5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: narrowing the at least one search result while the user search input is being received within the File Open dialog box, wherein the displaying is performed while the user search input is being received.
1. A method for modifying a File Open dialog to enable searching for a file, comprising: writing a namespace extension to organize a file system into a tree-structured hierarchy of files and folders; building a customized shell view within a File Open dialog box based on the namespace extension by implementing a Component Object Model (COM) interface to display or perform an operation on contents of said customized shell via a user input device; providing a channel of communication between a view object and said File Open dialog via a second COM interface; providing a channel of communication between said File Open dialog and said customized shell view via a third COM interface; hosting a Shell browser via a fourth COM interface; receiving a user search input within the customized File Open dialog box; searching for a file indicated by the user search input; and displaying at least one search result within the customized File Open dialog box via a user output device.