Troubleshoot searching

It takes a long time to search for files.

I can't save a search query.

You cannot save search queries in Microsoft Office XP. However, the Search task pane will display your most recent query.

I know a file is on a drive or Web folder, but Office Search doesn't find it.

The current search may specify the correct location of the file, but other criteria might exclude the file you're looking for. Try the following:

The wrong files appear after I do a search.

The index may be out of date on the computer you are searching.

On Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition

  1. In the Basic Search task pane, click Search options.

  2. In the Indexing Service Settings dialog box, click Advanced.

  3. Click Update Now.

On Windows 2000

For help on updating the index on Windows 2000:

  1. On the Windows Start menu, click Search, and choose For Files or Folders.

  2. In the Windows Search task pane, under Search Options, click Indexing Service, and then click Help.

I can't search some of my Web folders.

Not all types of Web folders support searching from Office. However, if your Web folder is a SharePoint team Web site, based on SharePoint Team Services from Microsoft, on your local network, or is on a Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server, or points to a file share where Indexing Service is installed, you can search it.

I can't search my mailbox.

You may have a previous version of Microsoft Outlook. Office searching will search mailboxes only if you are running Outlook 2002.

I can't search for a specific file type.

If you are searching for a Microsoft Office file, such as a Microsoft Word or Excel file, make sure the Office file type you want is selected in the Results should be field of the Search task pane. To search for a file type not listed, click Anything.

I am having trouble using natural language search.

Here are some things to keep in mind to improve your results with natural language searching: