How To Configure the Search Companion in Windows XP (307980)

SUMMARY

This step-by-step article describes how to customize the appearance and behavior of the search companion in Windows XP.

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Customize Appearance and Behavior to Search Companion

1. Click Start, click Search, and then click Change preferences.
2. Click With an animated screen character or click Without an animated screen character to add or remove the animated screen character.
3. Click With a different character to change the animated character.
   
   NOTE: This option appears only if you the animated screen character is enabled.
4. Click With indexing services to speed up searches on the local drives.
5. Click Change files and folders search behavior to change the way the search companion searches for files and folders, and then click one of the following options:
   • Click Standard to be able to search for a variety of things, such as files, folders, and people, from one location.
   • Click Advanced to quickly display the options to search for files and folders.
6. Click Change Internet search behavior to change the way you search for objects on the Internet, and then click one of the following options:
   • Click With search companion to have the search feature offer suggestions and automatically send your search to other search engines
   • Click With Classic Internet search to use the search window that appears in earlier versions of Windows.
7. Select the default Internet search engine, and then click OK.
8. Click Don't show balloon tips or Show balloon tips, and then click Turn AutoComplete off or Turn AutoComplete on for use with your search entries.

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