Windows in the Enterprise

Script to make Microsoft Knowledge Base searches easier

I use Google almost every day to search the Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) for technical information as I usually find Google more helpful than TechNet's own search feature. But I get tired having to type "site:support.microsoft.com" into Google's search box every time I want to narrow down my search to support.microsoft.com.

So finally I decided to do something about it instead of complaining all the time. The result is this short script that I wrote that takes the keywords or phrase I type and creates a Google search URL that restricts the search to support.microsoft.com:

Dim strKeyword, objShell
Set objShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
strKeyword = InputBox("Enter keyword:")
strKeyword = "http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=" & strKeyword & _
"+site%3Asupport.microsoft.com&meta="
If Len(strKeyword)>0 Then
objShell.Run """c:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe"" " & StrKeyword
End if

Save this script as GoogleKB.vbs and keep it on your desktop. When you double-click on it, an input box opens and you can type one or more keywords or even a phrase in double quotes. Then press Enter and Internet Explorer will open and use Google to search the Knowledge Base for the words or phrase you specified.

Enjoy!