曾几何时，有一个名为Lotus Magellan的程序，它使索引和搜索硬盘驱动器变得非常容易。你必须告诉它建立一个索引，但是一旦你这样做了，你所要做的就是输入你的搜索词(search term)，麦哲伦(Magellan)会遍历索引，找到所有包含你的搜索词(search term)的文件，并将它们显示给你在一个窗口。您还可以保存您的搜索，以便可以立即再次访问这些文件。
那你说呢？这和什么有什么关系？好吧，不管你信不信，随着Windows Vista 的推出，微软(Windows Vista Microsoft)终于开始为Windows 用户提供与(users)麦哲伦(Magellan)几十年前为DOS 用户(users)提供的相同的搜索技能——甚至更多。Windows XP有Search，但速度较慢且不那么复杂。并且 Windows 7 增加了对Windows Vista 和 Windows XP(Windows Vista and Windows XP)的改进。让我们看一下搜索(Search)，看看您可以用这个whizbang 工具(whizbang tool)做什么。
在搜索(Search)之前，索引(Index)- 它是什么？它有什么作用？
我将花一点时间来讨论Index，因为大多数人都希望对其进行修改以确保它是个性化的以满足他们的需求。
那么， Search(Search)从中找到结果的这个神秘索引究竟是什么？我们这些使用Windows XP的人都记得索引过程(indexing process)是在后台运行的东西，并且经常会大大降低计算机速度，以至于我们中的许多人都将其关闭。Windows 7 的索引也在后台运行，但运行如此顺畅，除非计算机的资源已经被推到最大，否则大多数人甚至不会注意到它何时运行。
默认情况下，索引(Index)是从所有常见的Windows 7文件位置创建的，例如我的文档(My Documents)和您的库。如果您已经创建了自己的文件和文件夹结构(file and folder structure)，您将希望告诉Windows也为这些文件夹编制索引（它不会自动完成）。转到控制面板(Control Panel)，您会注意到，它有自己的搜索框(search box)（稍后我将详细讨论这些搜索框(search box)）。在框中键入索引选项(indexing options)（您可能甚至不必在结果出现之前完成键入）。
在这里，您可以看到我的计算机的默认索引(default index)位置（为了清楚起见，我已经删除了个性化文件夹）。
如果要将自己的文件夹添加到索引中，请单击修改(Modify)。您将看到一个位置列表，您可以展开任何驱动器并选择任何文件夹。
如果有您不需要索引的位置（例如，我不积极使用Windows Sticky Notes），您可以取消选中它们。完成后，单击OK，然后您的索引将为您个性化。
有关索引的详细信息，请参阅(Index)Microsoft 网站(Microsoft web)上的这篇文章。使用索引改进 Windows 搜索：常见问题(Improve Windows searches using the index: frequently asked questions)。
使用开始菜单(Start Menu)开始搜索
大多数人会立即注意到“开始”菜单中的“(Start Menu)搜索(Search)”框，并学会在其中键入以查找他们想要的程序和文件。对于从Windows XP转换过来的人来说，这需要一点时间来适应（尤其是对于我们这些花了很长时间优化我们的开始菜单(Start Menu)的人），但许多优点很快就会显现出来。无需再单击无尽的菜单层来查找您想要的内容，也无需再花时间在“(spending time)开始”菜单(Start Menu)中移动内容以使它们具有某种意义。只需键入(Just type)、单击并开始。放大镜(magnifying glass)是“搜索”的通用图标。
当您输入一个术语时，搜索(Search)会按类别对结果进行排序。如果有包含该术语的程序，它们将首先显示。在这里，我选择了一个我知道会显示很多结果的搜索词，尽管它们都不是程序。如您所见，每种类型的文件都被分类到其类别中，并且显示了一些文件，并带有查看更多选项的选项。搜索并不总是正确地分配类别——您可以看到我的迪斯尼专辑(Disney album)中的歌曲被列为文档(Documents)——但它确实找到了包含该术语的已编入索引的所有内容。由于搜索结果窗口中的可用空间有限，您可以单击每个类别的名称将其展开以查看其余部分。
所以现在如果我想看我和我的猫的照片，或者听一首歌，或者读一本电子书，我所要做的就是点击它就完成了。
其他地方的其他搜索
如您所见，控制面板(Control Panel)有自己的搜索框(search box)。但它并不孤单。打开其他Windows应用程序，您会在所有应用程序中看到搜索框(search box)。这些搜索框(search box)的好处在于它们是上下文相关的。也就是说，每个人都在您输入搜索词的应用程序边界内进行搜索——就像我们在控制面板(Control Panel)中所做的那样。
这是我计算机上Windows 资源管理器(Windows Explorer)中的搜索框。您(Yours)的可能看起来会有所不同，因为我修改了Windows 资源管理(Windows Explorer)器以默认显示我的C:驱动器。(C:)
您可能已经熟悉Internet Explorer中的搜索框(search box)，它显示在URL 栏中(URL bar)，让您只需输入您的字词即可搜索每个单独的网站(web site)。
寻找，你会发现
熟悉搜索(Search)的最佳方法就是尝试一下。如果您发现搜索(Search)没有显示您知道的文件，请花点时间个性化您的索引(Index)。这样做将使搜索(Search)更智能，因此您可以快速(warp speed)获取信息。我们还没有到能够说"Computer!"就像柯克船长(Captain Kirk)所做的那样，得到了我们想要的，但这非常接近。
How to Use Search in Windows 7 and Customize the Search Index
Once upon a time there was a program called Lotus Magellan that made indexing and searching a hard drive astonishingly easy. You did have to tell it to build an index, but once you did that, all you had to do was type in your search term, and Magellan would go through the index, find all the files containing your search term, and display them to you in a window. You could also save your searches so those files would be immediately accessible again.
