RHarper posted on March 06, 2009 12:50
MS Desktop Search Tips Or when is not not "NOT"?
I find that some terms I search for occur very frequently, client or id - for instance are so common that the search results are meaningless. For instance, our Spam filter sends me emails every day with the word Sonicwall, the manufacturer of the device. Since each email also contains a line or so of text from each potential Spam item, searching for Sonicwall login or Sonicwall warranty might give me over 1,000 results. This is where the advanced techniques can be helpful. If I want to find the words sonicwall and warranty, but not in a message from my Spam filter I can type Sonicwall warranty NOT summary, this will exclude all results from my Junk mail summary. You can also use AND and OR, but both must be capitalized for this type of use.
Microsoft also provides syntax to search only certain data types, date ranges, attachments and more. See all the gory details here and here.