Windows Search

Windows Instant search is a very useful feature that comes with windows and also with some applications such as Outlook and OneNote. it really saves alot of time when searching. Those days when we want to search for a while it takes awhile and the results come up with nothing. then we narrow down the search criteria and search again. but now with the instant search, we don’t have to wait any more. while we type indexing service will search and show the results. that’s why its called “Instant Search”. i use the instant search feature frequently on outlook to locate my emails. sometimes i use the instant search which is now embedded to Widows explorer to find files. yesterday i did a search on my Windows 7 to find a document, and i was amazed it was able to read the contents inside the files as well. but this is not a unique feature of Windows 7. it’s just that i haven’t noticed that something is possible on Windows Vista. Vista also has the same capability but the indexing service has to be turned on. so finally i learned that it’s possible to search within the files through Windows Search. my next question was, why can’t i search within PDF and OneNote. Most of the articles that i have are on OneNote and PDF. but searching within those two file formats are not enabled by default. to enable it, you need to download something called an “ifilter” in other words indexing filter. ifilter works as a plugging for Windows Search and Windows Desktop Search to index content within a document.

initially i thought it’s not possible to index content within PDF and OneNote documents. but then i did a research and found that there are pluggings that we can use to enhance the capabilities of Windows Search.

so i downloaded the Microsoft Ifilter which supports indexing contents for the following file formats

.docx, .docm, .pptx, .pptm, .xlsx, .xlsm, .xlsb, .zip, .one, .vdx, .vsd, .vss, .vst, .vdx, .vsx, and .vtx.

you can download it from the link below

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=60c92a37-719c-4077-b5c6-cac34f4227cc&DisplayLang=en

and also its possible to download the ifilter plugging from Adobe as well for FREE to index PDF documents

http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=2611

Windows 7 Build (7000)

Finally i made it …I’m on Windows 7 build 7000. it took me two days to download the 3GB ISO file. and then i installed it on a test pc first to see how stable it is with the applications i use. these are some of the problems that i have with the current build. but the solutions are out there, it’s just a matter of time

Adobe PDF Driver didn’t get installed

Nero 9 doesn’t get installed

Chrome doesn’t get installed

but I’m not bothered …as long as Outlook, IE, and Virtual PC is working, that is enough for me to survive. so i backed up my user profile using WET(Windows Easy Transfer) and then formatted my office notebook. loaded Windows 7 on to that and then restored my profile. everything is working smooth. at the moment I’m installing software and fine tuning my system. i will post more about Windows 7 in my future posts

Windows 7 + Windows Server 2008 R2

Microsoft just announced the availability of Windows 7 Beta which Is the next generation Microsoft Client Operating System, and also Windows Server 2008 R2 beta which is the next version of the Windows Server operating system from Microsoft built on Windows Server 2008

Windows 7 Beta or Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta can be downloaded using a TechNet Subscription or a MSDN Subscription from today onwards

More information on Windows Server 2008 R2

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/r2.aspx

More information on Windows 7

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/default.aspx