Outlook 2007 Searching

[Jeff Roe]

Each time I do an Outlook 2007 search "Tools/Instant Search/Advanced Find" I
have to press the Browse button and check the "Search Subfolders" box.

How do I default to always have the "Search Subfolders" checked?

Thanks

 

[jdballard30]

Each time I do anOutlook2007 search "Tools/Instant Search/Advanced Find" I
have to press the Browse button and check the "SearchSubfolders" box.

How do Idefaultto always have the "SearchSubfolders" checked?

Jeff,

I couldn't find a way to do it, but I did find something that in my
case was actually easier to user. I've created an entry on my blog
(with screen shots) for it. Hopefully it will help you out.

http://snipurl.com/19ua7

Jeff

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Not sure you quite got this pegged. You are interchanging Instant Search and
Advanced Find as if they are one in the same. They are not.
Advanced Find persists in Outlook 2007 and can be used just as you did in
earlier versions of Outlook. Instant Search is Outlook 2007's new and far
more robust search feature that relies upon the new Windows Desktop Search
engine (an add-on in Win XP and incorporated in Vista). The dialog boxes you
are posting are the ones you get when you select the "Expand Query builder"
option for Instant Search. Obviously, that is used to restrict your query,
not to expand it.

 

[Jeff]

I'm pretty sure that I do have it pegged - I never stated they were using
the same functionality. As a matter of fact, I state "...what turns out to
be an even easier way than using the advanced search." (implying it's
different functionality) and "after upgrading, things change." I was simply
pointing out a new, alternative and ultimately easier way to search and get
the results I wanted - which is to find any emails in *any* folder sent on a
specific day. I'm aware that they weren't the same functionality (they're
invoked differently and the interface is obviously different), but I am
getting the results that I want using the Instant Search.



The problem with the advanced search in Outlook 2007 is that the default
does *not* include the "Search subfolders" option, whereas Outlook 2003 did.
That was a major irritation for me in one of the ways that I was using the
search capabilities. After doing some googling, I've seen the question
asked in several newsgroups but no any answers on having "Search subfolders"
checked by default - perhaps it's possible, perhaps it's not. I'll probably
continue to use the Instant Search. If there's a way to set "Search
subfolders" selected by default, let me know.




And of course the "Expand Query Builder" (Ctrl-Alt-W) restricts queries -
aren't all queries supposed to filter data?




Sorry if I sound defensive, but basically I take the time to create an
article and post information I took time to learn and I think might be
useful for others, but I get told "Not sure you quite got this pegged"
because you think I apparently can't tell the difference in two menu
commands Tools-->Instant Search-->Expand Query Builder (Ctrl-Shift-F) vs.
Tools-->Instant Search-->Advanced Find (Ctrl-Alt-W). As for incorporating
the Windows Desktop Search, I already had it installed. If someone didn't
however, it's supposed to prompt the user to install after starting Outlook
2007 the first time. I don't know that first hand, but the help says so.



Jeff

Not sure you quite got this pegged. You are interchanging Instant Search
and Advanced Find as if they are one in the same. They are not.
Advanced Find persists in Outlook 2007 and can be used just as you did in
earlier versions of Outlook. Instant Search is Outlook 2007's new and far
more robust search feature that relies upon the new Windows Desktop Search
engine (an add-on in Win XP and incorporated in Vista). The dialog boxes
you are posting are the ones you get when you select the "Expand Query
builder" option for Instant Search. Obviously, that is used to restrict
your query, not to expand it.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Jeff,

I couldn't find a way to do it, but I did find something that in my
case was actually easier to user. I've created an entry on my blog
(with screen shots) for it. Hopefully it will help you out.

