bruceb news

I keep finding new things to like about Outlook 2010, which got a major overhaul this year and now features the ribbon bars that appeared in the other Office programs in Office 2007.

It’s so easy to overlook things that are right in front of us onscreen! Here’s something that happens out in the open that I had missed.

You already know that Outlook 2010 is completely indexed. The fastest way to find anything – a message, contact, or appointment – is to use the Instant Search box just below the ribbon. Start typing and search results will appear almost as fast as you can type. […] continued

One of the most powerful tools you can add to Outlook is a search folder that allows you to search through all of your messages with a single click. I wrote about Michael Linenberger’s suggestion to create an All Mail Search Folder a few months ago. If you haven’t set it up yet, try it now! If you have the search folder set up, it may need to be updated if you rearranged your mail folders as I suggested last week.

The idea is to create a Search Folder that displays all your mail, from all folders and all dates, in one folder, sorted by date. […] continued

Google made a simple but profound change to the way that search results are delivered to you from the Google search page. It changes the world in a small but significant way.

You will now get two things while you type:

• Predictions of what you’re most likely to be looking for, appearing in light grey text in front of the cursor.
• Instant search results for the most likely prediction, appearing below – and updating themselves instantly with every letter you type.

It’s absolutely remarkable. It will change the way you do your searches: either you’ll adjust what you’re typing on the fly, or you’ll see the search you really want listed on the dropdown list of possibilities and choose it without ever finishing what you were typing. […] continued

Both Outlook 2003 and 2007 have an often overlooked feature named Search Folders. Look under the list of mail folders (Inbox / Outbox / Sent Items) and you’ll see a handful of default Search Folders, gathering together all the items that meet some criteria. “Unread mail,” for example, displays all the messages that are unread regardless of what folder contains them. If you’ve moved messages out of the Inbox without reading them, they’ll still show up in the “Unread mail” search folder.

That’s the secret of Search Folders. Your messages aren’t moved or duplicated; these are virtual folders that give you views of groups of messages without disturbing their original storage place. […] continued

A lot of people are buying Windows 7 computers! Here’s a roundup of articles about new features to discover and some of the ways that Windows 7 is different than Windows XP. Click on the pictures or the titles for the original articles with all the details to help you get started!

[…] continued

While we’re talking about smartphones, I should mention another way that your phone can use its knowledge of your location to do something interesting.

Google added an unassuming link named “Near Me Now” on the Google search page on iPhones and Android phones. Click it and you’ll get a short list of categories – Restaurants, ATMS and banks, Shopping, Lodging, and more. Clicking on one will bring up a list of results based on where you are standing at that moment. I just pulled up a list of all the restaurants near my house in two clicks, with addresses, phone numbers, reviews, and links to display a map or street view (and get turn-by-turn directions if I started driving). […] continued

As I said last month, each of you might find one or two apps for a smartphone that get you all excited – the apps that you show people to demonstrate how cool your new phone is.

I found mine. Google Goggles amazes me. If you’ve got an Android phone, you’ve got to check this out. It’s a free download from the Android Marketplace. (There have been vague hints that it will eventually be ported to iPhones and other platforms but don’t hold your breath for that.)

Google Goggles lets you use pictures taken with your phone to search the web. […] continued

Google has officially rolled out an update to its search result pages, a three column design that provides search options on the left to help refine and redirect your searches. Spend a few minutes learning about the new features – this is the basic tool that shapes much of your online experience, every day.

I wrote up a short description of the new search options a few months ago. There’s a much more complete description here, with examples of all the different ways that the left column might help you improve your search results. There are three sections on the left:

• The top portion shows types of content that might fit your search.

[…] continued

Previously:
Windows 7 Searches – Small Business
Windows 7 Searches – Libraries

You’ve got a Windows 7 workstation in a small business or law firm. The network server is running Windows Search 4 and you’ve added the network locations with shared files to your Documents library. All the pieces are in place!

SEARCH ALL DOCUMENTS FROM WINDOWS EXPLORER

When you click on Documents on the Start menu, you will open your Documents library, which includes both your individual files and all of the shared company documents.

Do a search from the upper right corner of the window. The search results will be reported instantly from all file locations, both your files and the firm documents. […] continued

Previously: Windows 7 Searches – Small Business

When you click on Documents in the Start menu in Windows 7, your cursor arrives blinking in Libraries. I’ve been annoyed by that for months, but I finally had an “ah-ha!” moment when I discovered what libraries can do for searches. Let me give you some background about libraries, from the perspective of a small business or law firm user.

Libraries are collections gathered together from different places and presented in a single view. There’s no folder on your C: drive named “Libraries.” A library is a special view of files stored in other places. […] continued