Search for a file for a specified period. How to save search terms
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I spent enough yesterday a large number of time to search for one file that I had on my hard drive. I haven’t used it for a long time, and I completely forgot where it is. And this is where the search came to my rescue. Therefore, I decided in today’s article to describe such a topic - how to find a file on windows computer 10. It will be interesting! Go!
Standard search
This way you can find a file by word. There is a magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the screen. Let's click on it.
Let's say we are looking for some Windows function. We write a piece of its name, and the system itself will provide options for the found components.
If you know in which group or folder the utility or file is located, then click here.
The system will display a list of partitions. You can select one or more sections. Then the search will be more accurate and it will take less time.
And if you only know part of the file name, you can only maintain that part. The system will still find the data if it is on the hard drive.
Search through Explorer
This way you can find a file by word in the text or by creation date. Open any folder and pay attention to this area.
It is in the folder in which you are located that the search will take place. We write the name of the file or folder, and the system will immediately give us the results.
You can apply a filter and search by size.
In principle, you can search by extension in the same way.
Search by date modified or created
Searching by change creation date works almost the same way. Open any folder and enter the modification date in the search bar: dd...mm.yyyy. For example, like in the picture below.
Please note that in this case there will be quite a lot of files.
Addition
Many resort to downloading a program that helps in searching for files. For example, to find a game from the app store. The problem is that Windows 10 is still very crude, and many software of this kind simply do not work on it. Therefore, I advise you to use only the built-in tools of the system.
Otherwise, you might just clog up the registry. Besides, this software on the new operating system it cannot find data that has not been used for a long time.
Conclusion
Well, these are all the methods that will help you quickly find a file. Windows 10 has everything for this and third party software you don't need it. By the way, here are videos that will help you understand how and what to do
Each of us has encountered a situation when we needed to find a file, but the problem is that it is not clear where it is or in what folder it is saved. It's good if we know the file name. Then searching becomes an easy task. And if not? Then you will have to look for indirect signs, be it the time of creation, size, time last change etc. With each new version Windows Microsoft is trying to increase the functionality of all applications on the system. The search function is no exception. The search itself in Windows 7 has been significantly redesigned and improved compared to WindowsXP. Windows 8 and 10 were no exception. The most noticeable difference that immediately catches your eye is various ways start the search. In Windows 7, to do this, you had to click the start button and enter the desired query there. In Windows 8 and 10, the search bar is already available on the Start screen.
In Windows 7, the programs and settings you searched for were always sorted in order of priority. In Windows 8 and 10, files, settings, applications, etc. are simultaneously displayed in search results.
The search menu in the Explorer feed allows you to filter search queries by:
- Change date
- Tipu
- Size
- Name
- The path to the folder
- Tags
You can also use complex query syntax:
- View (search by document type properties)
- Date/changes (search files by date/changes)
- Type (search files by type)
- Name (search files by name)
Let's look at specific example. Let's say we want to find some specific file, but we don’t know the exact date its creation. But we can approximately indicate the date range. Windows 8 and 10 allow you to search for files by date range.
You can search for files in two ways: using the mouse or using the keyboard. We will show in detail how to search for files by date range using each of the methods we have noted.
How to Search Files by Date Range Using the Keyboard
The method is simple, the main thing is to know the request syntax. Open a File Explorer window and enter the following query in the search field:
date modified: 03/01/2016 .. 01/08/2016
In principle, you don’t have to type using the keyboard like this long request, just type “date modified:”. A calendar will automatically open, in which, highlighting the necessary dates, we select the range we need using the mouse.
You can also search for files by typing “date created:” in the search bar. Explorer will automatically offer you search options.
How to search files by range using the mouse
In the Explorer feed, open the Search tab and click Date Modified. A list of preliminary search options will open: today, yesterday, this week, last week, etc. We select any of the proposed options and see that the condition we selected is displayed in the search field. You can specify a specific date. To do this, left-click anywhere in the search bar after the colon and the calendar will open. Select a specific date to search for files.
Now let's try to search by date range. The search can be carried out in several ways.
Try it, experiment. Combine queries, add different search parameters. If you frequently search for files using the same criteria, save your search options. To do this, on the Search tab, click Save Search Terms.
In the previous part of the article, I demonstrated searching in libraries and non-indexed places, and also talked about search operators. In this part we will talk about:
Search using calendar
I often refer to documents, pictures and archives created or modified in certain period time. To speed things up in Explorer, I saved several search terms that use the calendar.
The calendar filter works on the principle of DateType:Condition, where the condition is a time period. For example:
- date of creation: 01.11.2009 .. 31.01.2010
- date modified: earlier this week
- date of shooting: last year
When the period is specified as a specific date or range of dates (the first item in the list), the search works quite predictably. But the calendar also includes dynamic conditions for days, weeks, months and years. And I want to dwell on them in more detail, since not all conditions are listed in the calendar, and some of the ones listed there do not work quite obviously.
Built-in calendar conditions
I must admit that I did not immediately understand the logic of the conditions offered for selection in the calendar. I was especially confused by the ones that included the word “previously”. As it turned out, the trick is that the built-in conditions do not overlap each other, i.e. their periods do not overlap. It is difficult to describe in words - it is better to see once than to hear a hundred times. Imagine today is March 18, 2010 and look at the picture below.
As you can see, neither period is included in the other. Therefore, searching using some terms may produce unexpected results. You might be expecting to find a modified date: earlier this week All files changed this week. I have to disappoint you - the results will not contain files edited yesterday and today. But this is not a mistake, since "earlier this week" means "this week, but earlier than yesterday."
A similar situation occurs with the condition “earlier this month,” meaning “earlier than last week.” Moreover, this condition basically cannot find anything if less than two weeks have passed since the beginning of the month.
I believe that the search designers chose this logic in order to clearly delimit the results and make each query unique, i.e. the same files are not located in different time periods. However, they could have done differently because the calendar supports other conditions.
Additional calendar conditions
Unlike those built into the calendar, additional conditions behave more predictably.
As you can see, each period includes all the previous ones. Thus, “this week” finds all files since Monday, and “this month” finds all files since the beginning of the month.
Calendar terms and search operators
Surprisingly, among such a variety of conditions, I did not find what I needed. And I just wanted to find files that were changed only today and yesterday. The thing is that sometimes my workday stretches past midnight, and I need to quickly display only the files created throughout it. Search operators came to the rescue, which I described in detail in the previous article. The table below provides examples of queries using various conditions calendar and search operators. Of course, they can be supplemented with other conditions, first of all keyword to search by file name or content.
| To find | Use request |
| files modified today | date modified:today |
| documents modified in the last two days (today and yesterday) | view:=document date modified:>earlier this week Very convenient request to search for the latest documents. |
| pictures created this week | view:=image date created:this week view:=image creation date>:last week The second query option means “newer than last week.” |
| letters received this month | type:=mail date of receipt:this month type:=mail date of receipt:>last month The second query option means “newer than last month.” |
| emails sent this month but earlier than last week | view:=mail sent date:earlier this month In fact, this condition only finds anything starting from the third week of the month. |
| photos taken more than a month ago | shooting date:<в этом месяце |
| photos taken more than two months ago | shooting date:<в прошлом месяце |
I hope the logic is clear. Searching by year works on the same principle as searching by month and week. You can use the conditions "this year" and "last year" by combining them with operators.
Such a detailed analysis of the calendar was partly a prelude to the story about saving search terms. From the examples in the next section it will become clear why I paid so much attention to this issue.
Saving search terms
After performing a search and getting the desired result, you can click the button on the Explorer panel Save search terms to use them in the future.
It is the conditions that are saved, not the list of results, which is very convenient. If at some point you create or add files to disk that match previously saved search conditions, they will be found without problems.
By default, terms are saved in your profile's Searches folder in a file with a .search-ms extension, and the shortcut is pinned to the Favorites section of the Explorer navigation pane.
I'll give you three examples of search terms that I've saved and use most often, starting with the easiest ones.
Search by file extension
I use the playlist search for my music player all the time. I have many folders in my music library with albums, each with a playlist, and they can be in different formats. Saved searches help me display all my playlists at once, regardless of their format, with one click. The search terms are very simple: *.m3u OR *.plc OR *.wpl, i.e. I'm just looking for lists by file extension.
Of course, modern players have their own libraries, where in addition to search capabilities there are various sorting options. But search in Windows is universal in that its results can be easily “dropped” into any program. To the default player - using the button Play on the Explorer panel, and in any other - simply by dragging the mouse.
Search by file type and time period
There are tasks that all users perform in Explorer, including even hardcore fans of alternative file managers. Examples include attaching attachments to letters or uploading pictures to a website, i.e. any use of the Open dialog box. Often, we refer to a document that was modified today or a screenshot that we just took. Yes, you can navigate through the folder tree, taking your time getting to necessary files. But you can navigate to them with one click if you simultaneously search by type or file type and time period.