So what, you say? What's that got to do with anything? Well, believe it or not, with Windows Vista Microsoft finally began giving Windows users the same search skills that Magellan gave the DOS users decades before—and much more. Windows XP had Search, but it was slower and much less sophisticated. And Windows 7 has added improvements to Windows Vista and Windows XP. Let's take a look at Search, and see what you can do with this whizbang tool.
Before the Search, the Index - What Is It? What Does It Do?
I'm going to take a moment to discuss the Index, because most people will want to modify it to be sure it is personalized to fit their needs.
So what exactly is this mysterious index from which Search finds its results? Those of us who used Windows XP remember the indexing process as something that ran in the background and often slowed the computer down so much that many of us turned it off. Windows 7's indexing runs in the background too, but so smoothly that unless the computer's resources are already pushed to the max, most people will not even notice when it runs.
By default, the Index is created from all the common Windows 7 file locations like My Documents and your Libraries. If you have created your own file and folder structure, you will want to tell Windows to index those folders as well (it's not done automatically). Go to the Control Panel, which, as you'll notice, has its own search box (I'll talk more about these search boxes in a bit). Type indexing options into the box (you probably won't even have to finish typing before the results turn up).
Here you see the default index locations for my computer (I have edited out the personalized folders for the sake of clarity).
If you want to add your own folders to the index, click Modify. You'll be shown a list of locations and you can expand any drive and choose any folder.
If there are locations you don't need indexed (for example, I don't actively use Windows Sticky Notes) you can un-check them. When you're done, click OK, and from then on your index will be personalized for you.
For more information on the Index, see this article from the Microsoft web site. Improve Windows searches using the index: frequently asked questions.
Starting Your Search with the Start Menu
Most people immediately notice the Search box in the Start Menu, and learn to type into it to find the programs and files that they want. For people changing over from Windows XP, this takes a little getting used to (especially for those of us who spent quite a while optimizing our Start Menu) but the many advantages quickly become apparent. No more clicking through endless layers of menus to find what you want, or spending time moving things around in the Start Menu so they make some kind of sense. Just type, click, and go. The magnifying glass is the universal icon for "search."
When you type in a term, Search sorts the results by categories. If there are programs that contain the term, they'll be displayed first. Here, I've picked a search term that I knew would display a lot of results, although none of them are programs. As you can see, each type of file is sorted into its category, and a few files are displayed with the option to see more. Search doesn't always assign the categories properly—you can see that the songs in my Disney album are listed as Documents—but it does find everything that has been indexed that contained the term. Since the space available in the search-results window is limited, you can click on each category's name to expand it to see the rest.
So now if I want to see a photo of me and my cat, or listen to a song, or read an e-book, all I have to do is click and it's done.
Other Searches in Other Places
As you've seen, the Control Panel has its own search box. But it's not alone. Open up the other Windows applications and you'll see search boxes in all of them. And the great thing about those search boxes is that they are context sensitive. That is, each one searches within the boundaries of the application in which you've typed your search term—as we did with the Control Panel.
Here is the search box from Windows Explorer on my computer. Yours will probably look different, because I modified Windows Explorer to show me my C: drive by default.
You're probably already familiar with the search box in Internet Explorer, which shows up in the URL bar, allowing you to do a search of each individual web site by just typing in your terms.
Seek and you will find
The best way to become familiar with Search is just to try it out. If you see that Search is not displaying files that you know are there, take the time to personalize your Index. Doing that will make Search smarter, so you can get your information at warp speed. We're not quite to the point of being able to say "Computer!" like Captain Kirk did and get what we want, but this comes pretty darn close.
