I want to be able to enter complex KPL search queries but I need to know what properties are available to search on for the site and its sub sites.  How can I get this list without having admin privileges?  As I understand there may be managed and crawled properties.  Are there other kinds of properties?  I'm pretty new to SharePoint and so far am pretty frustrated at my lack of success in being able to find what I'm looking for.

Thanks,

Greg

You want to use Managed Properties. Most are defined at the search service application in central administration, however they are exposed at the site collection level also. In order to get a list of managed properties either through code or the UI you must be at least a Site Collection administrator.