WDS 3.0 Beta 2 32-bit and 64-bit
That’s right, WDS 3.0 Beta 2 is here.
What’s new?
-The first true beta of WDS 3.0 with the new service-based indexing engine and fully-functional UI.
-The first version of WDS available for x64 machines! 64-bit engine and UI!
-Truly a countless number of fixes from the WDS 3.0 Engine Preview released a few months ago.
Windows Desktop Search 3.0 Beta 2 download links:
Updated 10/4 – UNC / FAT indexing add-in (for indexing network shares, removeable FAT media, etc)
Let us know what you think!
77 Comments
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Can the WDS (with SDK) be used to create an index of a specific folder tree rather than everything. FOr example just to index and search c:\docsarchive. Then be able to search through my own application just this index and document collection?
WDS 3.0 Beta 2 is required for beta 2 of office 2007 with the beta 2 technical refresh. Problem is install fails……Great product guys. Can’t wait for the release! Perhaps it will actually install properly and not fail with permission errors.
What do we need wds for, if not to index pdf’s. Yet microsoft is persistant at not enabling this in their latest WDS 3.0.
I have no words to describe this behaviour.
WDS supports indexing any data format or data store for which you have the appropriate add-in installed.
However, Adobe has a very significant bug in their IFilter implementation that prevents it from working with WDS 3.0. *They* are aware of the problem and are working on a release that supports WDS 3.0. As much as we all want that add-in, Microsoft has no control over their release schedule.
So if indexing PDFs is important to you then you are best not to install WDS 3.0 until Adobe updates their IFilter? Is that the reason that version 3 hasn’t been linked up on the main Microsoft WDS page?
Hey Brandon,
I am supposed to customize WDS (especially WDS 3.0) in a way that it should crawl through the web pages
using HTTP address of the seed (parent) url.
I am trying hard from my side but I would be happy to get some suggestions and approaches (ideas)
from your side.
Waiting for early response.
Regards,
Vivek Singh
I have a huge Exchange inbox – multi-gig, and I rely on WDS to find my email. Now 3.0 looks to insist on Exchange Cached Mode, which I do not have/want due to the size of my inbox. Sigh, looks like I will have to uninstall and go back to 2.5.
WDS 3.0 can index uncached exchange, but it is disabled by default. It needs to be enabled via group policy, and this is a change I’m going to suggest for the next update to WDS 3.0 that’s being planned (to go back to the enabled-by-default settings from 2.x).
You can enable it by creating a DWORD registry key in:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search
called “PreventIndexingUncachedExchangeFolders” and setting it to a value of 0.
Hey Brandon,
I am supposed to customize WDS (especially WDS 3.0) in a way that it should crawl through the web pages
using HTTP address of the seed (parent) url.
I am trying hard from my side but I would be happy to get some suggestions and approaches (ideas)
from your side.
Waiting for early response.
Regards,
Vivek Singh
Hey,
1. Is it possible to run WDS on a Windows2003 SBS server and have it index all files in certain folders?
2. Is it possible for it to index all emails and email attachment of certain email accounts?
3. Is it possible for the server to maintain these indexes and give the client computers read-only access to them? That way, each client would not have to build and constantly maintain a separate index? I’ve read about GDS and http://www.dnka.com which gives a similar functionality.
4. Is it easy to restrict user-access to this common index on a per-user basis? E.g. allow Peter to have access to John and Audrey’s email accounts but not to the bosses? Allow Peter to have access to the common files on the server but not to sensitive folders?
If this sort of question is inappropriate for this forum, please disregard it. Any advise would be greatly appreciated though.
Thanks.
Erik
Brandon,
was checking on WDS3.0 and saw tat it doesnt support keywords like NEAR, AFTER,.. (keywords like
AND, OR, NOT are only supported). I was not sure if these keywords are really not supported by
WDS3.0. It would be of gr8 help if you can comment on this asap.
can you also tell me as which interface can be used for reindexing, start/stop/pause indexing,
get status of indexing. thnx in advance!
I read everything and I am confused. I want to add desktop search within Terminal Server.
1) Will WDS 3.0 work?
2) Will Vista and the new server programs support this feature?
We have a TS that access data on a seperate Data server.
Thanks.
The unc indexing add-on doesn’t work under XP Pro X64 edition, do you know if it will be fixed or another option made available?
64-bit OSes are currently not supported (which affects me as well since I run Vista x64).
I don’t know what the plan is around x64 support but I’ll try to find out after the new year.
I wondered if someone could help me out. I’m trying to index every file stored on a network drive (the network drive is located on a NetApp SAN device). All I need is an index of the filenames – I don’t need to search any file metadata. I’ve tried WDS v2 and have taken out all the extension exceptions but will this index the filenames of every single file on the drive – if not can I force this? Am I right in thinking v3 will only index extensions which are in the list and ticked?
Also, how does WDS know when and where any changes happen on a network drive?
Thanks in advance.
Will we be able to launch programs with WDS again?
Thanks
I have several questions. First, I’ve installed the add-in for files on Microsoft Networks, but I am unclear if 3.0 beta 2 indexes NTFS drives.
