Windows search error "Search cannot return results for this view" in the People Pane

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Symptoms

In the Outlook 2013 People Pane, the Microsoft Outlook Social Connector feature does not display information about your contact, such as activities, meetings, status updates, email messages, or meetings. Instead, the following text is displayed:

There are no items to show in this view.

Additionally, a warning bar displays the following notices in the People Pane:

Search cannot return results for this view. Click here for more information.

If the People Pane is minimized, the following notification is displayed:

Some People Pane features are turned off because Windows Desktop Search isn't available

Note In this configuration, you receive one of the following error messages when you try to perform a search in Outlook:

Instant Search is not available when Outlook is running with administrator permissions. To use Instant Search, exit and restart Outlook without administrator permissions.
The Windows Search service is not installed. Outlook cannot provide fast search results using the Instant Search feature unless this service is installed. For information on how to enable this optional component included in your operating system, see the Help included with your version of Microsoft Windows.

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Cause

This problem occurs because the Outlook Social Connector feature depends on the Windows Search service to provide information in the People Pane. However, the Windows Search functionality is not available in either of the following scenarios:

You run Outlook 2013 by using administrator-elevated permissions.
You do not have Windows Search installed.

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Resolution

If you want to use this feature in the Outlook Social Connector, please use one of the following solutions, depending on the source of the problem.

You started Outlook by using the "Run as Administrator" command

In this scenario, exit Outlook 2013, and then start Outlook 2013, but do not use the Run as Administrator command. To do this, follow these steps:

Exit Outlook 2013
Click Start, click All Programs, and then click Microsoft Office.
Click Microsoft Outlook 2013.

You do not have the required Windows Search components installed

Windows 7
If you are running Windows 7, and the Windows Search component is not installed, please follow these steps to add this feature to your Windows installation.

Exit Outlook 2013.
In Control Panel, click Programs and Features.
In the Programs and Feature control panel, click Turn Windows features on or off.
In the Windows Features dialog box, locate and then click to select the check box for the Windows Search feature. (The screen shot for this step is listed below).
Click OK.
After the Windows Search feature is installed, click Restart Now to restart your computer.
Start Outlook after your computer restarts.

Note You may see a dialog box that resembles the following when Outlook is first started after you make this change to your Windows 7 installation.

Disable the notification messages

If you do not want to install the necessary Windows Search components, and you want to disable these alerts, you must modify the Windows registry.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
Locate and then click the following subkey in the registry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook\Search
Note You must manually create this subkey in the registry if this subkey currently does not exist. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Locate and then click the following subkey in the registry:
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook
2. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Key.
3. Type Search, and then press ENTER.
On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
Type DisableDownloadSearchPrompt, and then press ENTER.
On the Edit menu, click Modify.
Type 1, and then click OK.

Did this fix the problem?

Check whether the problem is fixed. If the problem is fixed, you are finished with this section. If the problem is not fixed, you can contact support.

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