Instant Search is one of the best features added to Outlook 2007. The problem was that it never worked well for me … until I carried out a series of quick fixes.
Overview
Search in Outlook 2007 uses Vista's (or Windows Desktop's) Search Indexes. If these are not built properly or corrupt you may find that Outlook Search does not work properly.
In my case, Search was failing miserably. It wouldn’t even find words in the email that I was currently on.
There are two possible solutions:
Disable Instant Search (Go back to Outlook 2002-2003 Style Search)
Rebuild the Search Index
Disabling is OK as a temporary solution but is not a real fix.
Step-by-Step
Warning: This process takes a long time. I suggest you run it just before you leave the office for the day (or just before you go to sleep)
If you are using Vista:
Click the Windows Start button and type "index. Indexing Options should appear under programs.
Click Indexing Options to bring up the Indexing Options screen.
Instruction for Vista Users are continued after the section on Windows XP below ...
If you are using Microsoft Windows XP:
Open the Control Panel:
In Classic view, double-click Indexing Options.
In normal view: Under See Also, click Other Control Panel Options, and then click Indexing Options.
Once your Indexing Options Screen is open ...
Click the Advanced button to bring up the following screen.
Click Rebuid.
Your current Search Indexes will be deleted and rebuilt. Tomorrow morning you should find Search working perfectly again.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Fixing Search Problems in Outlook 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Tip: Getting File and Folder Paths
One of the things that Microsoft (for some reason) did not implement in Windows ... an easy way to get the full filename (inlcuding the path) of a file. Here are the two quickest ways I know to do this:
In Windows 2000 and XP (and Vista).
Open Explorer and navigate to the file that you are interested in.
Click Start-Run to display the Run dialog box.
Click Delete to empty whatever is currently displayed in the Run box.
Now drag and drop the file (or folder) from the Explorer window into the Run box.
The above tip will also work in Vista if you have configured Vista to have the Run command as part of the Start menu. However Vista also has another even easier method ...
In Windows Vista
Press and hold down the Shift Key and right-click over the file (or folder) you are interested in. Choose Copy as Path and Vista will copy the path to the clipboard.
You can now paste (CTRL-V) the path anywhere you want.
Why Microsoft chose to hide this option by requiring us to press Shift, I'll never know.
