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Search Commands

You know there’s a button for it, but you don’t know or remember where it is. If this ever happens to you, check out Search Commands. You can use this concept test today to quickly find the commands you need in Microsoft Office 2007 Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Just search with your own words and click on the command you need. It also includes Guided Help, which acts as a tour guide for the specific tasks you’re looking for.

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See how Search Commands can help you quickly find commands in Microsoft Office.

See how Search Commands can help you quickly find commands in Microsoft Office.

Download Search Commands today for faster access to the commands you need.

LATEST BLOGS | RECENT DISCUSSIONS | FAQ

1. What is Search Commands?
2. What versions of Office will Search Commands work on?
3. What Office applications does Search Commands work with?
4. What languages are supported?
5. When will Klingon and other languages be supported?
6. How do I install Search Commands?
7. What data is logged?
8. Help! My Search Commands tab has disappeared, how do I fix it?
9. Help! How can I make the Search Commands tab disappear (aka uninstall it)?
10. What are the known issues?
11. When will issues be fixed?
12. What are the unknown issues?
13. What commands are included in Search Commands?
14. What Guided Helps are included in Search Commands?
15. How can I get support for Search Commands?
16. Should companies deploy Search Commands?
17. Will Search Commands be included in Office? If so, when?
18. How can I send feedback about Search Commands?
19. I have a question that isn't answered here. What should I do?

1. What is Search Commands?
It is an Office 2007 experimental add-in that helps you find commands, options, wizards and galleries in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It also includes Guided Help, which acts as a tour guide for specific tasks. We will use the data we collect to understand how search is used within an application to find and execute commands. Word, Excel and PowerPoint are perfect applications to test this with since they are very successful and they have a lot of commands.

2. What versions of Office will Search Commands work on?
Microsoft Office 2007 including any service packs. It will definitely not work on previous versions and it hasn't been tested on future versions.

3. What Office applications does Search Commands work with?
Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

4. What languages are supported?
Any language you want.... as long as it is English. Sorry this is a limited prototype.

5. When will Klingon and my favorite languages be supported?
There are no plans to add other languages.

6. How do I install Search Commands?
1. Check that your computer meets the requirements (Windows XP or Vista and Office 2007)
2. Download Search Commands here
3. Run Setup
4. Launch Word, Excel or PowerPoint
5. Click on the Search Commands tab
6. In the introduction section click on Guided Help: Learn about Search Commands

7. What data is logged?
If you have selected to share data with us, THANK YOU - what you search for and the commands you used are logged, we don't log any data that can identify you. This data will help us understand how the prototype is used in order to decide if and how it would be integrated into a product. If you have decided to not share data with us, no worries - Search Commands will not log any data. You can get more information about metrics here.

8. Help! My Search Commands tab has disappeared, how do I fix it?
If Word, PowerPoint or Excel terminates unexpectedly, add-ins may become disabled and Search Commands will no longer be visible.

To re-enable Search Commands in any of the applications:
1. Click the Office button (round icon, top left)
2. Select Word (or Excel or PowerPoint) Options (at the bottom)
3. Click Add-ins (near the middle)
4. Manage: Select Disable Items
5. Click Go
6. Select Search Commands
7. Click Enable

9. Help! How can I make the Search Commands tab disappear (aka uninstall it)?
In Vista: Control Panel -> Programs -> Uninstall a program -> Search Commands from Microsoft Office Labs -> Uninstall
In XP: Start -> Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs -> Search Commands from Microsoft Office Labs -> Remove

10. What are the known issues?

1. Search Commands does not work when the Ribbon is minimized - A search can still be entered but results will not appear unless the Search Commands tab is double clicked.

2. Search Commands does not work when I enter numbers - It is not possible to enter numbers into Search Commands e.g. "font 12". We decided to use numbers for hotkeys for the results instead.

3. Word wheeling does not work in Excel - In Word and PowerPoint, results start appearing as soon as you start typing. This functionality, called word wheeling, is not available in Excel. In Excel you must press enter in order for results to appear.

4. Some searches may not provide the results you wanted - The accuracy of Search Commands depends on the metadata associated with each command. Although, we invested a lot of effort in ensuring that we have a complete and accurate collection of metadata, it is likely that we missed some. If you notice something missing, we would appreciate it if you could let us know. Also, we encourage you to post it to the discussion forums.

11. When will the known issues be fixed?
There are no plans to release future versions of Search Commands. So please don't hold your breath.

12. What are the unknown issues?
Hmmm... we don't know. If you find an issue that isn't listed above we would appreciate it if you could let us know, so we could add it to the list. Also, we encourage you to post it to the discussion forums.

13. What commands are included in Search Commands?
Well there is bold, background, font, image, open, and pivot tables and... well, let's just say a lot. There are some commands in each application that we were not able to add to Search Commands. If this causes you any grief. please let us know. Also, we encourage you to post it to the discussion forums.

14. What Guided Helps are included in Search Commands?
Word, Excel and PowerPoint all have a Guided Help to learn about Search Commands. If you check that out you will know how to find the others. But if you are one of those people who likes to read the last page of a book first --- you can type Guided Help in the search box to get a list of all the Guided Helps for the application you are in.

15. How can I get support for Search Commands?
Sorry, you can't. Search Commands is not a Microsoft supported application. It's just an experiment to evaluate an idea. Other users may be able to help you out in the discussion forums, but that is not official support.

16. Should companies deploy Search Commands?
No. We don't recommend it. Search Commands is a prototype, so it is likely there are unknown issues plus there is no official support for Search Commands.

17. Will Search Commands be included in Office? If so, when?
There are no plans to include Search Commands in the product.

18. How can I send feedback about Search Commands to the team?
You can ensure you are sending data to the team (Search Commands Tab -> Privacy -> Share usage data with Microsoft)
You can email your feedback
You can talk about it with other users in the discussion forums, the team will be reading and replying there as well

19. I have a question that isn't answered here. What should I do?
You can ask the Search Commands team by emailing us
You can ask the audience in the discussion forums
You can call a friend... tell them the Office Labs team says Hi!

Source code available? (0 replies)

Since this is not a retail product or an eventual included part of Office, I was wondering if the source code is downloadable anywhere as some of the functionality includes things I'd like to incorporate in my work.

Thanks, ...

Posted by: rvGraham Last updated: 12/28/2009 9:45 AM

2010 Office (2 replies)

Please update Search Commands to work with 2010 Office Technical Preview. I'm part of the limited technical preview beta and although the ribbon is now fully customizable I miss Search Commands very much. A native 64-bit ...

Posted by: 2010officer Last updated: 11/30/2009 7:52 PM

Getting Started with Search Commands (3 replies)

1. Check that your computer meets the requirements (Windows XP or Vista and Office 2007)
2. Download Search Commands here
3. Run Setup
4. Launch Word, Excel or PowerPoint
5. Click on the Search Commands tab
6. ...

Posted by: Nicole (Office Labs) Last updated: 11/9/2009 3:21 AM

I lost my delete command in Office 2003 word (0 replies)

I have know idea how to get that back. It shows up in my Outlook 2003 account but not in word. I recently delete some old paperwork and I'm not sure why that would matter but it sounded like it was saying that it was lost ...

Posted by: Debbyiamme Last updated: 11/9/2009 3:11 AM

Go to the discussion forum...

TRY IT /

Downloaded: 92,377 times

Shared: 399 times

Requirements: 32 bit Windows XP or Windows Vista. Office 2007.

Limitations: English only. Works with Word, Excel and PowerPoint only.

Last updated: 04/13/2009

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