Searching for folders on a Windows 7 computer. How to quickly find files, folders and search programs in Windows! Indexing options and Windows Search services
The Windows operating system provides standard tools that search for folders and files on external and local media, which is available to every user, regardless of the OS version. This is why users are often interested in how to enable search in Windows 7.
How to properly enable search in Windows 7?
To launch the search engine in Windows version 7, you will have to open Explorer and find a suitable folder in it. After the procedure, the corresponding search process begins, and in the case when it is not known in which folder the desired file is located, select the “My Computer” section so that the device activates searches across all disks at once.
Through the search line, they search for files of any format by entering a basic word or an entire phrase. The search is carried out by analogy with the work of any search engine. Gradually entering a word into a line starts the system and it analyzes the files, displaying the finished result on the monitor.
Using search filters
At the very beginning, it seems that the usual filters for the XP version are not available for search in the seventh version. This opinion is not correct. Entering a phrase in the line that appears causes a list of files corresponding to what you are looking for to appear at the bottom. If necessary, the conditions can be changed. To do this, click on the required filter and set its value.
Instant Search
In the seventh version of Windows, you can search for files in this way:
- Press the “Start” key and enter the required word in the search line. As you enter information, the “Start” window itself begins displaying the analyzed results. When there are a lot of them, and the user wants to get acquainted with them in more detail, he should click on the dropped queries.
- After this, the corresponding window opens. There the files are sorted, and the search query is highlighted in yellow.
- You can refine your search by scrolling to the end of the list. In the section to repeat the search, enter a suitable option. The indexer goes through files by default, excluding system and file programs. This increases the speed of operation and reduces the size of the indexer databases.
Saving search terms
Sometimes files need to be searched using identical search phrases. The saved list of conditions allows you to avoid wasting time on entering a parameter each time. To do this, you set search conditions, wait for results, and then save the conditions. In the window that opens, enter the name of the file to request again.
When you use a computer for a long time, a huge amount of information can accumulate on it over time (we are talking about Windows) - various programs, files. It is not always possible to remember what is where, and for beginners it is sometimes difficult to find the programs they need. In order not to manually climb through folders in search of the desired file or not to search for the necessary Windows programs and tools through a special control panel, you can use the built-in search and quickly find the information or program you need. In this article, I will show you how to search for the information and programs you need on computers with the Windows operating system installed (using Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 as an example).
In the article, I consider the 3 above systems as examples, since they are by far the most common. For example, Windows XP and Windows Vista have long been outdated and are used by a minimal percentage of users.
Search in Windows 7
In Windows 7, search is located in the Start menu and in all Explorer windows.
Let's first consider the most accessible search, which is the fastest to open - search in the Start menu. It's located at the very bottom of this menu:
Right there you just need to type the name of the desired file or program in whole or in part (just the beginning, for example) and Windows will try to find what you are looking for.
Example of program search
Let's say you want to find and run the Windows Uninstall Tool. In Windows 7 it is called "Add or Remove Programs".
To find this tool, in the search you just need to type “programs” (1) and after a few seconds a list will appear where you can already see the tool we need (2):
All you have to do is click on the search result and the desired program will open.
Also in this window you can see the “Programs and Features” and “Uninstall a Program” tools. It's all the same.
Example of searching for a file or folder with files
Let’s assume that on my “C:” drive in the “Documents” library there is a file with a work report called “Report for 2015”.
To find this file through the search, just type part of the name, for example “report” or “report”, and Windows will try to find everything that is with that name on your computer.
For example, I typed the query “otch” (1) into the search and my file (2) was found.
In Windows 7, you can quickly open the search tool using the keyboard shortcut: Win+F.
Search in Windows 8 and Windows 10
In Windows 8 and Windows 10, searching for information is no different in principle from what it was in Windows 7. The only difference is in the interface of the operating systems, since in new Windows it is quite different.
How to open and use search in Windows 8
Let's look at the search capabilities using Windows 8 as an example. There is also a search through the Start menu. The search button in this menu is located at the top right (magnifying glass icon).
Before searching for something, you can select a search area, namely, search in parameters, files, pictures or videos from the Internet, and also everywhere at once. To select an area, click the default area (1) and select the desired one from the list (2). If you don’t know where to look, put “Everywhere”, you will find most of everything.
For example, I want to find and open the Windows Control Panel. I selected the “Everywhere” area and entered “Control Panel”. The results appear below. What was found in Windows will be displayed in the very first options (1)?, before the line. After the dash there are options for searching via the Internet (3).
If you click on the search button (4) with a magnifying glass icon, a more detailed list of results will open, including search results for Internet sites.
Another option to open the search: while on the desktop, move the mouse cursor to the lower right corner and hold for a couple of seconds.