Second, on the message about installing the DWORD value to index uncached Exchange, should the Windows Search key already exist, or do I need to also create that key?
Third, after creating the DWORD for uncached Exchange, do I need to force manual re-indexing? restart? both?
I love WDS, but want to search network drives… something that the Add-in for Files on Microsoft Networks should resolve, if I can every finish the installation. The installer hangs on “This may take a few minutes.”, which stays up for hours, until I hold down the power button (TaskMan availed me not). I waited 6 hours on a Win2K3 SP1 system and this is my first time trying it on an XP SP2 system — I’m stuck on the same dialog and will let the computer sit overnight. I’m 0 for 2 on installing the UNC/FAT add-in and wondering if you could point me in the right direction because I am having terrible luck finding info on the it.
Windows desktop search 02.06.5000.5378 gets installed when installing SolidWorks 2007 (a popular CAD software). When telling WDS to index a UNC path & all indexing is complete. Opening modifying & saving a word doc a few times (between 1 – 10 times repeatedly) to this UNC path can cause your modified word 2000 or 2003 file to suddently become read-only & the user is forced to as SaveAs & change the filename in order to not loose their work. This happens when:
1. your the only one indexing this location & you have “prioritize indexing” enabled & you modify & save a word doc a few times…. or
2. multiple machines without “prioritize indexing” turned on index the same UNC location & a few of them are idle & start indexing while users are saving word docs. Obviously this one is the bigger problem & compounds itself the more machines out there.
Is this a known issue? any workaround for this while we wait for updates? I found this link: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/927018/en-us — but it seems confusing & offers no solution.
I provide techsupport with this CAD package & I fear this one will come up many many times soon as people start to use this search more & more – I am hopeing to find the answer before I get bombared. crossing my fingers that you may be able to help!
Steve,
I’m not an MS person, but I’ve tried to report this error to as many places as I can think of without success in getting an answer.
The easiest way to reproduce the problem is to create a large file 40 MB file (Excel or Word preferably but I don’t think it matters) and put it in the UNC path your WDS is indexing. Open the file from your machine and click save. This should cause the error your seeing every time. It happens with 2.x and 3.0.
I’m pretty sure WDS only knows not to index a file if it’s LOCAL hard drive has no activity. Since the save is being carried out on a network drive WDS sees the new file and, even though it’s not complete, starts to index it. When it starts to index it puts the “SHARE ACCESS = READ” lock on the file. When Word is done saving the file it tries to re-access the saved version but WDS has a lock and Word will through the error. Virus detection programs had this problem years ago. I’m surprised the WDS team can’t use the same sort of trickery to solve it as the anti-virus guys did.
Brandon,
It is cool that you have this site. I have a question that I dont know how to get answered. In the 3.0 Search, I would like to index my C, CPP, CS, ect. I try to add these extensions in the Advanced options File Types. It looks like it adds them, but when I revisit that tab nothing is there. Any Ideas?
Hi Howard – those filetypes should be indexed by default using the Plain Text IFilter, which means they should work automatically.
Are you running on XP or Vista? Unfortunately they won’t be preview in the preview pane for those on Vista out-of-the-box, though I’m sure someone will make a previewer available soon.
Are the folders with your source files included in the list of locations to index? (you need to be an Administrator to alter those)
Brandon Says: “64-bit OSes are currently not supported (which affects me as well since I run Vista x64). I don’t know what the plan is around x64 support but I’ll try to find out after the new year.”
Have you found anymore out about this, (or a way around the problem). I unfortunately tried installing UNC-FAT in Vista64 before finding this site and realizing that it was not working 🙁
Brandon,
I am on vista. I use mail and live mail desktop. the problem is that vista does not seem to do an instant search on my mail from the os shell. it searches great from the apps. when I put in a term, it just seems to go on and on and on and pulls up one or two. Any tips?
thanks
Hi brandon,
I’m sure you will be able to help. I have just removed Windows Desktop Search from my computer coz it doesn’t close down properly when I shut down my machine. I get two other messages at the end about windowssearch.exe and spssearch and have to close these down manually too. My machine was also working very very slowing in fits and starts. I haven’t shut down again since rebooting after the removal, so don’t know if the messages will still come up, but machine is definately responding much quicker.
My question is; will I have caused a problem on my system by removing WDS? ie will programmes not run properly without it?
Please help
Regards
A novice! 🙂
I just downloaded WDS for win XP Pro and it is a real pain. Under “email” search, I ask it to search on partila character strings on either the subject or the sender and I get “0” results returned. What kind of serch is that?
Help would be appreciated.
I remember about a year ago I downloaded an unsupported MS search tool that allowed me to search on folder or email and it worked fine for partial email subjects or senders. Do you know the name of it and is it still available? I am on a different machine otherwise I would use it.
Thanks.
Brandon,
The following MS website HAD been tracking a problem with re-indexing every time you rebooted your machine.
It has gone all quite with MS completely silent the past month.
http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=1297957&SiteID=1
What’s up? This is frustrating at best!
Thanks,