How to find documents in Windows 7. Advanced search in Windows or how to find a file in Windows? An example of finding a document by its content

The Windows operating system provides several ways to search for files and folders. You can use the search box in the Start menu to search for files, folders, programs, and email messages on your computer. But when I try to search for something in the Start menu, the search field is missing.

There are several options to return everything to its place.

First option

The easiest way is to try to return the search field using Windows. Open Control Panel - Programs and Features. Select a tab "Turn Windows features on or off". Finding the component Windows Search. If the component is not selected, check the box.

Click OK. Now we check whether the service is enabled or not Windows Search. To do this, open Control Panel - Administration - Services. Checking the service mode Windows Search. Must stand Automatically.

Second option

Apply. To do this, in the Start menu - Run, enter the command gpedit.msc and OK. Now we are looking for User Configuration - Administrative Templates - Start Menu and Taskbar. In the right half of the window, look for the item Remove “Search” link from the “Start” menu. Let's check the value of this parameter. Must be Not specified.

Third option

This option will be useful for those users who have a version of Windows other than Pro, Enterprise and Ultimate. Only these versions support Local Group Policy Editor.

Open the registry editor: Press the Win key + R and enter the command regedit And OK. Finding the section

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

if there is a parameter in this section NoFind- it must be removed.

Search is an integral part of the operation of any computer; in fact, it is its most important function. If you, say, need to find answers to basic questions, then, of course, there is no point in bothering with search settings. However, if you set more complex tasks for yourself and the computer, and the end result is important to you, it’s better to worry about it. A standard search in Windows 7, of course, will bear fruit and will produce many results, but will they be suitable and necessary? The question is rhetorical, but if you are still concerned about properly setting up your computer, I offer variations on the topic of how to modernize/improve the built-in search in Windows 7.

First of all, let's understand how the search happens. You can only find indexed files and folders, that is, those that have been assigned an index. It is assigned to all elements that are in standard folders. In order to set up indexing, you need to do the following: go to the start menu, look for “search options” and select “Change search options for folders and files” in the drop-down list. In the window that appears, select the “Search” tab and check the boxes wherever you see fit, but it’s better to do it as in the picture below. By the way, I advise you not to choose a search by file name, but to give preference to indexed applications, this way you will limit yourself from unnecessary garbage.

It also wouldn't hurt to set up indexing by extension. To do this, click on the “Advanced” - “File Types” tab. This allows you to index exactly the contents of the folder if you decide to search by this parameter. Then everything is as usual: click “OK”, and go ahead, search through files in Windows 7. And in order for the search to happen as quickly as possible, from time to time use programs to speed up the work of Windows 7.

Search sources

In order to consolidate the material, let's clearly formulate the places where an extensive search for information will be carried out, namely:

  • Start menu;
  • main search window;
  • libraries;
  • other explorer windows, such as folders, open, save as.

In general, if you calmly sit down and figure it out, setting up a search turns out to be a fairly simple process. To do this, you don’t need to have any specialized knowledge at all, just follow the simple tips in this article, and I’m sure everything will work out for you!

userologia.ru

Finding files in windows 7

Good afternoon friends! Today we will continue our lessons with the Windows 7 operating system and learn another secret - how to properly configure and search for files in Windows 7.

It would seem, what’s wrong with that? A search engine is a search engine. I switched to seven about a year ago. And to be honest, in XP I tried not to use the built-in search engine. Absolutely inconvenient. And what you need is either not found, or found, but the process sometimes drags on for several hours.

I didn't expect much from 7. But just the other day, this OS pleasantly surprised me. I needed to search for one file in Windows 7, I didn’t remember its exact name, but I typed part of the name... and received my file in less than 2-3 seconds. Now I only use the built-in search engine.

Indexing service in windows 7

Microsoft developers did a good job. 7's search tool compares favorably with previous operating systems of this family not only in quality, but also in search speed.

My favorite browser is Chrome, and its search mechanism is very similar to the mechanism in Windows 7. The search begins its work as soon as you enter the first characters. In addition, there is a hint system based on the history of previous requests. If too many results are returned for a search query, the system suggests using dynamic filtering based on various criteria - date, file size, type, etc.

The basis for such effective work of the OS search engine is a special indexing service. It launches along with the operating system, works in the background, and creates a special database of file information. Updating and restoring the index in the event of any failure also occurs automatically, without user intervention.