A panel will appear on the right, where you will see a search button at the top:
Everything works exactly the same. Let’s say you have a file somewhere on your computer called “List of Workers.” Having selected the search area (in the example “Everywhere” was selected), I enter part of the name, for example “list” (1). The results appear below, among which will be the file you are looking for (2), which can be immediately opened from this list.
In Windows 8, you can quickly open the search tool using the keyboard shortcut: Win + F.
How to open and use search in Windows 10
In Windows 10, search is located on the Windows taskbar by default:
Clicking this button will open a search window. In the bottom line (1) we indicate the search query. Let's say I want to find and open the Windows tool for removing programs from my computer, so I enter the "uninstall" part of the query (1) into the search bar. Search results will appear above, among which I see the one that suits me “Add or remove programs” (2).
You can select a search area by clicking on the default area:
From the list that opens, you can select a specific area of Windows to search, for example, search by photos, programs, documents, etc. If you want to search in all areas at once, select “All”.
Another search example. Suppose there is a “My Database” file somewhere on your computer. I enter part of the name into the search, for example “Base” (1) and in the results I get what I need (2).
In Windows 10, you can quickly open the search tool using the keyboard shortcut: Win + S.
Search through "Explorer" in Windows 7, 8, 10
It happens that there is no point in searching for a file throughout the computer, so as not to waste extra time, because searching for a file throughout the computer can take a long time, depending on the amount of information on the computer, and especially since you know approximately in which folder or on which This file can be located on your local disk. To do this, it’s easier to use a search in a separate folder or local drive, i.e. through the Windows Explorer program. Let's look at an example based on Windows 7.
In Windows 8 and 10, searching through Explorer is absolutely no different!
Search in Explorer is located at the top right (1). When you open a folder, the search bar will indicate where the search will be performed (where you are now). For example, now I have the “Program Files” folder (2) open.
Let's say I want to find the "Drivers" folder in the "Program Files" folder where I am now. To do this, in the search at the top right (1) I write “drivers” or you can enter the first few letters (in case you don’t remember the full name). The results will appear below (2).
All that remains is to open the desired file, folder or program directly from the search results!
It can also sometimes be useful to use a filter when searching, for example, to search for files, folders and programs by a certain size or modification date. When you enter the name of what you are looking for, the filter modes will appear below:
Let's look at another example...
Somewhere on my “C:” drive I have a file for work called “Publish on the site.” Knowing that the file is located on the “C:” drive, I need to open Windows Explorer, and then this local drive in it. In the search, I type the beginning of the file name “published” (1) and the system finds the file I need (2), indicating below its location on the computer.
Tip for finding files. When searching for files in Windows, you can search by file extensions. For example, if you want to find all files with the extension .txt, then type *.txt in the search. Where * will mean that files with any names will be searched, but with the extension .txt.
Conclusion
Use Windows Search to quickly open programs and files that you have located somewhere deep in Explorer. This way you will save time. And of course, you shouldn’t try to search for the required file or folder manually all over your computer for a long time, since first of all you should use a regular search.
Have a nice day and good mood! ;)
Almost all users who switched from Windows XP to “Seven” were disappointed by the more meager set of search functions, since, at first glance, the search for programs and files in Windows 7 is not equipped with the usual filters. However, if you know the basic techniques for using the system in order to find the necessary data on the computer, it will not require a significant investment of time and effort, even for novice users. Below are all the main methods on how to quickly find any file or program on a computer with Windows 7.
Using the Start button
You need to do the following:
Note: As you can see from the example above, this same method allows you to find the program, not just the files.
As an example of quickly finding and launching a utility, consider launching the “Console”. You can simply type “cmd” in the same column, and a link to open the “Command Prompt” will appear in the top line.
Using a special search interface "Windows 7"
Of course, the relevance of this method has almost completely disappeared after specialists from Microsoft introduced a search field directly in the start menu, but knowing about its capabilities will be useful for any owner of a computer running a “Seven”.
The following sequential steps are required:
Via Explorer
The algorithm of actions consists of the following stages:
How to configure search parameters
The following steps need to be taken:
Quick search by file type
In the case when the user knows the type of file being searched, you can specify its extension, and only specific types of files will be displayed: images, videos, text, audio, etc.
To perform the operation only among “Word” files, you need to type the extension “*.doc” or “*.docx” in the column. Instead of *, enter characters from the document name. The procedure for Excel is similar, only “*.xls” or “*.xlsx” is used.
Examples for searching images, videos, text and audio files:
*.jpg, *.avi, *.txt, “*.mp3”. 
Search by content
“Seven” has a convenient ability to find the file you need by the text it contains. For example, the user knows that inside the document there are definitely characters printed sequentially and next to each other - “Shovel”.
