5.8. The Search Window

While these small features of the Help system are appreciated, the real advance made in the Help engine is the Search window. Figure 5-18 shows the Search window in its default state, with the local help documentation selected and abstracts for each topic result displayed. Enter the search terms in the top text field and click "Search." If you wish you can filter the results before or after you perform the search, or change the way the results will be sorted.

The search engine starts searching all four main categories of documentation: the local Help, MSDN Online, the community of developer web sites approved through Codezone, and the Question database. As it receives information from each group, the corresponding tab is populated with the number of results and the headings of the first three topics. In addition, the main area of the Search window is populated with the topics that met the criteria, with a heading and brief abstract showing you the first chunk of documentation that will be found in each topic.

As well as these two items, depending on the category you're viewing you may find a footer line containing extra information. Figure 5-18 shows the footer information for local documentation searches — language information and documentation source — but MSDN Online and Codezone Community categories will display a rating value, while the Questions results will feature author and date information as well as the rating and source values.

To view a topic that met the search terms, locate it in the results list and click the heading, which is a hyperlink (or double-click anywhere in the abstract area). This will open a new tab if the Search tab is the only one open, or reuse the most recently accessed tab if other documents are already being viewed. To force the Document Explorer to open the topic in a new tab, right-click it and select Open in New Window.

Figure 5.18. Figure 5-18

Some of the online search categories will have star ratings. This can be useful when you're trying to find an authority on a particular subject.