Search Page

Use this page to search the product documentation and Microsoft Partner sites for information. To access this page, click Search on the Help menu.

Security Note:
Microsoft does not guarantee or endorse search results provided by third-parties, such as Codezone Community participants. Use caution when you download and install components from online sources.

Search Terms and Filters Section

• <search box>
  Enter a word or phrase to search all text or select a previous search string from the drop-down list.

• Search
  Starts the search based on the search expression you provided. By default, the search expression is applied to all the text within all the topics that are included in the scope of the current filter. Searches return a maximum of 500 matches.

• <filter area>
  Allows you to narrow your search results by selecting options in the Language, Technology, and Content Type categories.

  Note

  Topics that do not use these categories to define their topics are excluded from the search even if the content in those topics does match your search query. Choose Unfiltered to search all topics.

  If your product includes pre-defined search filters, additional Help might appear below.

  For more information, see Help Filters for Visual Studio.

• Language
  Lists the programming languages, such as C#, available to filter your search.

• Technology
  Lists technologies, such as .NET Framework and Office Development, available to filter your search.

• Content Type
  Lists content types for topics, such as Contains Code and How-Tos, available to filter your search.

Search Results

Use this section to review the list of topics, technical articles, and other information returned from a search. For each result, an abstract, source, and other information is displayed.

• Searched for: <query>
  A list of results that meet your search criteria found in the selected Help source, such as Local Help or Questions.

• Sort by
  Specifies the criteria that results are sorted by. The default options available might not apply to all kinds of results. Available sorting criteria for a result is listed underneath the abstract for each item.

  For example, search results from Local Help do not include Topic Date or Rating. Therefore, selecting either of these options will not affect the order in which results are displayed for Local Help.

• Descending or Ascending
  Ascending sorts the results from A-Z for the Sort by criteria selected.

  Descending sorts the results from Z-A for the Sort by criteria selected.

• Source
  The physical source of the results, such as Local Help and MSDN Online. Choosing a source displays the search results for that source. You can change the sources searched and the order in which source results are displayed in Online, Help, Options Dialog Box.

  Note

     If you connect to the Internet through a proxy server and the proxy server requires you to be authenticated, a message may appear, in the search results for Online Help providers, that requests you to manually enter your user name and password. Once you have entered this information, you will be able to access results from the Online Help providers.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Search for Words or Phrases in Topics

How to: Customize Search Results

Concepts

Full-Text Search Tips

Other Resources

How to: Find Topics with Sample Code