To identify the location of a file with such a word, you will need to perform the following steps of sequential actions:
Note: the search procedure will now take the user several times longer, so it is recommended to use this filter only when the others do not allow you to obtain a successful result.
Fixing search parameters
Users usually need to use the same search parameters. In Windows 7, there is a convenient option for saving them in order to eliminate the time wasted on re-entering them in the future.
For this purpose, it is enough to specify the necessary parameters once and, having received the result, click “Save conditions”. Next, a menu will be displayed in which you should type the name of the request and click “Save”.
During the next search with similar parameters, the user will only need to enter the “Favorites” section and click on the previously specified name of the request.
Very often we need to find files or folders on our hard drive that are definitely there, but we can’t remember where exactly. We always have a file search at our disposal in Windows 7. In order for us to be able to find any objects on our computer, we just need to enter the name of the required directory or file into the start menu. Your device will then search for the required information. You will see elements that contain the query you entered or parts of it in their name.
But it’s fair to say that this is not always enough to ensure that searching for files in Windows 7 is successful. The above steps cannot guarantee that you will find the necessary information on your computer or laptop. There are cases when you need to find a document or documents that contain certain words in their title in the text. For example, if you are looking for the name of free computer courses, but Seven does not support this function by default.
Let's figure out how to set up file search in Windows 7. In order to do this, you need to open your computer and on the left side click on the organizing tab, where you need to select options for folders and search.
A settings and settings window will open in front of you, in which you need to click on the search section at the top and select the search process for files by name and content. For these parameters to take effect, confirm them with the “Ok” button. If you did everything correctly, the system on your device will search for data not only by its name, but also by its content. Moreover, it will not depend on what types of files in Windows 7 you are looking for.
Now let's check the work done. This must be done in order to make sure that everything will now work correctly for us. For this purpose, you need to re-open your computer, where in the search field you need to enter the required word that will be contained in the searched data. As an example, let's try to find data that contains the keyword “quality”. Searching for files in Windows 7 begins immediately after a word or phrase is entered into the field, meaning there is no need to click or confirm anything to start it.
Once your machine completes the search task for the keyword you entered, below you will see a list of files in which the word we entered “quality” will appear. You should also remember that after finishing your search, you need to change the settings (the ones you set to the default ones). This must be done in order to reduce search time in the future. Indeed, with the settings that we are talking about, it occurs not only by the name of the data, but also by its content.
If you know approximately where the folder or file you need is located, then go to this directory in Explorer and enter the required information there. This way, searching for files in Windows 7 will be much faster. That's all I wanted to tell you. Use it for your health!
In Windows 7, the search service does a pretty good job. Thanks to indexing of computer files, the search for the necessary information occurs almost instantly. But, unfortunately, troubles happen. It happens that the search refuses to work and produces an error, for example, like this: Cannot find “search:query=information”. Check if the name is correct and try again .
I think that there is no need to rack your brains over the reasons for such an error. It will be much more effective to go directly to fixing the problem. I will give several ways to restore search functionality in order of their effectiveness.
1. First of all, you need to check if the service is running. To do this, click Start, right-click on the item Computer and in the context menu select Control.
In the window that appears, on the left, we need to select Services. In the list that opens, find and check the status - if the service is disabled, then you need to enable it.
To do this, in the service properties, click Launch, Startup type put - Automatically.
2. The second method is to clean boot Windows. Its essence is that services and programs that are not related to the operation of the operating system are disabled. Windows boots “naked”, just like when you first start it. I wrote about how to perform a clean boot. If the search works during a clean boot, then the problem is in the installed programs.
3. Check the search parameters in folders. To do this we go to Control Panel and looking for Folders settings, then click on the link of the same name.
In the window go to the tab Search, and then press Restore Defaults, and then OK.
4. Check the indexing settings. IN Control panels we search and open.
There we press the button Change.
We check that all elements are ticked. Click OK.
Now go back to the window and press the button Additionally. Approximately in the middle of the window that appears there will be a button Rebuild- press it.
5. If there is a restore point, you can try to restore the system from the specified point. The problem is that not everyone sets up . But if it does exist, then this method may turn out to be the most effective.
6. Try creating a new user. Perhaps the existing profile has become corrupted and some system files have been deleted - anything can happen. If the search works under the new user, then it is no longer advisable to use the old profile.
I told you everything I remembered. If you know any other ways to “treat” search, then share them in the comments - perhaps your answer will be useful :).
Also read on this topic:
Searching for a file in Windows by its contents using the XYplorer program
Windows Media Player does not work. What to do?
How to create a restore point in Windows 7?
Automatic login to Windows 7. Setting up autologin
How to increase the page file in Windows 7