I discussed the calendar in detail in the previous section of the article, and here is an example of practical use. This is a search in the Documents library for specific file types that were changed yesterday and today:
*.doc OR *.xls OR *.ppt OR *.txt modified date: >earlier this week
It can be easily modified to search for pictures in the Images library:
View:=image date modified:>earlier this week
I have both conditions saved in Explorer’s “Favorites” and greatly speed up uploading files to the network and attaching attachments. The only pity is that some programs still use the “old” type of “Open” dialog, which does not have a navigation area and a “Favorites” menu (if desired, a link to the folder with favorites can be placed in the left pane of the window, but this issue is beyond scope of this article).
Search by location
Because every time it's done new search, you can also search in its results. Therefore, you can keep your search criteria relatively broad. For example, you can go to your Downloads folder or to external USB drive, find all archives by query *.zip OR *.rar OR *.7z and save the condition. You can narrow it down later additional search in the results - by name, size or date, as you wish. The point of this approach is to save the time it takes to enter a query into the search field. Imagine that a search query is a certain virtual folder, and you can create as many such folders as you like. If you frequently search a specific location, try saving and using your terms.
Federated Search
The word "federation" is of Latin origin and means "union". With federated search, users can search across multiple resources from a single location—Windows Explorer. The benefits of federated search can primarily be taken advantage of by organizations that have network resources and internal portals (intranets). In this case, what such a portal is built on does not play a special role. Windows 7 supports connecting external search sources using the OpenSearch protocol, so the only search requirement is the ability to display results in XML format.
Possibilities
Windows 7 supports OpenSearch 1.1 and the following data formats:
- RSS 2.0, 1.0, 0.91 & 0.92
- Atom 0.3 & 1.0
- MediaRSS (content and thumbnails)
Authentication is possible using the NTLM and Kerberos protocols, as well as basic authentication via HTTPS.
For users, such a search turns out to be no more difficult than a local search. Search query entered as usual, simply selecting the search connector that matches the desired resource. This is what search results look like from Windows 7 Explorer for a site on SharePoint 2007:
The files that appear in the results are not moved to the client computer until the user opens or previews the document.
By integrating with Explorer, the following benefits are available:
- search in Explorer windows and in the “Open” and “Save As” dialogs
- display of files and documents with familiar application icons
- opportunity quick view documents in the explorer panel
- navigate to the web resource in the browser, if necessary
Federated search in an organization
To provide users with federated search, you need to:
- Enable or embed output on a web service search results according to OpenSearch in RSS or Atom formats.
- Create an OSDX file describing the connection to the service and the XML element diagram.
- Deploy the Search connector to client computers.
The first two tasks should be within the capabilities of a web developer armed with the document Windows 7 Federated Search Provider Implementer’s Guide (there is information in Russian, for example, and ). Well, even the most experienced person can handle the third effortlessly System Administrator. A search connector is an XML file with the extension .searchconnector-ms. It is automatically created when you run the OSDX file, and the link is immediately added to the “Favorites” navigation area of Explorer. To create all conditions for a user, you can simply place the connector in %userprofile%\searches and the shortcut in %userprofile%\links. Thus, the whole trick comes down to copying the necessary files to the client computer - this is a typical task.
You can pin the Search connector to the Start menu and place it in File Explorer (in the "Repeat Search" area at the bottom of the search results window), making it even more accessible to users. For this purpose in Windows 7 is intended group policy“Attach libraries or search connectors to the Retry Search and Start Menu links.” As the name suggests, it can also be used to pin links to libraries.
You can pin up to five links in total. The policy is located in the section User Configuration – Administrative Templates – Windows components– Windows Explorer.
To display the connector, just specify the path (without quotes) to existing file .searchConnector-m s, or .Library-ms, if you need to display the library. The principle of operation of the policy is described in detail directly in the editor.
Federated Home Search
Federated search isn't just for organizations. Home users can use it, for example, to send requests to a website or search service from the explorer window. Again, the Internet service must support the OpenSearch standard. Most major web services support it - for example, Bing, Yahoo, eBay, YouTube. Nice selection ready-made OSDX files can be found on this page. If your favorite website search doesn't support OpenSearch, you can always search the site using third party service. Below is an example of searching OSZone.net using Bing.
