Announcing Windows Search 4.0

Announcing Windows Search 4.0​

SOURCE: Windows Search
For more details on this, see the source.

Instantly find documents, e-mail, attachments, and more


In today's information-intensive workplace, finding just the right file when you need it can be challenging. Windows Search provides an easy and comprehensive solution for finding and organizing the content you care about, whether it's on your PC, in an e-mail message or attachment, on a remote file share, or on the Web. Key benefits of Windows Search include:

• User Experience that Helps You Stay Productive: Windows Search has a familiar user interface for instantly finding files and e-mail messages located on your PC and connected resources-plus one-click access to move, delete, copy, burn, attach, or drag and drop files where you need them.
• Enterprise Ready: Windows Search is easy to deploy and manage, with enterprise-class security that prevents unauthorized access to sensitive information. Robust Group Policy support gives IT professionals control over every aspect of search functionality-from the file types and locations that get indexed to how often the index runs over the network.
• Rich and Flexible Development Platform: Windows Search is easily extensible for third-party developers and IT professionals to build upon, offering comprehensive APIs for developers to display user search query results in custom applications and tools using the .NET Framework or a Common Object Model (COM) interface.

Instantly find and retrieve e-mail messages and attachments, business documents, media files, and many other file types located on PCs and file shares on your network. With Windows Search 4.0, simply type a search term and results quickly appear—including information within e-mail messages and their attachments. In Windows Vista SP1, start your search right from the Start menu and fine tune your search within Search Explorer. In Windows XP, use the always visible Deskbar for quick and easy search access to indexed content on your PC or the network. Results are displayed in a clear way that lets you quickly find the exact file or e-mail message you need, even when many results are returned.


The latest version of Windows Search provides the following features:

• Comprehensive and intuitive search feature helps you locate items quickly, and is accessible within common tasks. Learn more about Windows Search 4.0 for business users.
• Easy deployment and management tools use common infrastructure elements, support Group Policy, and help fine tune network performance. Learn more about Windows Search 4.0 for IT professionals.
• Well-supported platform provides great support for common data formats, making it easy for developers to enhance and extend search capabilities. Learn more about Windows Search 4.0 for developers.

DOWNLOAD SEARCH 4.0 AT:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=940157

 

[Dzomlija]

Interesting. I didn't think there was much that Microsoft could do to improve on an already quality product, but there you have it.

The addition of the "Remote Query" facility is perhaps the most welcome change. that I'll most defintely be keeping my eye on. Other than that, Microsoft hasn't really given out too many details on what other changes to expect.

 

[Brink]

I do not do alot of searching, but it did look interesting for where they seem to be heading with it.

 

[.Joe]

Thanks Shawn. It looks like something I might use from time to time.

 

[magritte]

• Remote query (PC to PC): Windows Search 4.0 allows users to search for and access shared files stored on remote PCs that are running Windows Search 4.0. Once remote locations are indexed, authorized users can search for and quickly access any documents saved to those locations the same way they search for files on their own computers.

Does anyone know how to use this feature? It looks very useful. I installed this on an XP machine to which I map network drives and a Vista machine. But I can't figure out how to implement this remote indexing querying and haven't found anything online that explains it...

Thanks!
​

 

[jamski]

I too tried it on an XP machine. In Mac terms it is very much like Sherlock feature implemented in the Classic OS, or the Spotlight in OS X. In any case, it's neatly done.

 

[Brink]

Update:

Windows Search 4.0 is no longer a preview anymore. It has been released as a final version now.

Shawn

 

[Dzomlija]

Update:

Windows Search 4.0 is no longer a preview anymore. It has been released as a final version now.

Shawn

I've just gotten the Microsoft Download Notification about WS 4.0, and am downloading it right now. If there are any significant changes to it in the final version, I'll update the Advanced Searches Tutorial a little later..

Peter

 

[Dzomlija]

One thing that I have noticed immediately after installing Windows Serach 4.0 (and allowing it to complete it's index) is that adding tags to a file via Windows Explorer is much faster:

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When adding a tag, the popup containg similar tags that you can choose from now comes up within about 2 seconds, where previously it took as long as 10 to 15 seconds sometimes.

I've also seen that searching is much faster than it was before the update. Also, when deleting a file directly from within a serach results view, the file is not only deleted, it is also immediately removed from the index.

 

[johngalt]

I may actually give this a shot - especially if it can search through my myriad of Thunderbird emails without having to open Thunderbird....