But what if you want/need to limit a search to a specific folder inside a library?
Unfortunately, MOSS doesn't do that on the fly for you. However, it can be done manually.
Scopes can be set either at a farm or shared service level, or at a site collection level. If you are creating a scope for a single folder in a single library, the site collection level might be most appropriate.
- Open the Top Level Site Settings for a site in your site collection (Site Actions, Site Settings, Go to Top Level Site Settings) or from your top level site (Site Actions, Site Settings, Modify all Site Settings).
- Find the column labelled "Site Collection Administration" and click on the "Search Scopes" link.
- Click on the button labelled "New Scope" to create your new scope.
- Give your new scope a Title (and description if you so desire), and make sure you tick the box so it is added to the "Search Dropdown" display group (at a minimum, you can put in more if you like). This will make the scope appear in the dropdown lists for the search ribbons that show up on your SharePoint pages. In this scenario, you probably won't require a different results page, so leave that setting alone. Click on "OK".
- This takes you back to the Search Scope pages. Now you will see your new scope listed in the display groups you made it a part of. You will also note that in the "Update Status" column it says "Empty - Add rules". You will need to define what is included in the scope. Click on the "Add rules" link in that column.
- This brings up the Add Scope Rule page. On this page you will want to set the Scope Rule Type to "Web Address" and then put the url for the folder you want to search. See below for an example. When you are done, click on "OK".
- This will take you back to the View Scopes page, and now in the Update Status column for your scope, you will see a message that the scope will be ready after the next update. After that update runs, your scope will now show up in the drop-down boxes for searches in that Site Collection.
Cheers,
James