http://snipurl.com/19ua7

Jeff

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Actually, I think your article is very helpful. I was just pointing out what
might be confusing to a brand new user of Outlook 2007 who might not realize
that Instant Search is a completely new feature that will largely replace
Advanced Find, but that the latter remains intact for those who still prefer
its functionality. It might be more clear had you made that distinction more
explicit than implied. Your article is a case study of what the developers
intended: the new Instant Search feature will be robust enough eventually to
replace Advanced Find. In your case, unfortunately, you were drawn to
Instant Search only after you found Advanced Find deprecated in this
version. I hate when Microsoft does that to us: Don't start pulling the plug
on a feature until you know its replacement is a reliable improvement
(you'll notice the basic "Find" function is already gone, and quite ably
replaced by Instant Search IMHO).
Sadly, the jury on Instant Search is still out. More and more users are
starting to report problems with it, including missed hits. No one wants
their Search engine to be buggy because you only discover what it missed
after it's too late.

So carry on and please forgive my suggestions.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I'm pretty sure that I do have it pegged - I never stated they were using
the same functionality. As a matter of fact, I state "...what turns out
to be an even easier way than using the advanced search." (implying it's
different functionality) and "after upgrading, things change." I was
simply pointing out a new, alternative and ultimately easier way to search
and get the results I wanted - which is to find any emails in *any* folder
sent on a specific day. I'm aware that they weren't the same
functionality (they're invoked differently and the interface is obviously
different), but I am getting the results that I want using the Instant
Search.



The problem with the advanced search in Outlook 2007 is that the default
does *not* include the "Search subfolders" option, whereas Outlook 2003
did. That was a major irritation for me in one of the ways that I was
using the search capabilities. After doing some googling, I've seen the
question asked in several newsgroups but no any answers on having "Search
subfolders" checked by default - perhaps it's possible, perhaps it's not.
I'll probably continue to use the Instant Search. If there's a way to set
"Search subfolders" selected by default, let me know.




And of course the "Expand Query Builder" (Ctrl-Alt-W) restricts queries -
aren't all queries supposed to filter data?




Sorry if I sound defensive, but basically I take the time to create an
article and post information I took time to learn and I think might be
useful for others, but I get told "Not sure you quite got this pegged"
because you think I apparently can't tell the difference in two menu
commands Tools-->Instant Search-->Expand Query Builder (Ctrl-Shift-F) vs.
Tools-->Instant Search-->Advanced Find (Ctrl-Alt-W). As for incorporating
the Windows Desktop Search, I already had it installed. If someone didn't
however, it's supposed to prompt the user to install after starting
Outlook 2007 the first time. I don't know that first hand, but the help
says so.



Jeff

Not sure you quite got this pegged. You are interchanging Instant Search
and Advanced Find as if they are one in the same. They are not.
Advanced Find persists in Outlook 2007 and can be used just as you did in
earlier versions of Outlook. Instant Search is Outlook 2007's new and far
more robust search feature that relies upon the new Windows Desktop
Search engine (an add-on in Win XP and incorporated in Vista). The dialog
boxes you are posting are the ones you get when you select the "Expand
Query builder" option for Instant Search. Obviously, that is used to
restrict your query, not to expand it.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Each time I do anOutlook2007 search "Tools/Instant Search/Advanced
Find" I
have to press the Browse button and check the "SearchSubfolders" box.

How do Idefaultto always have the "SearchSubfolders" checked?

Jeff,

I couldn't find a way to do it, but I did find something that in my
case was actually easier to user. I've created an entry on my blog
(with screen shots) for it. Hopefully it will help you out.

http://snipurl.com/19ua7

Jeff

 

[Jeff]

Your point is taken - I didn't explicitly state that it was a different bit
of functionality. I probably got a little defensive as I didn't a) take
them as suggestions (as you intended), and b) it took me a while to get that
post right - I had to figure out how to get those screen shots just right
(the highlighting/labels were a bear as I've not done much image editing and
I learned all about layers). So again, my apologies for seeming a bit
defensive. You're correct - I should have been more explicit in defining
the distinction between the two searches. I'll edit the article when I have
a minute.

