For as long as companies have been doing business, they have been looking for ways to find information quicker, and not just in one system, but across systems. This is especially true in a knowledge economy where information, ideas, and execution are what separate winners from losers.
In this chapter, we will look at how you can access information stored in SharePoint using the search tools provided by SharePoint 2010. We will look first at the query interface that you use to tell SharePoint what you are looking for.
Next, we will show how search results are presented and how you can refine a search using advanced search tools. You will see how you can uncover not only information in documents, but also expertise from colleagues' My Site profiles. Finally, we will explore the rich guidance that comes with search results.
The topics we will cover in this chapter are:
- Search basics
- Benefits of SharePoint 2010 search
- Search interface
- Search results
- People search
- Search guidance
- Search scenario
There are some simple questions users frequently ask about SharePoint's search capabilities:
|
Question |
Answer |
|---|---|
|
Are the contents of a document searchable? |
Yes. |
|
Can a document be searched if a user does not have access rights to it? |
No, search results will not display items for which the user does not have access rights. This is called security trimming. |
|
Is all content searchable? |
Yes, this includes documents, list items, URL links, and keywords. |
|
Is search the quickest way to find information on a SharePoint site? |
Yes. If you do not already know where the information is stored on SharePoint, search is the fastest way to find information. |
|
Sometimes I upload a document, but it does not show up in search results. Why? |
There may be a delay depending on how the SharePoint site's indexers are configured. This may take a few minutes or longer depending on when incremental search crawls are scheduled and how much content needs to be crawled.
NoteA search crawl is a process to examine content on a site for indexing. An incremental crawl examines only content that has been added to a site since the last crawl.
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Why do I get search results different than those of a colleague when we both use the same search criteria? |
You and your colleague may have different access rights to content on a SharePoint site. If you do not have access rights to an item, the item will not display on the search results page. |