MS Desktop Search Tips

I recently figured out a bunch of ways to make Windows desktop search a lot more effective.

File Name

name:search -> finds files with term ‘search’
name:=”search.png” -> finds files with exact file name ‘search.png'. Note :=

Extension and Folders

ext:docx -> finds files with extention .docx
folder:documents -> finds folders with name documents in them

Kind of File or Item

kind:favorites
kind:email
kind:programs
Kind:pictures -> Finds files of type pictures (png, psd, gif, etc.). See ext:png to better narrow.

Date

date:>11/05/04 -> Finds items with a date after 11/05/04
date:this week -> Finds items that were saved this week.
date:today

File Size

size:>5mb -> Finds items with a size greater than 5 megabytes (good for large files).
size:<5kb -> Finds items with a size less then 5 killobytes (good for icons)

E-Mail Searching (Outlook)

from:”jeff johnson” -> Finds e-mails from Jeff Johnson.
has:attachment -> Finds e-mails that include attachments. Great for narrowing the list.
!word -> a shortcut (not sure what this means anymore).

Operators

Keyword/symbol	Example	Function
NOT	social NOT security	Finds items containing social, but not security
-	social -security	Finds items containing social, but not security
OR	social OR security	Finds items containing social or security
Quotation marks	"social security"	Finds items containing the exact phrase social security

Monopoolies on Halloween Candy

I went to Target to get Halloween candy and was amazed at the volume but lack of variety. A few companies seem to dominate the supply. Plenty of Hershey's chocolate, butterfingers, Reese's and peanut butter cups. I was able to find a few bags of Heath bars. Notably missing were candy from the makers of dark chocolate, Nestle, Lint, and smaller candy makers. I couldn't find Lemonheads. It is too bad because I'd love to buy better candy and hand it out. Make all the neighbor kids want to come back to my house next year.

new Delicious interface - delete a bookmark

Sad sad sad day. Delicious has changed their confirmation method for deleting a bookmark. The link Delete would change in place to 'Delete Bookmark Yes | No'. The old way was incredible innovative. The user didn't have to move their eyes at at all and the whole experience felt so light weight. Why would they change this to a dialog box? You can see the new way here.

Hyperlinks to Anchors in a PDF: Using MS Word to Produce the PDF

I recently wanted to hyperlink to a PDF and open it at a certain place, much like a anchor in a web page. This turns out to be possible but wasn't as easy as I'd like. Documentation for this is available but is scattered. In my case, I was using MS Word to author. The documentation instructed me to add 'named destinations' to the PDF file. Named destinatios are equivelant to bookmarks in MS Word or anchors in HTML. I have the full version of Acrobat so I could do add these named destinations but every time I convert the Word file to PDF, it would erase the 'named destinations.' I found that I could add Print Fields to my MS Word document and those would be converted into 'named destinations' during the conversion to PDF. Fields in MS Word are essentially codes that you can add to the file. The reader doesn't see them. They are usually used for formatting etc.

The following series of ScreenShots shows you some of the key areas of the Word and Acrobat UI for working with 'named destinations'.

A text string that I want to link to - that is I want a 'named destination' here when I make the PDF.

In MS Word 2007, I use the Insert tab, Quick Parts menu and choose fields.

MS Word has this field dialog where you can insert a Print Field. The image shows the format that you need for 'named destinations.' The 'named destination' will be named VD01. That is the value you will put on the end of your URL (e.g., http://mydomain.com/mypage.html#VD01). I recorded a macro to insert these things which made it considerable y easier to repeat than having to type that long windowed thing into the dialog box.




After you add a Print Field, you can edit it by pressing Alt-F9 in MS Word. The Print Field looks like a bunch of garbage (a little scary I agree). But, you can right click on it and choose Edit Field to re-open the fields dialog.

You can view, edit, and add 'named destinations' in Acrobat Professional.

Here is the list of 'named destinations' in Acrobat

Some useful links that discuss the theory:
http://support.adobe.com/devsup/devsup.nsf/docs/52198.htm
https://www.planetpdf.com/forumarchive/50911.asp
http://cws.internet.com/article/4069-.htm

Development out of the Womb

The Daily Show had a debate with Mike Huckabee about abortion. Huckabees main argument was that life begins at conception. John Stewart's argument was that a woman has the right to control her body. These arguments are standard.

I've thought for a while that some day, advances in technology will allow us to develop a child outside of the womb from a early phase in pregnancy. This technology would go a long way to resolving the abortion issue. Instead of getting an abortion, a woman could have the fetus removed and the child could be raised by the state or maybe by some of those folks waiving banners outside the hospital.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Mike Huckabee Extended Interview Pt. 2
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason Jones in Iran

Updating Linked Images in PowerPoint

In the past, I would insert images into a PowerPoint and use the 'insert and link' feature wherein the images were embedded (insert) into the document which keeps me from having to deliver the image files separately. Insert is the default mode for adding images and most people probabably don't realize that they can also link the images. The problem with linking them is that the images have to be present with the PPT file. The insert and link option combines these two for a best of both worlds approach.

With Office 2003 and prior, there was a update links item in the edit menu. When I got Office 2007, I appreciated the banner toolbar but I couldn't find the update links option. I searched the web and Microsoft help to no avail. Today, I went looking again and through some struggle, I found my answer in the Microsoft > Prepare menu. This placement is pretty bad and reveals some cracks in their implementation of the fluent / banner user interface ideas.

When inserting an image, you can choose to insert and link.


When you want to update the images, you need to use the archaic Windows > Prepare menu.


I recently found that there is a keyboard shortcut for this dialog. That would have saved me the learning curve
Alt+e, k. That is press Alt+e then let go and press k.

You can also put this option in the Quick Access Toolbar by navigating to the option in the home button (picture above) and right click on it.

I found the shortcut and Quick Access Toolbar advice on this forum.

Respect for User Experience

I found a short, practical article about getting respect for user experience people in a organization. This advice really applies to anyone who needs to gain influence and respect amidst people who you work with but are loosely associated. I've started taking this advice, taking the initiative to request invites to meetings, sending designs out more broadly, asserting the right of the user experience team to be involved.

This reminds me a bit of the literature on cost justifying usability. Justifying is essentially making a case for doing usability.

Link to Article