Hopefully either the bug reports are users misunderstanding or misusing the
search (not likely if it's a lot of users reporting issues) and/or it's an
easy fix, because the UI is nice and easy and gives me an easy way to
search.

The anonymous collection of how the software is used has really helped the
Office 2007 product out. Reading Jensen Harris' blog on the Office UI (and
design process) was really insightful.
http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh/default.aspx

Jeff

Actually, I think your article is very helpful. I was just pointing out
what might be confusing to a brand new user of Outlook 2007 who might not
realize that Instant Search is a completely new feature that will largely
replace Advanced Find, but that the latter remains intact for those who
still prefer its functionality. It might be more clear had you made that
distinction more explicit than implied. Your article is a case study of
what the developers intended: the new Instant Search feature will be
robust enough eventually to replace Advanced Find. In your case,
unfortunately, you were drawn to Instant Search only after you found
Advanced Find deprecated in this version. I hate when Microsoft does that
to us: Don't start pulling the plug on a feature until you know its
replacement is a reliable improvement (you'll notice the basic "Find"
function is already gone, and quite ably replaced by Instant Search IMHO).
Sadly, the jury on Instant Search is still out. More and more users are
starting to report problems with it, including missed hits. No one wants
their Search engine to be buggy because you only discover what it missed
after it's too late.

So carry on and please forgive my suggestions.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I'm pretty sure that I do have it pegged - I never stated they were using
the same functionality. As a matter of fact, I state "...what turns out
to be an even easier way than using the advanced search." (implying it's
different functionality) and "after upgrading, things change." I was
simply pointing out a new, alternative and ultimately easier way to
search and get the results I wanted - which is to find any emails in
*any* folder sent on a specific day. I'm aware that they weren't the
same functionality (they're invoked differently and the interface is
obviously different), but I am getting the results that I want using the
Instant Search.



The problem with the advanced search in Outlook 2007 is that the default
does *not* include the "Search subfolders" option, whereas Outlook 2003
did. That was a major irritation for me in one of the ways that I was
using the search capabilities. After doing some googling, I've seen the
question asked in several newsgroups but no any answers on having "Search
subfolders" checked by default - perhaps it's possible, perhaps it's not.
I'll probably continue to use the Instant Search. If there's a way to
set "Search subfolders" selected by default, let me know.




And of course the "Expand Query Builder" (Ctrl-Alt-W) restricts queries -
aren't all queries supposed to filter data?




Sorry if I sound defensive, but basically I take the time to create an
article and post information I took time to learn and I think might be
useful for others, but I get told "Not sure you quite got this pegged"
because you think I apparently can't tell the difference in two menu
commands Tools-->Instant Search-->Expand Query Builder (Ctrl-Shift-F) vs.
Tools-->Instant Search-->Advanced Find (Ctrl-Alt-W). As for
incorporating the Windows Desktop Search, I already had it installed. If
someone didn't however, it's supposed to prompt the user to install after
starting Outlook 2007 the first time. I don't know that first hand, but
the help says so.



Jeff

Not sure you quite got this pegged. You are interchanging Instant Search
and Advanced Find as if they are one in the same. They are not.
Advanced Find persists in Outlook 2007 and can be used just as you did
in earlier versions of Outlook. Instant Search is Outlook 2007's new and
far more robust search feature that relies upon the new Windows Desktop
Search engine (an add-on in Win XP and incorporated in Vista). The
dialog boxes you are posting are the ones you get when you select the
"Expand Query builder" option for Instant Search. Obviously, that is
used to restrict your query, not to expand it.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Each time I do anOutlook2007 search "Tools/Instant Search/Advanced
Find" I
have to press the Browse button and check the "SearchSubfolders" box.

How do Idefaultto always have the "SearchSubfolders" checked?

Jeff,

I couldn't find a way to do it, but I did find something that in my
case was actually easier to user. I've created an entry on my blog
(with screen shots) for it. Hopefully it will help you out.

http://snipurl.com/19ua7

Jeff