Frequently Asked Questions for Search in Business Contact Manager
Q: How can I search an item in Business Contact Manager?
A: Business Contact Manager provides three different ways for you to search you business data
a) Windows Desktop Search
You can learn about Windows Desktop Search from:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/desktopsearch/default.mspx
b) Search Folders
You can learn about Search Folders from:
http://blogs.msdn.com/bcm/archive/2007/02/14/using-outlook-folder-views-and-search-folders-with-business-contact-manager.aspx#8555568
c) Instant Search in Outlook
You can learn about Instant Search from:
http://office.microsoft.com/training/training.aspx?AssetID=RP100647441033&CTT=6&Origin=RP100647831033
Q: Is Windows Desktop Search the only search product that indexes Business Contact Manager Content?
A: As long as an indexing product can index MAPI data providers, Business Contact Manager Content will be indexed. Windows Desktop Search does the same. In addition to Desktop search Business contents could be searched using Search Folders and Instant search in Outlook.
Q: Is there a way to quickly create an e-mail merge from specific Accounts or Business Contacts?
A: You can use Search Folders to find the Accounts or Business Contacts that you want, and then you can use Outlook Mail Merge to send a personalized e-mail to each recipient. Search folders can also be used to find other types of business data too.
You can learn about Outlook Mail Merge from:
http://blogs.msdn.com/outlook/archive/2008/09/23/mail-merge-how-to-send-a-personalized-e-mail-to-many-people-at-once.aspx
Q: How can I Search more than one folder at time in Business Contact Manager?
A: Search is restricted to the current folder view. For example, to search for a Business Note, switch to the Communication History view and user instant search box to search for your item. To search for a Business Contact, switch to the Business Contact view. The search from the Business Contacts view doesn't search the Communication history, just the data fields in Business Contacts.
Q: Can I drag and drop items into a Search Folder?
A: No. This is not currently supported.
Q: Does Search Folders include the contents of files or e-mail messages that are included in the Communication History of records?
A: No. You should try Windows Search; this allows you to search the contents of your BCM Communication history just by including the folder in the Windows Search folder index:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/desktopsearch/default.mspx
Q: Is it possible to search user -defined fields?
A: In the Instant Search box, type the user -defined field name followed by a colon (:) and the value you are searching for. For example, if you have a user-defined filed called “Contract terms” and you are searching for”4”. You would type:
Contract terms: 4 in the Instant Search box.
Q: How does Search work when users are connected to a Business Contact Manager database that is stored on a remote server?
A: Each user who connects to the Business Contact Manager Database on the remote server must also have Business Contact Manager installed on their local computers. Users can search the database on the remote server, but the search capabilities are determined by the settings on the local computer. For example, one user may have Windows Desktop Search installed and another doesn’t. The user with Windows Desktop Search can search for anything, while the user with the default search can only search by folder.
