a bad solution to the problem though!
Are there other features that you would like that would make it better than the Drive/Spotlight solution you have now?
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@cdouglasosborn1 I see, so this is mostly aimed at people who have their files stored on multiple cloud storage providers (and use Gmail and Slack which I don't..)
Honestly, Spotlight + GDrive offline sync works pretty much perfectly ^^;
The "Ability to add Drive documents into a 'Collection' and open them all at the same time when you want to." sounds like a cool feature though. It's like what Workona does with Chrome tabs.
@anna_0x Exactly, very similar to Workona for the collections feature.
Glad you've got a system that works well for you, that's the important thing! :)
Hi @ericfriedman, thanks for hunting us!
We created Haystack because we wanted a way to search for everything on the cloud without giving up our privacy. Questions like “where that document is”, “which is the latest version” and “what was that website again?” suck up far too much of people’s days (and energy).
Privacy was one of our biggest focus, which is why Haystack doesn’t store any of your data in the cloud. Everything is local. We build a search engine on your computer while also getting results directly from your cloud accounts, so you never have to look in more than one place. It’s fast, doesn’t take up much space and makes finding and sharing information really easy.
We’ve built Haystack for Engineers (keyboard shortcuts), Designers (beautiful UI) and everyone in between (Searches 20+ tools). In our early testing, it saves people over 20 minutes a day. We’re still adding more and more integrations, so if you have one in mind let us know.
We love feedback, so please share it below!
Thanks again @ericfriedman - we appreciate the love and if anyone has any questions, I’d be more than happy to answer them. Thanks!
I’m really excited to hunt Haystack with you today. Haystack is a chrome extension for anyone that wants to know "where is that file?". I had the pleasure of working with Charles (CEO) while at Expa and excited to share his new service. The great thing about Haystack is that your privacy is protected - no data is stored or accessed by the service (even your logins).
If you need to search across cloud platforms in a safe and secure way - checkout Haystack.
Charles has been working hard on bringing this to Chrome and is here today to answer questions and chat with folks who try it out - download it now and let us know what you think!
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This is one of those rare finds that is so simple to use that you wonder where it's been all this time. Why did nobody make this before? Super quick and solves a common everyday issue we all face. Nice work Charles!
@ronnie_boadi Thanks Ronnie! I couldn't agree more :)
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Ultimately it is ridiculous that I can find a random fact on google faster than I can find a document that I saved yesterday. The way we nest files for organization directly impacts the speed at which we can recover them. Haystack is like having the power of a google search across all of your various document storage locations.
Pros:
Helps me find documents much much faster. It is intuitive and is something that I have wanted for years.
Cons:
I would like to integrate it across more places and folders.
Thanks for the review Tony! We're working on adding more integrations as well as a Desktop Application version for Mac & PCs so we can also search your documents, desktop and have a universal shortcut key wherever you are currently working.
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I had the chance to use a Beta version of this, signup was super-easy, and it all of a sudden works. A solution for dealing with the million different services PMs decide to use (e.g. Google Drive for X, GH for Y, Slack for Z).
Most importantly, it manages to not be intrusive, and doesnt store any of your docs on their servers.
Pros:
super easy to use. One of the few products in a while that feels magical. It "just works".
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Ultimately it is ridiculous that I can find a random fact on google faster than I can find a document that I saved yesterday. The way we nest files for organization directly impacts the speed at which we can recover them. Haystack is like having the power of a google search across all of your various document storage locations.
Pros:Helps me find documents much much faster. It is intuitive and is something that I have wanted for years.
Cons:I would like to integrate it across more places and folders.
Haystack
I had the chance to use a Beta version of this, signup was super-easy, and it all of a sudden works. A solution for dealing with the million different services PMs decide to use (e.g. Google Drive for X, GH for Y, Slack for Z). Most importantly, it manages to not be intrusive, and doesnt store any of your docs on their servers.
Pros:super easy to use. One of the few products in a while that feels magical. It "just works".
Cons:Would be good to add more services.
Haystack