Did you miss Part 1: Fix Windows Explorer?

It's natural to mourn the loss of a pet, but is it perverse to mourn the loss of an operating system feature? That's precisely what we're doing when we pine for the golden days of Windows XP, for a handful of gadgets we've seemingly lost after switching to Vista. But grieve not: Here are some tools to fill the holes in Windows Vista.

Customize File Icons and Associations

Vista lacks the File Types window, the tool used in earlier versions of Windows to edit context (right-click) menus and customize document icons. Granted, it wasn't the best-designed utility around, but it was the only way to associate more than one application with a file type or clean up debris left over by the myriad installers you've used over the years. Vista won't even let you change a file-type icon—a typically useless but somewhat popular pursuit. All you're allowed to do in Vista is choose the default application—the one that appears when you double-click a file of a certain type—by either using the Default Programs page in Control Panel, or by right-clicking a file, selecting Properties, and clicking the Change button.

Here are two substitutes we like, although neither is free. The PCMag.com utility called QuickAssociation ($7.97 for single downloads; $19.97 for a year of full Utility Library access) lets you easily change "friendly" file descriptions, select different icons, change default programs, and even lock file types to prevent other programs from obliterating your preferences. And File Type Doctor, part of Creative Element Power Tools ($18 after free trial), performs similar tasks, plus lets you customize icons and edit context menus. Naturally, you need administrator privileges to make changes to your file types.

Get Back Real-Time Search

The handy search field located in the Start menu and every Explorer window makes finding files easy—or so Microsoft would have you believe. What you're actually searching is an index, somewhat like the one Google uses, which means search results may be incomplete or out of date. This is why, after searching for *.jpg in a folder full of JPG files, Vista's search results may be entirely empty.

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Although it was significantly slower, the old search tool from Windows XP, 2000, and back actually scoured your files each time you conducted a search, which led to more accurate and comprehensive results. To get the same results in Vista, click the Search Tools drop-down in any open search window (aka Windows Explorer, after you've performed a search), and select the Search Pane. Then, click the Advanced Search button to the far right to see more options. Here, turn on the Include non-indexed, hidden, and system files option, and then wait patiently while your hard drive chatters away. It could take 20 seconds or 20 minutes, depending on how much work there is to do, but you'll eventually see search results that actually represent the files on your drive.

If you don't want to mess with the clunky Search Pane each time you search, you can force a real-time search every time by removing key locations from your index. From the Search Tools drop-down, select Modify Index Locations, and then click the Modify button. Use the tree to navigate your folders, and remove the check box next to any folder you don't want indexed. Click OK when you're done.

Mimic Desktop Scraps

For the six people across the globe who miss XP's confusing "desktop scraps" feature, there are other ways to save bits of text from Office applications. Of course, there's always copy-and-paste, but since old stuff left on the clipboard ends up in the land of wind and ghosts once something new is copied, you probably want something less short-lived. Enter ClipTrack Pro ($7.97 for single downloads; $19.97 for a year of full Utility Library access), which automatically saves the text you copy to your clipboard and organizes it for easy retrieval.

Make Vista Great: Part 1: Fix Windows Explorer Part 2: Fill in the Missing Pieces Part 3: Improve Performance and Stability Part 4: Solve Ultimate Edition Envy

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.