Filter Central

Displaying PDF icons in search results

2008-12-18T00:40:00Z

I received some questions today on how to display the pdf icons in search results. After you can index pdf documents (installing the pdf ifilter, bouncing the search service and all that good stuff), please use the instructions on the blog given below to surface the pdf icons in search results. Note that you need to do this on each WFE. http://www.sharepointblogs.com/wpowell/archive/2007/08/09/pdf-document-type-icon-in-moss.aspx...(read more)

Adobe releases a 64-bit IFilter

2008-12-10T23:01:00Z

Adobe has finally released a true 64 bit version of the pdf ifilter. Adobe has successfully tested the filter on the following platforms : Environment Operating System Application Desktop Windows XP x64 SP2 * Windows Desktop Search 3 and 4 * Windows Indexing Service Windows Vista x64 SP1 * Windows Search 4 Server Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition R2 SP2 * Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 * Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 * Windows Desktop Search 3 Windows Server 2008 x64 SP1 * Microsoft Office...(read more)

Errata for Filter Pack KB .

2008-01-04T09:33:00Z

This correction applies to both Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Search Server 2008. 1.In step 2, the correct registry key to set the CLSID of the filter is : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office Server\12.0\Search\Setup\ContentIndexCommon\Filters\Extension\ 2. In step 7, the CLSID for OneNote filter is incorrect. The correct value is: .One = {B8D12492-CE0F-40AD-83EA-099A03D493F1} The KB will be revised shortly to reflect these changes....(read more)

MS Filter Pack released !

2007-12-19T04:08:00Z

I'm pleased to announce that after months of blood, sweat and toil, the MS Filter Pack is finally available !!! The package can be downloaded from : http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=60C92A37-719C-4077-B5C6-CAC34F4227CC&displaylang=en Contents: The filter pack includes the following IFilters: · Metro (.docx, .docm, .pptx, .pptm, .xlsx, .xlsm, .xlsb) · Zip (.zip) · OneNote (.one) · Visio (.vdx, .vsd, .vss, .vst, .vdx, .vsx, .vtx) Supported Products: · SPS2003, MOSS2007,...(read more)

FOXIT vs. Adobe PDF IFilter [ 32-bit only ]

2007-11-14T22:37:00Z

Sometimes back I had the chance to run a performance and international sufficiency analysis on the Adobe and FOXIT ifilters for some of our customers. The following report is now made available for a broader audience. PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF 32-BIT FOXIT PDF IFILTER vs. ADOBE PDF IFILTER Machine : Intel Xeon CPU @ 1.4 GHz (4 hyperthreaded processors) 4.00 GB of RAM 32-bit Win2K3 SP1 Indexer performance set to partly reduced. FOXIT v1.0 ADOBE v.8 Total # of pdf documents 10917 10917 # successful crawls...(read more)

64-bit support for Adobe PDF IFilter finally available.

2007-11-14T22:27:00Z

Finally Adobe has come up with an interim solution to address the non-availability of a 64 bit ifilter. Now one can use the 32-bit Adobe IFilter on 64-bit platforms after installing a DCOM addin from Adobe. The installation instructions can be found on the Adobe Labs Wiki . This is a great oppurtunity for folks who have a 64-bit installation of Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server 2007 and want to index pdf documents, but do not want to spend money on a 64-bit FOXIT IFilter....(read more)

DWG (Autocad) Filter is now available.

2007-06-27T20:05:00Z

I'm pleased to announce that after a lot of trails and tribulations, the DWG IFilter is finally ready. Those who have been following the posts by Marco and myself under Chronicles of an IFilter development must be curious to know as to what the end result was. Well, here's the latest on the topic in Marco's own words: CAD & Company would like to introduce you to the DWG IFilter 2007, our newest version of DWG IFilter. This release is our answer to the changing search and indexing needs with DWG...(read more)

Long awaited 64-bit PDF IFilter finally available.

