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How to search for folders in windows 7. Restore the search box in the start menu. Third-party file finders

» How do I search for files on Windows 7?

How do I search for files on Windows 7?

Many users who have decided to switch to Windows 7 will, on the one hand, expect many useful innovations, but on the other - some disappointment - there are enough changes here. At the first stage of development, they can make it difficult to work with wasps, especially if you do not know what and how. Thus, the search for files in the seven has been improved.

For those who have moved from Windows Vista, the search function will not have any special surprises, it will seem more convenient to them. However, for Windows XP users who first started using the search tool in Windows 7, it will not be very familiar to use it. In Windows XP, searches are conveniently organized by modification date, file type, and so on. In Windows 7, this feature is not observed, but in fact it is present. It is implemented in a slightly different way.

Indeed, searching in Windows 7 is quite simple, you just need to know how, because the purpose of any search is to find what you need.

How does search work in Windows 7?

When you start searching within the system, it is the index files that make it possible to quickly display the results. An index represents a collection of files containing information about documents and files that are stored on the hard drive. The index contains various properties of files, including size, name, path, and so on. For example, MP3 files can have all tags indexed - from stream speed to author. Office documents have data in the form of document content, file properties, and so on. For those who would like to learn more about the search functions, you can read the help. To do this, minimize all windows, then press F1. In the Search in Help window that appears, type Search.

Indexing is ongoing. For example, you want to change the name of files, delete or add a file to the folder, this will instantly be reflected in the index.

The figure shows the locations that are indexed by default. If, for example, you store documents in F: Documents, then they will not be indexed and you cannot find them with a quick search - to find them, you need to add them to the index separately.

Indexing and Search Settings

The standard settings in Windows 7 are well done, they suit most users, especially if the files are stored inside standard folders. For those who want to personally customize the search, you need to go to the start menu and enter the search parameters into the search. This is one of the file search capabilities - quick access from the Start menu to control panel items.

Change search parameters

Following is noteworthy:

folder search by default searches any subfolders
searches in non-indexed locations are performed directly by file names, but compressed files are ignored.
you can apply a language search, that is, perform a search query more freely, for example, music from last week. However, you can get unexpected results that get mixed up.

Windows Search and Indexing Service Settings

Many parameters can be configured here. To add folders to the index, click Edit.

It is no coincidence that the Program Files and Windows folders are excluded from the search, as they greatly increase the size of the index, and there is practically no benefit from this. Programs can be found by searching in the Start menu - the main menu is indexed by default.

By clicking on Advanced, you can access the groups of settings:

file type indexing options;
technical parameters of indexing.

In the indexing options, you can rebuild the index, add encrypted files, and set a new location for them.

Settings for File Types can be changed:

exclude or include it in the index;
determine what will be indexed: properties or content;
add another extension.

How to search?

When performing a search, you need to consider whether the search object is indexed. If so, the required files will be easily found. However, if you want to find something in the Windows or Program Files folder, then the search will not find anything.

In Windows 7, you can search for:

1. in the main search window;

2. from the Start menu;

3. in libraries;

Search in the Start Menu

Main search box

To open the search window, press the WIN + F combination. However, it does not have advanced features for searching files.

Libraries

In the library, the search results match the type of files, which is well perceived visually. For example, music files show album covers, size, large song title, you can also organize the results.

If the file could not be found in the current folder, then the search can be repeated:

in libraries;
all over the computer. Non-indexed locations will also be included in the search.
in other locations. If you know the approximate location, you can specify multiple folders. In addition, you can include in the search and network resources.
on the Internet - the search is performed using the browser by default.

The Windows operating system provides standard tools that look for folders and files on external and local media, which is available to every user, regardless of the OS version. That is why users are often interested in how to enable search in Windows 7.

How to enable search correctly in Windows 7?

To start the search engine in Windows version 7, you will have to open the explorer, find in it a suitable folder for yourself. After the procedure, the corresponding search process begins, and in the case when it is not known in which folder the required file is located, select the "My Computer" section so that the device activates searches on all disks at once.

Through the search line, they search for files of any format by entering the main word or a whole 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 searching in the seventh version. This opinion is not correct. Entering a phrase in the resulting line leads to the appearance of the bottom of the list of files corresponding to the desired one. 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:

The "Start" key is pressed and the required word is entered in the search line. In the course of entering information in the "Start" window itself, the analyzed results are displayed. When there are a lot of them, and the user wants to get acquainted with them in more detail, he should click on the requests that have come up.

After that, the corresponding window opens. There the files are sorted, and the search query is highlighted in yellow.

The search can be refined by scrolling to the end of the list. In the section to repeat the search, enter a suitable option. The indexer traverses files by default, excluding system and file programs. This increases the speed of work 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 not to waste time on entering a parameter every time. This is done by specifying search conditions, expecting results, and then saving the conditions. In the window that opens, enter the name of the file to be requested again.

When you need to search for a saved query, you can mark the shortcut in Favorites. Good luck!

Moving from Windows Vista, searching in only becomes more convenient and does not contain any special surprises. The same cannot be said for many Windows XP users who are just discovering day-to-day work in the system with a handy tool like Instant Search. Searching in Windows 7 is really easy. But, as with any search, the goal is to find what you need, and this can sometimes be difficult. With this article, I begin my story about how search works in Windows 7, how to set it up, how to search, and most importantly, how to find it.

