Configure SharePoint 2007 search to display results based on Custom profile properties.

SharePoint search is very powerful feature which is not used to its full extent often. Many of SharePoint farms use custom user profile properties, but doesn't get configured to return search result based on this meta data.

Below are the step by step description how to configure custom user profile properties in search.

1.  Create a custom user profile property. Go to Central admin-SSP-User profiles and properties.
2.  View user profile profiles-click add a new user profile property.
3. Give a name to it and type of value, check the 'Indexed' box.
4. Privacy setting can be anything(everyone or only me). Many articles suggest this to be configured as everyone to display in the search. But it really doesn't matter. Whatever the privacy setting once you check the 'Indexed' checkbox the property will be crawled by the search service.

Now lets configure this property in the SSP so that based on this property search can be performed.

1.  Go to SSP-Search Administration
2. Click Managed Properties.
3. Newly created user profile property has to be included here so as to make indexing service crawl this property.
4. Click add a new property.
5. Give any name for the propery(not to make complex name the same as your profile property).
6. Select 'Include values from all crawled properties mapped'.
7. Click Add Mapping. Under Crawled properties you should see your new user profile properties.
8. Most commonly you would not see you newly added user profile property here. To do so start a incremental crawl for the content source.
9. Now go back to your Crawled properties, you will see your custom property. Select it and map it to the new meta data propery.
10. Click ok.
11. Do a full crawl.
12. Now you can perform search based on the custom user profile property added. To verify easily. Go to your mysite. Click Edit profile. You will see the new added property. Click on its value. It should redirect to the search page with the results.

Note: The newly added user profile properties should contain value to be crawled by Search service.