It should be noted that the OS allocates a certain system resource for the operation of this service. For the service to work effectively, but not to the detriment of other programs, it must be configured correctly. We will definitely talk about this today.

Instantly search for files in Windows 7

7 provides two ways to instantly search for files.

  • 1. Search using the Start menu. Click on the “Start” button and enter the required search query in the search field below. For example, “Christmas tree”.

As you enter data, search results will be displayed directly in the Start window. It should be noted that the search is also carried out by the contents of the files.

If there are too many results and you want to get acquainted with them in more detail, click on the “View other results” button.

The “Search Results” window will open. The files here are already sorted by type and the search query is highlighted in yellow.

You can make your search more specific. To do this, scroll to the very bottom of the list of search results.

And in the “Repeat search in:” section, select the appropriate option.

If you assume that the file you are looking for is in the OS Library, then select this option.

If you know approximately which folder to search in, select the “Other...” option and specify a specific folder to search.

If you want to search on the Internet, click the “Internet” button.

If you want to repeat the search on the entire computer, click on the “Computer” button. By default, the indexer goes through all files except OS system files and program files. This allows you to increase search speed and reduce the size of the indexer database. But really, how often do we look for system files? It's not often. By selecting the “Computer” option, the system will repeat its search, but only more thoroughly and, accordingly, will take a longer period of time.

  • 2. The second option for instant search is to search in the “Windows Explorer” window. The principle of operation is approximately the same.

Setting up the indexing service

  • 1. Go to “Start” -> “Control Panel” -> then in the search area enter “indexing” -> select the “Indexing Options” section.

  • 2. In the window that appears, you will see all the folders for which the indexing service works. If you want to exclude any folder from the search (for example, you know that one of the partitions of your hard drive is used for backup, then, in principle, it can be removed from this list), click the “Change” button.

And uncheck the box next to the folder that you want to remove from the search engine. Next, click the “OK” button.

  • 3. Next, click on the “Advanced” button. In the window that opens, on the “Indexing Options” tab, uncheck all two boxes. In 99% of cases we do not need these functions, and therefore there is no need for additional load on the indexing service.

  • 4. If you want to transfer the index database from the system partition of your hard drive to another partition in order to free up free space on the disk, then to do this you need to specify a new folder in the “Index location” section on the same tab.

To successfully change the index database location, be sure to restart the indexing service or simply restart your computer.

  • 5. Next, go to the “File Types” tab and edit the list of file types, leaving only the most essential (with which you work). This will significantly reduce the load on the system. By default, the indexing service processes almost all file types in use.

  • 6. Finally, decide how the indexing service will process files.

If you select “Index properties only,” the indexer will process only the file name and its metadata (size, type, creation date).

If you select the “Index properties and contents of files” option, the document will be completely processed, including its contents. This will take longer and require additional system resources, but will increase the likelihood of search accuracy.

The choice is yours, my dear Reader.

  • Next, click “OK” and “Close”.

Today we looked at the capabilities of the Window 7 search service and how to configure it. In the next article I will share with you another interesting tool (though from a third-party developer), which allows you to search adapted to the Russian-speaking population, taking into account declensions and cases.

pc4me.ru

Search in windows 7. Part 1 - operating principle, setup, new features

When switching from Windows Vista, search in Windows 7 only becomes more convenient and does not contain any special surprises. This cannot be said about many Windows XP users who are just discovering everyday work in the system with such a convenient tool as instant search. Searching in Windows 7 is really very simple. But, as in any search, the goal is to find what you need, and sometimes difficulties arise with this. With this article I begin a story about how search works in Windows 7, how to configure it, how to search, and most importantly, how to find.

On this page:

How search works

You've most likely heard about an index - a set of files that contain various information about files and documents stored on disk. When you use search, it is the index files that allow you to quickly display results. The index includes various file properties, and this is not just the path, name or size. For example, all tags of MP3 files are indexed - from the author to the bit rate. For office documents, data is indexed, which can be seen in the file properties on the Details tab, document contents, and so on. If this search is new to you, I recommend reading a couple of help articles to get some background information on searching. Minimize all windows, press F1 and in the Search field in the help, enter... Search.

Indexing happens constantly - if you add, delete or change a file in a folder, it will immediately be reflected in the index.

