What is full-text search?
Full-text search is an important method for querying databases. These databases can consist of single or multiple files stored locally, on one server, or on multiple servers—as is the case with the Internet. A crucial factor is the extent to which the files have been indexed in advance. Thus, the primary function of full-text search lies in extracting individual pieces of information from a much larger set of data. In SQL Server, full-text search adds the capability to find information independent of specific fields.
Full-text search can be effectively used not only on the desktop. When working with email programs like Outlook, full-text search can also be of great benefit to you. If you have to process a large number of emails daily, you also need the ability to quickly and efficiently search for individual pieces of information.
“Big Data” has made it clear to many entrepreneurs that analyzing all data is essential today. Programs that can completely search databases and filter for important information are also in demand here. Furthermore, full-text search is a relief for those businesses that deal with large volumes of data daily. From law firms to IT companies, full-text search allows even longer texts to be searched quickly, provided they are available as digital files.
Full-Text Search in Outlook
The more you have to communicate with employees or customers, the more emails are sent to and from your server or PC daily. A cluttered inbox or outbox makes searching for individual pieces of information extremely difficult. Especially when you need important information at a certain moment, it can be very frustrating if you cannot find it quickly enough. Full-text search can help you in exactly such situations:
Searching in a Specific Email
In Outlook’s preview pane, you cannot directly search for specific words or phrases. The Outlook keyboard shortcut „Ctrl“+„E“ is also of no use here. You must first open the corresponding email in a new window before you can search it using full-text search. The procedure is then quite simple:
- In the window with your email, you will find a small magnifying glass icon at the top right – under the sub-item „Edit“ – (depending on the version, it might also be a pair of binoculars). Clicking it opens a small window called „Find and Replace“.
- This window contains a search field. Here you can formulate your search query.
Instead of the long route, you can also use the keyboard shortcut „Ctrl“+„Shift“+„F“. You can read about other keyboard shortcuts for Outlook in this blog post.
However, you should note that this tool allows you to find words or phrases within an email. This makes particular sense when the corresponding email is particularly text-heavy. To search multiple or all emails using full-text search, you must use a different tool:
Searching in Multiple Emails and Attachments
Using the text search, you can look for individual words or even entire text blocks within emails. You only need to add the setting „Text“ to your search. To do this, you must click on the search bar so that the Search tab appears in your ribbon. There, you need to find the „+“ symbol, next to which „More“ is written in green text. When you now click on „Text“, another field appears below your standard search field. Your search query will now search each of your emails in the corresponding mailbox for your search term.
For attachments, you proceed identically, except that you add the field „Attachments“ to your search instead of „Text“. However, you must note that not every attachment is recognized by Outlook. Thus, you cannot search every attachment with this option.
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