Add Flickr search to Windows 7 Search Federation

Using his amateur programming skills, Long Zheng managed to create the Flickr Search Connectr. It extends Windows 7′s search capabilities with the combination of two components: the OpenSearch Description File Generator (known as “Search Connector” on Windows 7) and the Flickr web service. Together you get the ability to search and access Flickr images right in the Windows 7 Explorer using the new Search Federation platform. The beauty of this (as not everyone will notice right away) is that you can do so natively in the Windows 7 interface, meaning you can easily preview, set as desktop background, print, send to, copy, and even edit as seen below (Please click on images for a full quality view). With the preview-pane available in the Windows 7 Explorer, I would say that the best part about this would be being able to browse quickly without pushing the back button. You can download the Flickr Search Connectr here.

The Flickr Search Connectr takes advantage of Federated Search in Windows 7, which allows you to search remote file repositories or directories. This was implemented using open standards of OpenRSS and RSS2, making it easy for other developers to create their own search tie-ins as well.

After you install this connector, you may be wondering how to access it once you have closed the Window. You could save the file onto your desktop and click it each time to search Flickr, but then you’d be adding the Search connector each time. What you can do is create a shortcut to the actual Search, which is located in your Users Folder\Search. So for me it would be C:\Users\Brian\Searches

Microsoft did not do a good job at amazing everyone with Search Federation, but now most of you can appreciate how Federated Search can make your lives easier. If you could tie-in Search with Flickr, we can expect to see much more with mail, file-hosting, videos, and many more.

Related posts:

1. More Windows 7 Search Federation Providers for Download
2. Windows 7 Federated Search Provider Implementer’s Guide