The screenshot shows the locations that are indexed by default. Therefore, if you store your documents somewhere in F:\Documents, they will not be included in the index and will not be found by a quick search - they must be added to the index separately. Setting up the search will be discussed below.

Search and indexing settings

To be honest, the standard search settings are quite good, and most users do not need to change anything in them, especially if documents and files are stored in standard folders. To configure settings, open the Start menu and type search options into the search box.

This is how we easily used one of the search features of Windows 7 - quick access to control panel items from the Start menu.

Change search options for files and folders

I will not duplicate the parameters that are clearly visible in the screenshot.

Please note the following points:

  • By default, search within a folder searches all subfolders
  • in non-indexed locations, only file names are searched and compressed files are ignored
  • you can use language search, i.e. compose search queries in a more fluent language - for example, last week's video (there will be a lot of unexpected results mixed in here, especially in localized versions)

Indexing options and Windows Search services

Here you can configure many more settings. To add folders to the index, click Edit.

It is no coincidence that the windows and Program Files folders are excluded from the search - they will greatly increase the size of the index, and will be of little practical use. Programs can already be found by searching in the Start menu - after all, the main menu is indexed by default.

By clicking Advanced, you have access to two groups of settings:

  • indexing technical parameters
  • indexing options for file types

In the first of them, you can add encrypted files to the index, rebuild the index (which may be necessary in case of problems) and set a new location for it.

For file type (extension) you can:

  • include or exclude it from the index
  • determine whether only properties or content will be indexed
  • add new extension

For example, if your instant messaging client suddenly saves history in text files with a LOG extension, or you just need to analyze logs, their contents will not be indexed by default. But you can easily customize the search - just type log on your keyboard to move through the list of extensions and enable content search.

How to search

When starting a search, it is advisable to immediately imagine whether the search object is included in the index. As I said above, the index covers the user's profile - libraries, files, etc. Here you can find the files you need relatively easily.

But if you open the main search window and expect to find something in the Program Files or Windows folder, you may generally get the impression that “the search finds nothing” - after all, only results from the index are displayed. We'll talk about searching in non-indexed places later, but now we'll look at general search methods in Windows 7. You can search:

  • from the Start menu
  • in the main search window
  • in libraries
  • in other Explorer windows – folders, “Open” and “Save As” dialogs

Search in the Start menu

When you search from the Start menu, the search results show not only files and documents, but also programs and Control Panel items. Now you can safely give up the habit of the Windows XP era - carefully sorting applications in the Programs menu. It is enough to enter the first few letters of the program name to find it. This is much more convenient, especially if you have many programs installed.

Advice. If you use portable applications, simply add their shortcuts to the %appdata%\Microsoft\windows\Start Menu\Programs folder (you can create a subfolder for them). In search results they will be displayed in the Programs group.

In Windows 7, search results in the Start menu are very conveniently grouped, and the number of results in each group is immediately visible - this point has improved compared to Windows Vista. As you can see in the screenshot, a search for the word word finds not only Microsoft Word and WordPad applications, but also offers results in other groups.

The Start menu displays multiple results for each group, and clicking on the group name opens a search box with all the search results for the group.

Searching in the Start menu is good when you have an idea of ​​the file name or its contents - the first 5 - 10 results are visible immediately, and you don’t have to look far. In addition, the Start menu is indispensable for quickly accessing programs and Control Panel items using search.

Main search window

An empty search window can be opened by pressing the WIN + F key combination. It, in my opinion, has somewhat lost its meaning, since it no longer contains advanced file search capabilities. Searching in Explorer windows practically forces it out of the system. It seems to me that links to help on using search or a link to this article could brighten up its dull appearance.

However, the main search window still carries a payload. It opens with search results if you type a query in the Start menu and click the name of the search result group, or click See more results directly above the search field.

Libraries

Now I will explain why I separated the search in libraries and other Explorer windows. Notice how library search results are displayed. They correspond to the type of files in it and are very well perceived visually. For example, for music files, the album cover, large song name, size are displayed, and there are also “musical” options for organizing the results. This is a property of all libraries, which confirms the thesis - the capabilities of Windows 7 are best used together. In this case, it is searching in libraries, which has other advantages.

This is what a simple search in the Music library will suggest.