You can easily change the example to suit your needs. Copy the code into notepad and replace the text highlighted in red with the address of the site you need. Then press the keyboard shortcut CTRL+S and save the file with any name and extension.osdx, enclosing both in quotes - for example, “mysearch.osdx”. Now you can double-click the file to add your custom Search connector to your Explorer Favorites and Searches folder.
You can navigate to a web page from the results of such a search by simply clicking. You can also use the area preview– the display of pages in it, of course, depends on the design of the website and the width of the area. Finally, you can navigate to the search results on the website by clicking the button in the Explorer bar
As you can see, federated search has great flexibility - you can search on any network resource without leaving the explorer.
I've dedicated three articles to the main features Windows search 7, but has not yet exhausted the topics for conversation. In the next article, I want to look at search as a special way of navigating the disk. It's about about the integration of search with Explorer - its capabilities and advantages compared to previous Microsoft operating systems and alternative ones file managers. I'll also cover the topic of search troubleshooting, which didn't have a place in this article.
It's time to move from theory to practice and look at search filters in action.
Search within the index
I already said that the display of search results corresponds to the library in which it was executed. Then I came from the end, since the search still begins with a request. In each library, the set of proposed filters also corresponds to its type.
Example of searching in the Documents library
In the library search field Documentation the same filters are displayed as in the main search window (WIN+F).
Let's say I need to find a document Microsoft Word, which I created in the spring or summer. The name is not preserved in my memory, and I remember the contents very vaguely. Let's check the search in action? Selecting filters:
Doc and move to the extension .doc or .docx
dock or wo and select from the list Microsoft document Office Word or Document Microsoft Office Word 97 - 2003
Type- a list of file extensions is dynamically displayed. You can select a type from the list, or type on the keyboard:
Date of change- the calendar opens. It already has terms with different statutes of limitations, such as Earlier this year. There is no “summer and spring” option, but it’s easy to create it yourself - just type March..August. Do you prefer a mouse? Go to August and click on the 31st. Then by March and holding down the key SHIFT, click 1 number. You've probably selected several files with the key more than once SHIFT- the calendar has the same principle. The resulting range will be 03/01/2009 .. 08/31/2009.
When you use multiple filters at the same time, they are combined. In my example, there are documents that meet all three conditions. As a result, there are about a dozen files left, among which it is not difficult to find the one you need, if necessary, using the ordering of results in Explorer or sorting in tabular mode.
Notice that I didn't even use the file name or contents of the document in the search.
To change a filter, just click on its parameter in the search field. You can then select another parameter or enter it using the keyboard.
Example of a search in the Music library
In library Music filters are offered that match the properties music file(tags).
For example, in my music collection I want to find a beautiful long composition by Jose Padilla, but, of course, I don’t remember the name. I enter the musician's last name into the search - padilla. If you click the Duration filter, the search will offer several options - all you have to do is select the one you need.
The results can then be sorted by duration in Explorer by going into Tabular mode. If column Duration you don't have it, click right click mouse over any column to add it from the menu.
If you don't store your music in a custom folder Music, and on another partition, add the folder to the music library - it will be more convenient to search.
Example of searching in the Images library
The above advice can also be applied to pictures and photographs - there is a library for them Images, and the corresponding filter sets in it. You probably have a lot of digital photos. Search will help you find what you need if you formulate your request correctly. With a little ingenuity, you can easily find the photos you need, even if they all have the same names like IMG_3046.JPG.
Let's say I want to find photos that were taken last summer. I know they're in JPEG format, and I remember exactly that they were cropped, i.e. their size is smaller than the standard one created by the camera. I'll try:
Shooting date- range 06/01/2008 .. 08/31/2008.
Type- .JPG.
Size - <3мб. Такого размера нет в динамическом списке, я использовал один из логических операторов поиска, о которых подробнее расскажу ниже.
For complete happiness, I can even filter by the model of the camera on which the shooting was made in order to exclude unnecessary ones (for example, other people's cameras).
The cameramodel filter is not listed under the search window, but it is very easy to find - open the tab Details in the properties of any photo. All properties can be used as filters - from photo width to focal length.
Filters View And Type work together. If you set, for example, the form Image, then the filter Type will dynamically display only image file extensions - JPEG, GIF, PNG, etc.
Library Search Video try it yourself, and I’ll tell you about searching for mail.
