Listening to Peter Morville, SearchPatterns.org, deliver the keynote at KMWorld two weeks ago changed the way I think about interface design.

SharePoint 2010 has very powerful search capabilities, especially with the integrated FAST Search Server. But in this part of my series I don’t want to show you the server-side search capabilities but some client side gotchas instead.

What I also like is the combination of the SharePoint site search with the JQuery drop down box. A good example of what you can do with the SharePoint and web technologies combined

SharePoint supports document searching out-of-the box, but with some simple customizations, you can greatly improve the findability of documents.

“This stuff used to be really hard and we’ve made it so that if you can administer a SharePoint farm, you can do this.” — Fried

Search has not been easy with SharePoint 2007 and especially with WSS 3.0. For example many times I just want to search list or document library. What I want is ability to see what items match what I’m looking for specifically with the list that is showing right now. I would like to search, not have to refresh the page or go to another location to do the search.

One of the cool things about not being a total moron in SharePoint anymore is that I actually have the ability to help people. I’m always happy to lend a hand when I can, and it’s actually a great way for me to learn even more. However, sometimes it can be hard for me to give the proper advice/help because I don’t exactly know what a person is asking. There are so many different parameters that can affect any advice you get in SharePoint and it’s really hard for someone to be in your head. Sometimes it can take several back and forth emails just to fully understand the question being asked. So, I thought I’d type up a quick blog which will help you ask your questions more succinctly and make sure you get the best advice/help possible (not necessarily from me).

Or what if you just want to drop a Twitter search into any old SharePoint page, rather than a full Results page? And more critical – what if you don’t have direct access to the SharePoint server in order to install binary web part and feature – with or without a Solution Package (WSP)?

Windows SharePoint Services already has a Contacts list feature built-in, but it only misses one thing: some form of quick search of contacts. So I made a search-as-you type functionality for WSS Contacts lists.

FAST ESP is an enterprise search engine that provides an extensive content processing and indexing functionalities. FAST search for SharePoint is going to deliver high end search capabilities to enterprises. The ease of use of SharePoint Server with FAST Search high-end filtering and navigation features creates a new enterprise search, collaboration, and publishing solution.