While in File Explorer, you can organize your search results by available file properties. The default display order is Best Results, but you can, for example, organize music files by album or genre. This feature is available along with the traditional Explorer tools of sorting and grouping (although the latter may be new to migrants with Windows XP).

In this case, the results will display several tracks from each album. You can view all the songs on an album, and then “fold” it if the one you need is not there.

If you don't find the file you need in the current folder, you can search again:

  • In libraries, both standard and those created by you.
  • All over the computer. The search is carried out in all folders on the computer, including non-indexed places, which can take a relatively long time. This is how you can search for files not included in the index if their location is unknown. In addition, searching your computer allows you to find shadow copies of deleted files, unless you have disabled system protection, of course.
  • In other locations. This method, which also allows you to find non-indexed files, may be faster than searching your entire computer. Once you know the approximate location of a file, you can select multiple folders at once. In addition, you can include network resources in the search range.
  • In the Internet. The search is performed using your default browser. It works flawlessly with Internet Explorer, but with others... well, try it yourself.

Other Explorer windows

In folders and libraries, the search field is the same as in the main window. But we must not forget that the same option is available in the “Open” and “Save As” windows, which are used even by those who prefer alternative file managers.

It is more convenient to search in folders when you know the approximate location of the file or document - in this case you will not get lost in the results. In addition, this method is useful when it is known for sure that the file is not included in the index. Finally, in the Open and Save As windows, you can quickly filter the contents of a folder using search.

I'm sure you've already tried simple search queries and you're probably completely satisfied with them. However, sooner or later you will need to find the file, and a simple query will not help with this. Next, I'll tell you how to use the advanced search capabilities of Windows 7 to find the files you need.

New advanced search features in Windows 7

To master search, of course, you need to practice using its capabilities. In articles about searching for Windows 7, I will give a number of examples that you can easily reproduce in your own home.

If you are upgrading from Windows XP, absolutely everything will be new for you in your search for Windows 7. Compared to Windows Vista, Windows 7 looks:

  • search filters have changed
  • added hints

Search filters

When you roughly know the name of the file or the topic of the document, finding the desired file is usually not difficult - you simply enter a partial or full query into the Start menu search. But this information is not always stored in the RAM of the brain, and it is simply often necessary to set special search conditions - size, modification date, or author of the file. Windows XP had a search assistant, and windows Vista had filters.

At first glance, there is nothing that stands out visually in Windows 7. In fact, filters are still there - they just become visible when you place your cursor in the search field.

Advice. To see more filters in the main search window and libraries, expand the search field - position the cursor on the separator between the field and the address bar and drag to the left.

In the screenshot you see a standard set of filters in the main search window.

Hints

Your search queries are remembered if they were entered:

  • to the search window
  • in explorer folder or library
  • in the Start menu (assuming you navigated to results and didn't just open the file)

These prompts annoy some users, and they tend to turn them off immediately. And, in my opinion, they are doing it in vain. The tips remember not only the search queries as such, but also the search filters that you specified - for example, the size or date of modification of the file. Tooltips are very convenient if you want to use the full power of Windows 7 search. The old condition can be easily changed to suit the current query, and this is faster than entering it again. And you can always delete an unnecessary hint - just select it (with the mouse or cursor) and press Delete on the keyboard.

As I said above, the new features of Windows 7 are best used together. The connection between search and libraries is not only in the display of results, but also in the formation of search conditions. In the next part of the article I will look at:

  • using filters to search libraries and mail
  • search in Internet Explorer 8
  • search in non-indexed places
  • search operators

www.outsidethebox.ms

Setting up search in Windows 7

Windows search has settings, but in most cases there is no need to change them. But if suddenly you want to change something, then to do this you need to select the Arrange drop-down menu in the Explorer program toolbar, from which you need to select Folder and Search Options. We are already familiar with this window, since we used it to configure the Explorer program. Let's go to the third tab Search (Fig. 196). All settings are here:

Rice. 196. Search settings

Homework:

  1. Create a text file, write an arbitrary phrase in it and save it under any name. Now try to find the file through the Start menu and then through the Explorer program. Search by both file name and content. If you do not see search results, then refer to the 3rd task.
  2. Find all files on your computer that are larger than 600 MB. Most likely, these will be videos and program installation files.
  3. Check your operating system's indexing settings. It is possible that you will not be able to complete the first two tasks if for some reason the logical drives of your computer are not added to the index. Add them and search again.

pc-azbuka.ru

Search in Windows 7 by content

In order to find any object on your computer, just enter the name of the file or folder you need in the Start menu. The computer will search for all files containing this name in whole or in part. But this is not always enough to find all the necessary information on your computer. There are times when you need to find document(s) with certain words in the text, for example: “free computer courses”, but by default in Windows 7 this function is disabled.