2007-05-10T04:54:00Z

Finally we have a 64 bit PDF IFilter - surprisingly the solution is not from Adobe or Microsoft, but from a company called Foxit Software.The IFilter is compatiable with the following Microsoft products: Windows Indexing Service, MSN Desktop Search, Internet Information Server, SharePoint Portal Server, Windows SharePoint Services (WSS), Site Server, Exchange Server, SQL Server and all other products based on Microsoft Search technology. There's one simple workaround to get the filter running on...(read more)

Indexing pdf documents with Adobe Reader v.8 and MOSS 2007

2007-03-29T07:12:00Z

The version 8 of the adobe reader has some significant architectural changes (for the better of course) including an inbuilt IFilter to index PDF documents. Previously the adobe IFilter was available as a seperate download. This new change in architecture compromised the ability to search pdf documents from within MOSS 2007. However, the pdf filter works fine with WDS 3.0 . While many consultants recommend that if we're to index pdf documents through MOSS 2007, we use the the v.6 of adobe IFilter...(read more)

Indexing XPS documents with MOSS 2007

2007-03-24T21:26:00Z

With the XML Paper Specification (XPS) document format gaining popularity, many are wondering how to integrate MOSS 2007 to index and search XPS documents. Here's a quick recipe to configure your index server to crawl and catalog tokens in XPS documents: 1. Install the XPS Essentials pack from : http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/xps/viewxps.mspx 2. Add the filter-extension to the File types crawled: Start -> Program -> Microsoft Office Server -> SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration -> <Name...(read more)

Insights into MS IFilter Testing Strategy.

2007-02-09T02:07:00Z

Ever since I started dealing with filters, I've seen numerous questions regarding "What does the proper validation of an IFilter mean? What tests should we execute and how to excute them?" . Hence, its only appropriate that we publish a document detailing our rigorous test procedure so that everyone targeting components at MS Search products can benefit from it. Disclaimer: The following list presents only a subset of the testing methodologies we apply at MS Search and are by no means meant to be...(read more)

Debugging IFilters with WDS 3.0 and Windows Vista.

2007-02-06T06:59:00Z

With the public release of Vista a week back, soon developers will be wondering how to write and debug IFilters in the vista environment. Here's a quick and easy way, in addition to the one stated by Marco under Chronicles of an IFilter development - inception to deployment. : 1. Disable back-off (this prevents the indexer to stop when Windows events are generated): HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows Search\Gathering Manager:DisableBackOff = 1 2. Disable filter host termination: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows...(read more)

Debugging IFilters in MOSS/WSS.

2007-02-06T06:56:00Z

The steps we use to debug searchfilters with MOSS/ WSS are listed below: 1. Disable filter host termination, add Assert to suspend filter host when it starts: MOSS [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office Server\12.0\Search\Global\Gathering Manager] WSS [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE \Microsoft\Shared Tools\Web Server Extensions\12.0\Search\Global\Gathering Manager] "DebugFilters"=dword:00000001 2. Restart the OSearch service. 3. MOSS: Start a full/incremental crawl WSS: Touch the file of interest...(read more)

Co-existence of 32 bit and 64 bit IFilter binaries in MS Search Products.

2007-01-08T09:57:00Z

Over the last few months we've seen numerous questions from consultants and customers alike on: 1. Why are certain IFilter binaries not available in BOTH 32 bit and 64 bit incarnations? 95% of the questions in this category pointed to the unavailability of 64 bit Adobe IFilter. 2. What is Microsoft's strategy for dealing when 32 bit binaries from within 64 bit search processes? 3. Is there a technical workaround I can apply to use 32 bit IFilter from 64 bit search process? ================================================================================...(read more)

Chronicles of an IFilter development - inception to deployment.

2006-12-25T12:19:00Z

I often asked myself the question - How do independent vendors develop IFilters for MS Search Products and what are the challanges they face? It occurred to me that if I could somehow document the development lifecycle of an IFilter developed by someone other than Microsoft, it'd probably provide answers to a lot of baffling questions facing independent vendors developing these components. I recently had the oppurtunity to have a detailed discussion with Marco van Schagen from CAD & Company,...(read more)