Live Search Not Working?

Ken,

Thank you, again, for your help. You have always been amazingly gracious with your expertise and time.

My issue is not with LS Maps. My problem is with LS Search (POI). I am pulling up my Pushpin Templet map and highlighting a pushpin on a street (favorite condo) near a (favorite) ski resort. I would like to know what other slopes and activities are in the area. I am then clicking on LS Search to launch that function. I am typing in "Ski" for the search perameter and searching the current map view. The failure notice "Could not retrieve results from server" then appears below the search perameter line.

I have also tested "gas" and "Walmart" with the same result. I have tested other maps with different items highlighted (pushpins, city names, etc.). I have tried with and without Internet Explore launched. I am confident I have connectivity.

LS Maps and the internal POI feature are working just fine. I don't even think I was having trouble with LS Maps while there trouble with it.

I have attempted to attach a thumbnail to this thread, but I am getting a page error notice. Holding down the shift key has gotten past my anti-virus and spyware in the past, but I have just recently updated the anti-virus to a new version and I think it is interfering; holding down shift is no longer the solution. So, I hope my written desciption is clear.

Maybe I do not understand what LS Search is for and how it functions? I thought it was for expanding my search beyond the internal POI (finite) feature to the (infinite) vastness of the internet.

Thanks! I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

This is where I'm getting lost. How ... step-by-step ... do you get LS Search? I can find nothing in my Streets&Trips 2010 that says LS Search. I have checked all the icons on the toolbar and checked every menu item possibility on the menus.

Is it something in a menu that I'm overlooking? Or is it an icon on the toolbar that I'm missing or perhaps don't have enabled?

I also tried all the right-click possibilities with no success.

I'm sorry to be no help but this is a function I've never used and I cannot find any evidence of it in my S&T 2010.

...ken...

I apologize for using abrieviations... by LS Search I mean "Search on Live Search." I referenced that I am using S&T 2008 at the start of this thread... On 2008, the function button icon looks like a "baseball home plate" with a magnifying glass. It is to the left of the "Show in Live Search Maps" button.

Thanks for your continued help.

Ooops, sorry. I forgot about the reference to 2008. I don't have it installed any more. I have the icon you described but when I hover the cursor over it it just says "Search results".

I tried Mappoint 2009 and S&T 2010 and that icon says the same thing. When I click on it in either program it just opens the Search Results pane on the left side of the map, no matter what I select in the map.

I don't know if this is something that has disappeared since 2008 version or if it's something that only affects us Canucks.

Perhaps someone who still has 2008 installed can help.

...ken...

Is it giving you the opportunity to enter search criteria?

Not in the search results pane. It just says "No active searches" in white letters on a red background as the first line in the search results pane.

I can enter search criteria in the normal search box below the toolbar but if I use, for example, "ski" I just get the normal "Find" dialog box pop-up with some bizarre results from some places in Slovakia followed by some "Ski Lake"s in Oklahoma, California, Texas (2), and similar stuff.

...ken...

The first year this feature appeared (IIRC S&T2008) the feature was more intuitive (IMHO). People didn't have to ask how to use it. Now they do How to use Live Search (Ctrl+K) in Microsoft Streets and Trips

Thanks, Marvin. That part (clicking on the first line in the search results) works for me. The only thing that's bothersome is that it seems to be ignoring the full area of the map I have displayed in the map window.

I have it centered on Calgary and the zoom slider set to 175 mi.

I entered the word "ski" in the search box. I clicked on the first item in the search results list and it contains relevant stuff. The problem is that all twenty-five results are concentrated in downtown Calgary. I have made sure the area showing in the map pane includes, for instance, Canmore, which has both businesses and ski areas but nothing shows up from there.

I found that with the same map area showing in the map pane, selecting "Show in Bing Maps" and then entering "ski" in the category or business box in the browser window is much more useful. It catches places in Kananaskis and Canmore as well as just the Calgary businesses.

As it stands, I see no value in Live Search, unless I'm missing something. Just showing the area in Bing Maps and using its search features is simpler and yields far better results. In my opinion.

...ken...

Ken, there is a limit of 25 items that can be shown at one time (AFAIK). Your map must have been centered on Calgary, and because there were so many "ski" POIs in that city, the search displayed only the ones in Calgary (the first 25 results that were the closest to the center of the map). Move the center of the map to where you wish to search (for example Canmore, Alberta), and then search again.

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I have been back through the help instructions and the troubleshooting section. The trouble guide says the error code could be the result of 1) a lack of connectivity or 2) the website being down. I am certain I have connectivity. And, I think the website must be working, because the thread participants are able to do testing.

This leads me to think I have a problem with my S&T software, a virus, or my anti-virus/spyware is interfering. I don't think it is a virus, because I update my viral programs constantly and test regularly. So, how might I test for an internal software problem and viral protection program(s) interference?

Thanks to all....

I hesitate to suggest this but it's what I would do: turn off both your anti-virus and your firewall and try again. Don't run anything else, just S&T and do the test to see if that works.

If it works, try rerunning the AV and the firewall ONLY one at a time with a test after each to see which is the culprit.

It may be something else, but at least that will eliminate the fairly obvious.

...ken...

Thanks for the explanation, Marvin.

...ken...

Thanks for the suggestions... I will test and re-post...

I have tested and still have the same problem. I put in an email to Gladwin. I hope to hear from him, soon.

Here is a screen shot

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