Setting up file search in Windows 7

To do this, open “Computer”, click on the “Arrange” button on the left and select “Folder and Search Options”.

After such a small setup, the search will work by file names, as well as by its contents.

Finding files in Windows 7 in practice [check]

Let's check if everything works correctly. To do this, open “Computer”, enter in the search field the word that you need to find in the files. For example, I chose the word “quality”. When you enter a word or phrase, the search will begin automatically (no need to click anything).

After the search completes the task on this word, files containing the word “quality” will appear below. You should also know that after searching for the information you need, you need to change the default settings (which were). This is due to the fact that the search will take much longer, since it searches not only the file name, but also its contents.

To quickly search in Windows 7 by content, it is best to go to the folder where your file may be located and search from there.

Over a long period of time working with a computer, a huge number of files and documents accumulate on it. To avoid cluttering the desktop, files are transferred to other storage locations. As a result, a huge number of folders and subfolders appear and it becomes increasingly difficult to find the desired file. After all, it’s difficult to remember exactly which “new folder” it is in. Fortunately, Windows has a convenient search system built into it that will help you find a file on your computer, even if you don’t remember its exact name.

Search files on PC with Windows XP/Vista/7

If you can’t find the file you need, the first thing you should do is look at the “Trash” system folder on your desktop. Suddenly you accidentally deleted it, and because of this you cannot find it in its usual place. It’s better to check right away so that you don’t later clear all the files, permanently deleting the information. Although, in fact, information deleted from the recycle bin can be restored using special programs. But this is a completely different topic, so if you are interested, read this article.

To search for files on a computer running Windows XP, do the following:

  1. Give the command “Start - Search”.
  2. Click on "Files and Folders" to launch the Find Files and Folders Wizard.
  3. Select a category, for example "Video". You can select one, several or all categories at once. Click the Find button.

Windows will find all of the above files on any PC disk partitions and external storage devices (including network ones). For example, when you put together all the movies and videos, it's time to use the search, for example, only for video files. It is also worth refining the search in order to quickly find a specific file by entering at least part of its name.

The asterisk character replaces any number of letters and numbers in the file name. For example, instead of the keyword “asterisk” you can enter “sound” - all variants of this word in the name of the searched file will be searched, for example, a file named “No sound.mp3”. Specifying only the file name extension, for example, *.docx, will detect all your Word documents in this format, for example, the file “resume.docx”.

It is also possible to assign a file search on a Windows PC to hidden files and folders.

To find files based on a keyword in a document, do the following:

  1. Give the already familiar command “Start - Search” and in the “Word or phrase in file” column, indicate a keyword, for example, “abstract”.
  2. In the file name, specify the extension, for example, “.doc”.
  3. Also specify the search location, for example, drive C. Check the desired options, for example, search in hidden and system folders, and click the “Find” button.

All documents containing the word “abstract” in DOC file format will be found.

How to find files on a PC with Windows 8/8.1/10/10.1

Having updated the version of Windows to 8 or 10, the user will notice that the search tools are assembled and configured more conveniently than in previous versions of this OS. Although at first it may be inconvenient to use them.

Search files on PC by name

  1. Give the command “This PC – Search” (search tab). In the Windows search box, enter part of the file name (or the whole name, if you remember it). Press "Enter" on your keyboard.
  2. The required file (or files) will be found (or will be found).

Search files by name extension

By remembering the file name extension you were working with, you can search for it by that name. For example, archive files most often have the extension .rar or .zip, program files (including installation packages) - .exe or .msi, etc. As a result, when searching for files by extension, you will most likely discover your loss.

It happens that you do not remember the file extension, because the Windows system does not display any file extensions by default. To enable them, do the following:

  1. Give the command “Start – Control Panel – Folder Options”.
  2. Go to the command “View – Options – Change settings for files and folders”.
  3. Uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types." For more experienced users, the “Hide protected system files” feature may be useful.
  4. Click the “Apply” and “OK” buttons in sequence.