Mail search example
With Windows Search, you can easily find email messages from applications that use Windows 7 search capabilities. Of course, Microsoft Outlook 2007 and Windows Live Mail are perfectly integrated with Windows 7 Search, and their search index is based on its index. For example, if Outlook 2007 is installed on Windows XP, for a full search you will need Windows Desktop Search, but everything is already built into Windows 7.
Of course, email programs have their own search, where you can set search conditions in the graphical interface. Moreover, the power of Windows 7 search can also be used by third-party email programs. Take a look at search in Mozilla Thunderbird, an open-source email client that added Windows 7 search integration in version 3.x.
Mastering the search tools in File Explorer is perhaps the most important thing you need to know. And the biggest productivity gains come when you realize that you can save files in one folder and quickly find them there, instead of the time-consuming and tedious process of organizing nested folders.
Each search in the file explorer consists of three parts:
Search area. This is where you conduct your search. This could be a folder (with or without subfolders), a library, or another search location.
Filters. To limit the search results, you can use specific filters - by date, file type, tags and other details, usually selected from a list or control element.
Search terms. This is the text you enter into the search field. Windows finds files and folders that match your search criteria by file name or content.
Of course, you can search for files using the search field on the taskbar. Type the term you want into the search, then click one of the small icons at the top of the list of results to see documents, folders, images, music files or videos that match that term.
However, there's more to it than just a search; the search field in File Explorer is a logical starting point.
Create a search using the feed
Over the years, the tools for creating searches in Windows have evolved greatly. In Windows 10, you can create searches using point-and-click list collections. In the upper right corner of the file explorer window, click in the search field and the search tool ribbon will open.
These search tools appear only after you position your cursor in the search field. For more complex searches, you can combine multiple criteria.
The search tools you select are applied in the context you specify. For example, in the image above, OneDrive is selected in the navigation bar, and the location on the ribbon is the All Subfolders group (default). By clicking the "Changed by date" criterion and selecting "Today" from the drop-down list, you will see two files that were added or changed in the OneDrive folder today.
If you are looking for notes you created after a meeting and remember that the meeting was in this month, you can, in the change by date section, click on the “Last month” option. If the number of results is too large, apply additional filters or click in the search field and enter a word or phrase that you know in the file name or its content.
The top three filters in the Refine group on the Search Tools tab include:
Change by date. This property specifies the new date of the saved file or folder that was created or last modified. For a downloaded program file, the date shown is when you saved the file locally, not the date it was created by the developer.
Sign. This field shows predefined groups of file attributes, including some items not stored in Explorer. The most common choice is a document, which includes text files, any office and PDF files. If you're looking for digital media files, try the word music or images.
Size. This value suggests a range of sizes. If you want to clean up your system disk, select "Large" (16 to 128 MB) or "Giant" (more than 128 MB) size. This is a great way to find large files that you can safely delete or archive to an external drive.
Click the "More Properties" option on the Search Tools tab and view four additional filters that you can use to refine your search results:
Type. This property uses the file type attribute. You can enter a file extension (such as pdf, xls, or docx) or some part of the description (such as Excel, Word, image, text, or folder).
Name. Here you can enter a text string. The results list will show any files or folders containing that string in their name.
The path to the folder. Enter a text string here. The result list will show all files and folders containing this string in the full path. For example, enter doc; the results will include all files and folders in the My Documents folder and any of its subfolders (since Documents is part of the path for these subfolders), as well as the contents of any other folders whose name has these three letters.
Tags. Almost all data files contain this field, which is stored as metadata in the file itself. You can add one or more tags for any file in the Parts panel or the Parts tab properties dialog box.
Using tags for precise searches
Entering tags requires extra effort, but it's worth it, especially on larger projects. The benefit of adding tags to a group of files, such as "Project X" or "2016 Finance" is that you can expect to find those files even if there is no tag text in the file name or content. Because tags are stored as metadata, they can be used to identify files as part of a project group.
You can create a search by combining values from different areas. For example, in the list of changes by date, you can enter - this week, and in the characteristics area - document. The result filters out all items older than the start of the current week and any files that do not match the specified criteria, such as MP3 files and photos.
However, in the drop-down list, you cannot select more than one value for a particular field. For example, if you specified a value of last week, it will replace any previously specified value.
Using filters to find groups of files
Using the Ribbon tab's search tools for periodic, one-time precision searches is often faster and more flexible than switching to the details view in the file explorer and using its built-in filtering options. The figure below shows an example of filtering files in a library by type. Unlike the File Explorer options, in the Search Tools tab, you can specify multiple file types by checking the boxes in the type drop-down list.
