The IT department has installed Windows Desktop Search on an XP machine
such that when the user clicks on Start | Search, WDS appears. There is
a link at the bottom of the WDS page to "Search Companion" that brings
up the old search utility. Is there a way to create a shortcut as a
direct link to the Search Companion?

Sure, copy below and save as .vbs:

Set wshshell = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
wshshell.findfiles

----stop

and/or download line 86 (right hand side):
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm


"mcp6453" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> The IT department has installed Windows Desktop Search on an XP machine
> such that when the user clicks on Start | Search, WDS appears. There is a
> link at the bottom of the WDS page to "Search Companion" that brings up
> the old search utility. Is there a way to create a shortcut as a direct
> link to the Search Companion?

Kelly wrote:
> Sure, copy below and save as .vbs:
>
> Set wshshell = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
> wshshell.findfiles
>
> ----stop
>
> and/or download line 86 (right hand side):
> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
>

Kelly, it opens Windows Desktop Search just like the Search button does.
Is there a way to get directly to the original search function?

Kelly wrote:
> Sure, copy below and save as .vbs:
>
> Set wshshell = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
> wshshell.findfiles
>
> ----stop
>
> and/or download line 86 (right hand side):
> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
>

Kelly, it opens Windows Desktop Search just like the Search button does.
Is there a way to get directly to the original search function?

Hi,

What exactly are you calling the original?

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm


"mcp6453" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Kelly wrote:
>> Sure, copy below and save as .vbs:
>>
>> Set wshshell = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
>> wshshell.findfiles
>>
>> ----stop
>>
>> and/or download line 86 (right hand side):
>> http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
>>
>
> Kelly, it opens Windows Desktop Search just like the Search button does.
> Is there a way to get directly to the original search function?

Kelly wrote:
> Hi,
>
> What exactly are you calling the original?
>

If you click on Start | Search from a fresh install of XP, you'd get a
search window. IT installed Windows Desktop Search application. Now,
when the user clicks on Start | Search, she gets the Windows Desktop
search instead of the out-of-the-box Windows search. There must be a reg
hack that intercepts the search button activation.

Kelly wrote:
> Hi,
>
> What exactly are you calling the original?
>


Anybody?

mcp6453 wrote:

> Kelly wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> What exactly are you calling the original?
>>
>
>
> Anybody?

What's the question? Winkey + F not working?

Bob I wrote:
>
>
> mcp6453 wrote:
>
>> Kelly wrote:
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> What exactly are you calling the original?
>>>
>>
>>
>> Anybody?
>
> What's the question? Winkey + F not working?
>

With a fresh installation of XP, if you click on Start | Search, you get
a Windows search utility called "Search Companion." The "Folders"
function has to be turned off to see the name. It is the normal or
original XP search program. It is the one that you expect to see when
you do a search in XP.

IT installed Windows Desktop Search, which is a different program than
Search Companion. Search Companion is built into Windows. Windows
Desktop Search is a different program that must be installed separately.
When WDS was installed, it intercepted the key clicks used to start SC.
Therefore, when the user clicks on Start | Search, instead of getting
SC, she gets WDS. Presumably, WDS made a registry change to intercept
Start | Search and Winkey + F keystrokes to cause Windows to bring up
WDS instead of SC.

So the question is, without removing WDS, how can I put the
functionality back like it was so that Start | Search brings up SC
instead of WDS?

mcp6453 wrote:

> Bob I wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> mcp6453 wrote:
>>
>>> Kelly wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> What exactly are you calling the original?
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Anybody?
>>
>>
>> What's the question? Winkey + F not working?
>>
>
> With a fresh installation of XP, if you click on Start | Search, you get
> a Windows search utility called "Search Companion." The "Folders"
> function has to be turned off to see the name. It is the normal or
> original XP search program. It is the one that you expect to see when
> you do a search in XP.
>
> IT installed Windows Desktop Search, which is a different program than
> Search Companion. Search Companion is built into Windows. Windows
> Desktop Search is a different program that must be installed separately.
> When WDS was installed, it intercepted the key clicks used to start SC.
> Therefore, when the user clicks on Start | Search, instead of getting
> SC, she gets WDS. Presumably, WDS made a registry change to intercept
> Start | Search and Winkey + F keystrokes to cause Windows to bring up
> WDS instead of SC.
>
> So the question is, without removing WDS, how can I put the
> functionality back like it was so that Start | Search brings up SC
> instead of WDS?

That sounds like at a minimum you would need to look through the WDS
uninstall for all the keys that got changed, and then note the contents,
and put them in the registry yourself manually.