Windows Vista Update

Vista will deliver integrated Desktop search functionality akin to such add-on products as Copernic, X1, and Google Desktop. The functionality consists of conventional background full-text search indexing, search fields inserted in multiple places throughout Vista’s interface, and an advanced search functionality with one-click selection of common file types (email, documents, pictures, music, etc.) with a drop-down menu offering many other file types.

There's also the ability to add search filters, such as Author, Genre, Subject, and other attributes that derive from application fields, such as email and contact list fields.

You can also customize the focus of a search and search outside the index area. A new Indexing And Search Options applet lets you select specific drives and folders to include/exclude from the index.

The Desktop search features work pretty well, assuming you place all the files and folders you want to track in the folders that Microsoft expects you to place them in. If you have your own way of working, you’ll need to heavily modify the Indexing And Search Options Control Panel. Also expect to see a This Search Might Take A Long Time message.

You can save searches in the Saved Searches folder and reopen them later. Each time you open a saved search, it dynamically refreshes based on the current version of the search index. You can also organize search results in several interesting ways, although making it work in this build wasn't always a sure thing. For example, you can stack results by file type.

Say you create a search for all files related to"Emily" and stack it by file type. Photos of Emily would appear in one stack, text documents in another, and so on. The main advantage of stacking is that it rolls up your search in a visually economical way, so you can avoid scrolling and go right to the stack you want.