In previous installments of this series, I discussed the virtues of a clean Vista install, some useful User Account Control workarounds, top tools for troubleshooting, and the wisdom of shutting off Windows system services. Today’s fifth and final installment is a little different from its predecessors, in that it focuses not so much on fixing what might be broken, but rather on taking advantage of a feature in Windows Vista that has the potential to transform the way you work.
Through the years, I’ve tried just about every third-party desktop search utility for Windows. But I threw them all away after a few weeks of using Vista’s built-in Windows Search capability. In this post, I’ll explain how Windows Search works, how to monitor the SearchIndexer service to avoid potential performance problems, and how to speed up indexing operations on the fly.
First, an overview of how Windows Search works. By default, the Windows Search service runs on every Vista installation, maintaining an index of data files, music and pictures, e-mail messages and contact information (for supported programs), shortcuts to installed programs, and Internet favorites and your web-browsing history. The index is limited to the contents of specific folders and subfolders (you can customize this list), and the extent of indexing is controlled by file types. Virtually all files have their file properties (name, date, size, and so on) indexed; in addition, specific file types that have matching iFilters installed have their full contents included in the index.
You can use the index from just about anywhere:
* Click Start and begin typing in the Search box. A categorized subset of results appears in the Start menu, and you can click Search Everywhere to see a more complete list in a Windows Explorer window
* Press Windows logo key+F to open the Search dialog box and begin constructing an advanced search
* Enter some text in the Search box in the top right corner of any Windows Explorer window
* Enter some text in the Search box in the top right corner of any Vista common dialog box (not available in older applications)
* Open the Searches folder in your user profile (using the Favorite Links bar in Windows Explorer) and execute a saved search.
source: blogs.zdnet.com
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