Windows Explorer will restart and display file extensions. Having matched the one you are looking for with the extensions of similar files (by the type of file icon), enter its extension in the already familiar search bar and press the “Enter” key. Windows will find the missing file.

For example, a video clip in AVI format has disappeared. Open the familiar file search panel and enter the file extension .avi. Press Enter and review the files found.

Search files by occupied disk space

Having guessed that, for example, a two-hour movie has a large volume, for example, a video file in UltraHD format (“rip” from a Blu-Ray disc), you can enter, for example, a command to search for files larger than 10 GB.

Windows uses a command format to search for a file by size: “System.Size:>size_in_megabytes”. For example, in this case it will be the command “System.Size:>10240MB”.

With a high degree of probability, this movie will be found, for example, on an external (network) drive.

How to find hidden files

To gain access to hidden files, enable the function to show them.

  1. Go to the familiar Windows Folder Options settings window.
  2. Give the already familiar command to change folder and search settings.
  3. Enable the "Show hidden files, folders and drives" option.
  4. Click the "Apply" and "OK" buttons.

Repeat the search for the file using already familiar attributes: name and/or extension, size, etc.

Search files by keywords

Keywords in the file content (letters, documents, books, etc.) can be specified directly in the File Name field. So, if you are looking for course projects, write “coursework” in the file name.

Windows will display files with the available keywords (or phrases).

Third-party file search programs

The functionality of a file manager is endowed not only with the built-in Windows Explorer. In the past, these were Norton/Volkov Commander, Far File Manager, Total Commander, File Explorer and their analogues.

Searching for files using the Total Commander example

Text documents, regardless of their formatting, are searched by Total Commander by name, size and keywords (or phrases).


Windows will find the files you are looking for.

Finding a file on a Windows PC is not a problem. The main thing is that you do not erase it permanently by using other applications for this purpose. The Windows system already has the necessary tools for searching files, folders and disks, but if for some reason it does not suit you, use a third-party file manager, which may contain additional functions for searching files on disks.

In order to find any object on your computer, just enter the name of the file or folder you need in the Start menu. The computer will search for all files containing this name in whole or in part. But this is not always enough to find all the necessary information on your computer. There are times when you need to find document(s) with certain words in the text, for example: “free computer courses”, but by default in Windows 7 this function is disabled.

Setting up file search in Windows 7

To do this, open “Computer”, click on the “Arrange” button on the left and select “Folder and Search Options”.


After such a small setup, the search will work by file names, as well as by its contents.

Finding files in Windows 7 in practice [check]

Let's check if everything works correctly. To do this, open “Computer”, enter in the search field the word that you need to find in the files. For example, I chose the word “quality”. When you enter a word or phrase, the search will begin automatically (no need to click anything).


After the search completes the task on this word, files containing the word “quality” will appear below. You should also know that after searching for the information you need, you need to change the default settings (which were). This is due to the fact that the search will take much longer, since it searches not only the file name, but also its contents.

To quickly search by content in Windows 7, it is best to go to the folder where your file may be located and search from there.

In this article you will learn very interesting things about the built-in Windows file search and after reading the material you will be able to find even files lost in folders about which you know bits of information.

It is not difficult to guess that this article will talk about advanced search in Windows. Undoubtedly, every computer user periodically uses a form of the standard Windows “search engine,” but not everyone knows that this search engine can be used much more productively and is a difficult tool, as it might seem at first glance.

Options and parameters that expand search capabilities

Despite the fact that the title contains the word “expanding”, these same options will help us put additional screening filters on our search query for files and folders in Windows and will actually narrow the number of files found, which is to our benefit.

* - Means any sequence of any characters, i.e. all characters.

? - Any one character

~<" something" - Search for a name (File name, author, etc., depending on where to put it) which should begin with the one in quotes. The example searches for the name where the beginning is something.

~>" something" - Search for a name that must end with the one in quotes.

=" Course work" - Search for an exact match with what is in quotes.

~=" Well" - Search for names that contain the exact set of characters like the one in quotes. Those. on request filename:~="course" there will be files not only with the word Well, but also simply containing this sequence of characters (Kursovoy, Kursach).

~!" Well" - Search for files that do not contain what is in quotes. Those. this parameter is completely opposite to the previous one.