In detail view, click on the right edge of any column header and open the drop-down list built from the contents of that folder, then check the boxes to view the corresponding files.
It should be noted that this method only filters what is currently displayed in the content panel, usually the content of a folder or library. Subfolders are not searched.
Combined search and filters
To increase the filters' capabilities in the detail view so that they include all subfolders, click in the search field and enter the wildcard *. Now the list will display all the files and folders of the current folder and all its subfolders. After that, to refine your results, you can switch to the detail view and use the filter drop-down list on any column header.
The change filter by date is worth noting. As shown in the following figure, it displays the current month's calendar and just below, some predefined parameters.
Managing your calendar looks simple, but has more options than it seems.
The list of options at the bottom is dynamic, showing only alternatives that return valid search results. This is the main difference from the fixed menu of the search tools tab.
Calendar management is much more versatile than it seems. By default, the current month is displayed. Click on the month title, which will change the display to all 12 months of the current year:
In this view, you can use the Shift key and click or click and drag to select several consecutive months in the same year. (Unfortunately, you can't Ctrl+click and select non-adjacent months.)
Click on the year title and view all 10 years of the current decade:
Additionally, you can click and drag to view files from two or more consecutive years. This is convenient if you are viewing a multi-year archive of files and folders.
If you like the calendar management feature, you can add it to your searches in the main search window. To do this, click in the search box and enter datemodified:(don't forget the colon). If there is already a datemodified filter in the search window, click on it (note that in the list below the calendar, you can select several options):
This calendar control works exactly the same as the headings option in the detail view's change by date filter. However, the fixed menu options are slightly different.
Creating complex searches
Search capabilities in Windows 10 are a direct descendant of the Date function. These original search tools ran on something called Advanced Query Syntax (AQS), which still works today, but usually in undocumented form.
You can see some AQS remnants when you create a search using the search tools tab. Every entry you make on the feed adds a corresponding query to the search field.
The search operator is easily distinguished from the search string and is shown in blue followed by a colon. If you use an equal sign (=) and enclose the search string in quotation marks, you will force an exact match.
If you're in the mood to tinker with bits, you can try manually creating a search. For example, if you want to see only folders whose names begin with the letters A through E, in the search field, enter type:="File folder" name:(>A AND
Also, you can use a colon between a pair of dates. So the parameter datemodified:12/1/2015..1/31/2016 displays files created in the range from December 2015 to January 2016, which cannot be done in the calendar management function. Read more about this in Windows 10 Inside Out (Microsoft Press, 2015).
Saving a search
Saving search settings is a very convenient option. You can save your search and reuse it. When you save search terms, Windows writes its parameters to an XML file, which is stored in the Searches folder of the user profile. This search save format uses the search ms file extension. The beauty of saved searches is that relative dates, such as this week and last month, are revised each time you run a saved search, so the results are always what you expect.
For example, you want to quickly see all the synced OneDrive files that have been added or changed in the last week or two. How to create a saved search:
- Open your OneDrive folder by clicking its entry in the navigation bar.
- Click in the search field and enter datemodified:this week/this week or datemodified:last week/the last week.
- On the Search ribbon tab, click the Save Search Terms button.
That's all you need to do. Windows will automatically save the current search context and your date filters in a folder XML file %UserProfile%\Searches. Open this folder and double-click any saved search, which will automatically restart it.
The figure shows a collection of saved searches. To make it easier to understand what each search does, you can rename saved file searches. (Right-click your saved search, select "Rename" and change the name to something more meaningful.)
The search folder in your user profile contains all your saved searches. In this example, the default names have been changed to be more descriptive.
Using Saved Searches as a Starting Point
If you open a saved search, its results can be used as a starting point for a new search. Any terms you enter into the search field will return matching files and folders from your saved search results. For example, if you have a saved search that shows all the files you've saved to OneDrive this year, you can open it and then type something like "birthday" or mp3 into the search field. As a result, files containing the search word in the file name or the file itself will be found, but only if they are located in OneDrive and have been changed this year.
Once you've created a collection of saved searches, there are two things you can do to make it easier to access:
Pin a shortcut to the search folder in quick access. This way, you can quickly view all your saved searches and double-click to start a repeat search.
In the "Search" folder, right-click on any saved search, then select the "Pin to Start Screen" option from the context menu.
