- If you search from a specific folder then the search box searches all of
that folder, regardless of whether it has been indexed.
- The search box searches filenames and contents {and all other meta-data
about the files}. One caveat is that in non-indexed locations, by default
only filenames are searched. This behavior can be changed in the Search
Options dialog "What to Search -> Always search filenames and contents".
- If you just want to search for just filenames and not contents then use
the Advanced Search "Name" edit box, or type "name:" before the name in the
search box on the top-right.
"Celegans" <Celegans@nospam.nospam> wrote in message
news:OQF$XCq2HHA.1184@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> So what am I missing? In XP, I right click on a folder using Windows
> Explorer and select search. There are separate search options, which I
> found quite intuitive:
> - "All or part of the file name"
> - "A word or phrase in the file"
>
> I almost always want to specify some sort of wild card for the files I'm
> looking for, and I often am looking for a specific string in these files.
> I quite often NEED both of these fields. Unlike Windows 2000, XP was a
> bit lame when it didn't search all the files, and hits could be missed
> until one found the obscure registry key to enable searching all files. I
> spent hours trying to figure out why I couldn't find files in XP because
> of some obscure change made by Microsoft. Windows Vista continues that
> frustration by making searches harder than it was in Windows 2000 or
> before.
>
> Now let's do the same thing in Vista. Right click on a folder to search
> using Windows Explorer, and select "Search...".
>
> There is a mostly blank screen with a note at the top saying "To begin,
> type in the search box". Can I assume that this search box only knows
> about what's been indexed? This whole screen is wasted space and could
> show more options like before, but one must now click on the nearby icon
> for "Advanced Search". Did usability experts really design this?
>
> The Advanced Search screen is what I really want to see when I select
> "Search" from Windows Explorer. This new Advance Search screen shows
> mostly blank space (why is all the space wasted?), but doesn't show an
> option that is equivalent to searching for "A word or phrase in the file".
> Where is this search option "A word or phrase in a file" now "hidden"?
>
> The help system has proven futile. Online searches via Google have proven
> futile. I have already spent hours searching for why search doesn't work
> in Vista. There is a checkbox for "include non-indexed, hidden, and
> system files (might be slow)," which I'm assuming will search for files
> that are not indexed, but how do I search for a particular string in a
> file? (The command prompt "findstr" command isn't a good answer.)
>
> I now launch a VMware virtual machine running Windows 2000, where I've
> mapped my Vista file system. I must do searches from Windows 2000 on my
> Vista machine to find files containing specific strings because Vista's
> search either doesn't work or has a new obtuse user interface that is not
> intuitive nor is explained anywhere I can find. At some point I may have
> to pay the $100 to use SSScaner, because I figure out how to get search to
> work in Vista.
>
> I have had similar frustrations with Office 2007. Simple things that took
> seconds, now take hours to find, or seemingly cannot be done. Recently I
> wanted to split a table in Word 2007, which should have taken about two
> seconds. Over an hour later after various Google searches, I finally
> stumbled onto this online tool that shows the old Word 2003 interface and
> how the same thing is done in Word 2007. You can select what you'd like
> to do in the Word 2003 simulated interface, then an animation shows what
> to do an simulated Word 2007 user interface.
> http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/wo...744321033.aspx
> At least in the "split table" case, this worked when online help didn't
> address "split table".
>
> If Microsoft really wanted to help its existing customers, this tool
> should have been part of Word 2007, so one could quickly find out how to
> do a familiar operation. Is there any similar tool that Microsoft
> provides that does this with Windows Vista? Can I go to an online tool
> somewhere in Windows XP, and be told where in Vista I can do the same
> thing, like searching for a string in a file that may not be indexed?
> Looking for search terms in the help system too often is futile, even when
> using the exact name of the feature.
>
> There are many good new features in Vista and Office 2007, but the
> frustration level of not being able to do old simple things is also quite
> high -- needlessly.
>
> "Dave Wood [MS]" <davewood@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:ux6OAjR2HHA.4672@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> All of the things you describe here can be done with the built-in Vista
>> search. If the indexer is not running or if you are searching a
>> non-indexed location then search is done without the index, which may be
>> slower but will still work.
>
>