Windows 7 / Getting Started

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Searching Libraries

Libraries are a new feature of Windows 7 that makes it easier for users to organize and search for documents and other types of files. Libraries allow files from multiple storage locations to be browsed and searched as if they were stored in a single location. For example, the Documents Library on a user's computer could contain:

• The user's own My Documents folder (included by default).
• The Public Documents folder on the user's computer (included by default).
• Additional volumes or folders on the user's computer.
• Shared folders on the network.

Libraries are integrated fully in Windows 7 with fast, full-content search and provide customized filter search suggestions based on the types of files the library contains. The Documents library on a user's computer where one of the library locations is the network share \\SEA-DC1\Documentation.

Typing a search string into the search box in the upper right section of Windows Explorer searches the Documents library for the text specified. The results returned include highlighting of file names that contain the search string and snippets of text from documents that contain the search string.

Clicking within the Search box allows you to use filters to narrow your search for documents that have a specific Author, Size, Date Modified, or Type. History of previously tried queries is also displayed to allow you to rerun a query quickly if you want.

The search filters displayed vary depending upon the type of library being searched. For example, searching the Music library provides search filters for searching by Album, Artist, Genre, or Length. Search filters are a new feature in Windows 7 that make it easier for users to construct queries using AQS, which could only be entered manually when creating search strings in Windows Vista. For more information on AQS, see the sidebar "How It Works: Advanced Query Syntax" later in this tutorial.

Once you perform a search, you can save it so you can run it again in the future. To save your search, click the Save Search button on the toolbar. Windows automatically suggests a name for your saved search based on your search string and any filters you selected. Saved search named config type=.doc sizelarge.search-ms, whose name was constructed as follows:

• Search string: "config"
• Type: .doc file (Microsoft Office Word document)
• Size: large (1-16 MB)

Saved searches are saved by default in the Searches subfolder of your user profile and have .search-ms as their file extension. Saved searches are displayed under Favorites in the navigation pane of Windows Explorer. To rerun a saved search, simply select it in Windows Explorer.

If searching the Documents library doesn't return the result you are looking for, you can broaden your search focus to other libraries, the entire computer, or even the Internet by selecting one of the re-scope links shown at the bottom of your search results. For example, by clicking the Computer link, you can re-scope your search to files stored in any location on your computer. You can even define a custom scope for this search only by clicking the Custom link and specifying the locations, both local and network, that you want to search.

Note To quickly search all indexed locations on a computer running Windows 7, press the Windows Logo key+F and type your search string. Other methods for doing this include pressing Ctrl+F from any Windows Explorer window and clicking Start, followed by pressing F3.

The re-scope links displayed at the bottom of the search results in Windows Explorer can be customized by administrators using Group Policy. The following Group Policy settings are new in Windows 7 and are used to customize the re-scope links displayed in Windows Explorer:

• Pin Internet Search Sites To The "Search Again" Links And The Start Menu Allows users to resend searches to customized Internet or intranet sites from Windows Explorer and the Start menu. This policy setting is found in the following location:
  User Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Explorer
• Pin Library And Search Connectors To The "Search Again" Links And The Start Menu Allows users to re-scope searches to customized library or Search Connector locations from Windows Explorer and the Start menu. This policy setting is found in the following location:
  User Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Explorer
• Remove The Search The Internet "Search Again" Button Blocks access to Internet search from Windows Explorer. This policy setting is found in the following location:
  User Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Explorer

Also new in Windows 7 are the following Group Policy settings, which can be used to configure further how search results are displayed:

• Turn Off The Display Of Snippets In Content View Disables the showing of snippets of file contents when search results are returned. This policy setting is found in the following location:
  User Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Explorer
• Turn Off Display Of Recent Search Entries In The Windows Explorer Search Box Prevents the display of recent searches and prevents search strings from persisting in the user portion of the registry. This policy setting is found in the following location:
  User Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Explorer
• Turn Off Numerical Sorting In Windows Explorer Causes Windows Explorer to use logical file name sorting, as in previous versions of Windows. This policy setting is found in the following location:
  User Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Explorer

For additional information on using Group Policy to manage searching in Windows 7, see the Windows Search, Browse, and Organize Administrator's Guide found on TechNet at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744681.aspx.