When people ask me what I like most about Vista, my immediate answer is searching. Sure, you can get desktop search from Microsoft or Google for Windows XP, but it’s just not the same. In Windows Vista, search is integrated into the Start menu, every Explorer window, and even the Control Panel. I find that I use it constantly now, especially from the Start menu.

Search will index most common file types (based on their file extension), but it might not index all file types that are important to you. For example, it doesn’t index .log files, like those generated by Mirc. It does index .XML log files, like those generated by Windows Live Messenger.

To index .LOG files or any other type of file, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

2. Click System And Maintenance.

3. Click Indexing Options.

4. Click Advanced, and provide administrative credentials at the UAC prompt.

5. The Advanced Options dialog appears. Note that the Index Encrypted Files check box doesn’t let you search EFS encrypted files–nothing does, because Search indexes files as the system rather than your user account, and therefore can’t decrypt your files.

6. Click the File Types tab. Scroll through the list to find your file type (for example, .log) and click it. Then, select the check box. Click Index Properties And File Contents at the bottom of the dialog box. Finally, click OK.

7. If prompted to rebuild the index, click OK.

8. Click Close.

Windows Vista begins rebuilding your index, including the newly selected file type. Give it a couple of hours. Then, when you search, your file type will be included in the results.

If your custom file types aren’t in your user profile (you know, like your Documents or Pictures folders), configure the folder to be indexed.