Windows Search Syntax
March 29, 2010
I recall hearing that fewer than five percent of search users avail themselves of advanced query syntax. Most people whack in 2.3 words and take what the system displays. For those five percenters, Ars Technica has done a great job of delivering the type of search tips that were the meat and potatoes of the Dialogs, SDC Orbit, DataStar, and ESA search trainers in the 1980s. You can read the tips in “Mastering Windows Search using Advanced Query Syntax.”
The only hitch in the advanced search features on any system, not just Microsoft’s, is that use of advanced syntax requires a solid knowledge of the contents of a corpus. In my experience, most folks who fiddle with advanced syntax have this type of specialized knowledge. If you don’t know what’s in the corpus or you don’t know what your limits of understanding are, the advanced query functions will be irrelevant.
This means that most users need training wheels on the search system. That’s why Google and other next generation search systems do as much heavy lifting for the user as possible. Users are like water, seeking the path of least resistance and then settling into the lowest point in the channel.
The fact that Ars Technica requires two densely packed pages of tips is ample evidence that user friendliness and ease of use are not high on the list of the developers who worked on the Windows search system. Just my opinion.
Stephen E Arnold, March 30, 2010
A freebie. I will report working for nothing to the US Postal Service, Saturday delivery unit.
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