Windows 7 The Missing Manual Part 1

•• Don’t use the Index when searching in file folders for system files. If you turn this item on, Windows won’t use its internal Dewey Decimal System for searching Windows itself. It will, instead, perform the names-only, slower type of search.

So who on earth would want this turned on? You, if you’re a programmer or system administrator and you’re worried that the indexed version of the system files might be out of date. (That happens, since system files change often, and the index may take some time to catch up.)

•• Include system directories. When you’re searching a disk that hasn’t been indexed, do you want Windows to look inside the folders that contain Windows itself (as opposed to just the documents people have created)? If yes, turn this on.

•• Include compressed files (.zip, .cab…). When you’re searching a disk that hasn’t been indexed, do you want Windows to search for files inside compressed archives, like .zip and .cab files? If yes, turn on this checkbox. (Windows doesn’t ordinarily search archives, even on an indexed hard drive.)

Indexing Options The dialog box shown in Figure 3-6 is the master control over the search index, the massive, invisible, constantly updated database file that tracks your PC’s files and what’s in them. As described on page 133, you can use this dialog box to add or remove folders from what Windows is tracking.

But there are a few more handy options here, too: Advanced Indexing Options To find this third area of search options, start in the Indexing Options dialog box (Control Panel) and click Advanced. Authenticate if necessary (see page 726). Now you’re ready to perform these powerful additional tweaks: •• Index encrypted files. Some Windows 7 versions (Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate) can encrypt files and folders with a quick click, making them unreadable to anyone who receives one by email, say, and doesn’t have the password. This checkbox lets Windows index these files (the ones that you’ve encrypted, of course; this isn’t a back door to files you can’t otherwise access).

•• Treat similar words with diacritics as different words. The word “ole,” as might appear cutely in a phrase like “the ole swimming pool,” is quite a bit different from “olé,” as in, “You missed the matador, you big fat bull!” The difference is a diacritical mark (øne öf mâny littlé lañguage märks).

Ordinarily, Windows ignores diacritical marks; it treats “ole” and “olé” as the same word in searches. That’s designed to make it easier for the average person who can’t remember how to type a certain marking, or even which direction it goes. But if you turn on this box, Windows will observe these markings and treat marked and unmarked words differently.