from http://visguy.com/vgforum/index.php?topic=9021.0
This problem is as old as Visio itself I guess :-
Visio shape search depends on Windows search (it is searching for shapes using the windows search service).
The guy who came up with this "brilliant" design decision might be on pension already...
So you need to make sure windows search works. Means:
- Windows Search service exists and is functional (not disabled along with Cortana by some "system optimizer" program for example)
- The folders containing Visio shapes (.vss or .vssx files) are included in the list of folders to index and are indexed by the windows search service.
I think the last thread you mentioned nails it pretty good...
Have you verified that you can find the shapes using windows explorer (please see that post)?