<> - Means like “neither is”, “not”. Those. request where it will be view:<>picture , will search everything except pictures.

() - Brackets serve to separate and clarify the combining group where the operators operate.

"" - Quotes are used to accurately find the order of characters inside quotes. Because of this, operators inside quotes do not work at all, as do filters.

OR- Operator OR. For example, request filename: kcoursework OR work will search for files where words occur either coursework or Job well, or both. In the English version OR.

AND- Operator AND. For example, request filename: k ursovaya and work will look for files where both words are present, and it makes no difference in what places they are located and not necessarily next to each other. In the English version AND.

NOT- Operator NOT. For example, request filename: coursework NOT work will search for files containing the word coursework but there is no word Job. In the English version NOT.

Here are some examples of using operators:

size:10MB and- Finds Ivan’s files of 10 megabytes, which were changed after 2009.

filename: (*156*) AND type:(PNG OR JPEG) - Finds files where the name contains 156 and its extension is PNG or JPEG.

Now filtering options.

Below we present what filtering options you can use when searching for files and folders.

file name:- The name of the file you are looking for. Analogue on English-language Windows - filename.

type: Indicates what type of file is currently being searched. Can take both file extension values ​​(For example, type: PNG), and their logical definition (For example: type: music or type: picture ). Analogue on English-language Windows - type.

view:- Same thing as type:. Analogue on English-language Windows - kind :

Date of change:- Indicates when the files were modified. Can take exact values, ranges, as well as verbal meanings (long ago, yesterday, etc.). Analogue on English-language Windows - datemodified.

modified date: 05/25/2010

date modified: >2009

date modified: 21.01.2001 .. 05.01.2014 (Required two points in the range)

date of creation:- Indicates when the file was created. The values ​​are the same as for Date of change. English equivalent datecreated.

size:- Indicates the size of the searched files. Can take both exact values ​​up to decimal numbers and a range of sizes. The units of measurement are KB, MB, GB. English language option - size:.

size:<=7Мб >1.5MB - files larger than 1.5 megabytes, but less than or equal to 7.

attributes:- Sets an additional search mask by tags. The parameter is not often used due to the fact that tags are rarely used.

owner:- Search for files of a specific owner.

executor:- Specifying this attribute is relevant when searching for music of a particular artist.

Combining filtering options

You can use several different options at once when searching, and this will even be better, because it will reduce the list of found files, while increasing their relevance. When using several search filters, place a space between them; in fact, it replaces the AND operator.

Attention! The AND and OR NOT operators are never highlighted in blue in the search bar. If yours is highlighted, it means you forgot either quotes or brackets or something else. Please note that some filters may not work with certain operators. For example it cannot be type:(BMP AND PNG), since any file can only be of one type.

For example, you can use the query:

size:5KB..20 KB type:picturefilename:~<"m" *little* датаизменения:‎01.‎03.‎2014 .. ‎31.‎03.‎2014

This app ros looks for images between 5 and 20 kilobytes in size with a file name that begins with a letter m and in which the word appears little. In this case, the file should have been changed during March 2014.

As you can see for yourself, with such capabilities you can easily search for files from many years ago, remembering at least some little details about it.

Several templates

In order for you to understand everything better and be able to try Windows advanced search yourself, we decided to make several of the most commonly used advanced search templates that can often come in handy.

How to find all files in a folder?

Sometimes a person wants to count how many files are in a particular folder and he is faced with the question of how to do this. Using Windows Search? But then what should I introduce? The input originates from regular expressions, and those who know first-hand what it is have already guessed what kind of character needs to be entered into the search field.

In the search field you need to enter: * (Star).

How to find all files of the same type (Extensions)?

If you want to find, for example, only pictures, use the filter type:picture, and if you want to find files of a certain extension, then you can use either *.jpeg or type:JPEG.

How to find files created at a specific time?

For this you need to use a filter creation date:DD/MM/YYYY. It is written about above. You can also set a filter not by the exact time the file was created, but by the interval. For example, from September 2011 to December 2012. The correct formulation of a search query with such a filter is described above.

How to find files of a certain size?

You need to use a filter size: and indicate the required file size in kilobytes, megabytes or gigabytes. You can read above about how you can search in a range of sizes and how to correctly indicate the size of the files you are looking for.

We really hope that this material will be useful to you, and if you have anything to add, then write in the comments.