Connecting Your Web Service in Windows Federated Search
This topic describes the steps involved in connecting a web service between your data store and Windows Federated Search, and how to send queries and return search results in RSS or Atom.
This topic is organized as follows:
Connect Your web Service
To connect the web service of your data store to federated search, perform the following steps:
- Create an .osdx file.
- Supply the .osdx file to users so that they can add the service on demand by opening the .osdx file.
- Generate a search connector and actively deploy it in your enterprise.
Register an Existing Remote Data Store
A user registers a new remote data store with Windows Federated Search by opening an OpenSearch Description (.osdx) file. When the user does so, the following events occur:
- A .searchconnector-ms file (search connector) is created in the Windows Searches folder (%userprofile%/Searches).
- A shortcut to the .searchconnector-ms file is created in the Links folder (%userprofile%/Links).
- A shortcut appears in the Windows Explorer navigation Favorites pane, enabling the user to navigate into the new data store, and query the web service.
Note
A data store that already has an OpenSearch web service that is compatible with Windows Federated Search can be added to Windows Explorer when a user opens an .osdx file.
Additional Resources
For additional information about implementing search federation to remote data stores using OpenSearch technologies in Windows 7 and later, see "Additional Resources" at Federated Search in Windows.
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