Windows XP explorer searching in a .msg file?

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Guest

Does Windows Explorer not possess the ability to search within an Outlook
..msg file? If you have some message files saved off on a disk and you search
for a word or phrase you *know* is in a message contained in that directory
full of messages, you get zero results. What's up with that?

Please, I didn't really want to save them as plain text files or I would
have done so. But I guess I will have to from now on.

Thanks,
B
 
Is this problem not a function of the Windows searching mechanism? I hoped
somebody here could help but I will go over there, too.
 
Bob said:
Does Windows Explorer not possess the ability to search within an Outlook
.msg file? If you have some message files saved off on a disk and you search
for a word or phrase you *know* is in a message contained in that directory
full of messages, you get zero results. What's up with that?

Please, I didn't really want to save them as plain text files or I would
have done so. But I guess I will have to from now on.

Thanks,
B
Click to expand...

XP's search will only search for text in files with certain extensions.
See this link for info on how to add the extension you want.

Using the "A word or phrase in the file" search criterion may not work
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309173/EN-US/

Another option is to use a 3rd part search tool such as the free
AgentRansack.
http://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/
 
Bob,

Windows® XP - Search Problems - Containing Text:
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_bad_search.htm

Other options:

See "Method 2" in this article:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=309173

Ref: "FilterFilesWithUnknownExtensions"

[Excerpt]

Method 2
To configure Windows XP to search all files no matter what the file type,
obtain the latest service pack for Windows XP and then turn on the Index
file types with unknown extensions option.

If you use this method, Windows XP searches all file types for the text that
you specify. This can affect the performance of the search functionality. To
do this: 1. Click Start, and then click Search (or point to Search, and then
click For Files or Folders).
2. Click Change preferences, and then click With Indexing Service (for
faster local searches).
3. Click Change Indexing Service Settings (Advanced). Note that you do not
have to turn on the Index service.
4. On the toolbar, click Show/Hide Console Tree.
5. In the left pane, right-click Indexing Service on Local Machine, and then
click Properties.
6. On the Generation tab, click to select the Index files with unknown
extensions check box, and then click OK.
7. Close the Indexing Service console.
Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly
by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might
require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee
that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.
Network administrators can configure this setting by modifying the registry.
To do this, set the FilterFilesWithUnknownExtensions DWORD value to 1 in the
following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ContentIndex

[/Excerpt]

©2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved

Additional Note from Torgeir Bakken:
<quote>

WinXP's search function filters out files to search in based on file
extensions (see further below).

Install the free Agent Ransack, it searches for text strings in *all*
types of files, and not just in a selection of "approved" file extensions
as the built-in search does. It's a *much* better search tool as well...

http://www.agentransack.com/default.aspx

Agent Ransack can save the search result to a file (or clipboard), as text,
comma separated text or tab separated text. E.g. Excel reads comma separated
text (csv) very well.

</quote>


--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


Does Windows Explorer not possess the ability to search within an Outlook
..msg file? If you have some message files saved off on a disk and you
search
for a word or phrase you *know* is in a message contained in that directory
full of messages, you get zero results. What's up with that?

Please, I didn't really want to save them as plain text files or I would
have done so. But I guess I will have to from now on.

Thanks,
B
 
If you use Outlook there is a free plug-in called "lookout" which does a
very good job.
 
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