How search works

You have most likely heard of an index - a collection of files that contain a variety of information about files and documents stored on disk. When you use search, it is the index files that allow you to quickly display the results. The index includes various properties of files, and this is not only the path, name or size. For example, MP3 files have all tags indexed - from author to bit rate. Office documents have data indexed, which can be seen in the file properties on the tab In detail, document content, and so on. If this search is new to you, I recommend reading a couple of Help articles for background information and searches. Minimize all windows, click F1 and in the field Search Help enter ... Search.

Indexing happens all the time - if you add, delete or change a file in a folder, it will be immediately 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 a 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 customize your settings, open the Start menu and type search options into search.

So in a casual way, we used one of the search capabilities - quick access to Control Panel items from the Start menu.

Change search options for files and folders

I will not duplicate the parameters, which are perfectly visible in the screenshot.

Pay attention to the following points:

by default, folder search searches all subfolders

in non-indexed places, only file names are searched, and compressed files are ignored

you can use language search, i.e. write 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

There are many more options you can tweak here. To add folders to the index, click Edit.

The Windows and Program Files folders are not accidentally excluded from the search - they will greatly increase the size of the index, and there will be 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 Additionally, you get access to two groups of settings:

indexing technical parameters

indexing options for file types

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

For the file type (extension), you can:

include or exclude it from the index

determine if only properties will be indexed or also content

add new extension

For example, if suddenly your instant messaging client saves history in text files with the LOG extension, or you just need to analyze logs, their content will not be indexed by default. But you can easily customize the search - just type log on the keyboard to navigate 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 might even get the impression that "the search is not finding anything" - after all, only the results from the index are displayed. We'll talk more about searching in non-indexed places, but now let's look at the general search methods in Windows 7. You can search:

from the start menu

in the main search box

in libraries

in other windows of the explorer - folders, dialogs "Open" and "Save As"

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 part with the Windows XP habit of carefully sorting applications in the menu Programs... 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 a lot of programs installed.

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

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 is an improvement over Windows Vista. As you can see in the screenshot, word search not only finds Microsoft Word and WordPad applications, but also suggests results in other groups.

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

Search in the Start menu is good when you have an idea of \u200b\u200bthe file name or its contents - the first 5 - 10 results are visible immediately, and you don't have to go far. In addition, the Start menu is indispensable for quickly accessing programs and Control Panel items using search.

Main search box

An empty search box can be opened by pressing the keyboard shortcut WIN + F... It, in my opinion, has somewhat lost its meaning, since it no longer contains advanced file search capabilities. Searching in windows explorer practically displaces it from the system. It seems to me that links to help on using search or a link to this article could brighten up its dull look.

However, the main search box still carries a payload. It opens with search results if you enter a query in the Start menu and click on the name of a search result group, or See other resultsright above the search field.

Libraries

Now I will explain why I split the search in libraries and other explorer windows. Notice how the library search results are displayed. They match the look of the files in it and are very well perceived visually. For example, for music files, album art, large song title, size are displayed, and there are also "music" 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 a search in libraries, which has other advantages.

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

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

In this case, the results will display several songs from each album. You can watch all the songs on the album, and then "fold" it if the desired one is not there.

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

Other explorer windows

In folders and libraries, the search field is the same as in the main window. But do 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.

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

I am sure that you have already tried simple search queries and may be completely satisfied with them. However, sooner or later you will need to find the file, and a simple query won't help you. Next, I'll show you how to use Windows 7's advanced search capabilities to find the files you want.

What's New in Windows 7 Advanced Search

To master search, of course, you need to practice using its capabilities. In the Windows 7 search articles, I will provide a number of examples that you can easily reproduce on your own.

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

changed search filters

Search filters

When the name of the file or the subject of the document is roughly known, it is usually not difficult to find the required file - you just enter a partial or complete query into the Start menu search. But this information is not always stored in the RAM of the brain, and it is simply often required to set special search conditions - the size, date of modification, or the author of the file. Windows XP had Search Assistant, Windows Vista had Filters.

At first glance, there is nothing that visually stands out in Windows 7. In fact, the filters have not gone anywhere - they just become visible when you position your cursor in the search field.

Advice... To see more filters, 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 can see the standard set of filters in the main search window.

Hints

Your search queries are remembered if they were entered:

to the search box

in explorer folder or library

in the start menu (assuming you navigated to the results and not just open the file)

These prompts annoy some users, and they tend to turn them off immediately. And, in my opinion, they do it in vain. The tips remember not only search queries as such, but also filters searches that you asked - for example, the size or date the file was modified. The hints are very handy if you want to use the full power of Windows 7 search. The old condition can be easily changed to match the current query, and it is faster than re-entering it. 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 in Windows 7 are best shared. The link between search and libraries is not only in the display of results, but also in the formation of search terms. In the next part of the article, I'll cover:

using filters to search libraries and mail

search in Internet Explorer 8

search in non-indexed locations

search operators

Very often we need to find files or folders on the hard drive that are exactly there, but we cannot remember exactly where. We always have at our disposal a file search in Windows 7. In order for us to find any objects on our computer, we just need to enter the name of the required directory or file in the start menu. Then your device will search for the information it needs. You will see the elements that contain in their name the query you entered or its parts.

But it's fair to say that this is not always enough to find files in Windows 7 successful. The above steps cannot guarantee you that you will find the information you need on your computer or laptop. There are cases when you need to find a document or documents that contain certain words in the text in their title. For example, if you are looking for the name of free computer courses, but the default 7 does not support this feature.

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 window of settings and settings 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 by 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 their names, but also by 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 reopen your computer, where you need to enter the required word in the search field, which will be contained in the required data. As an example, let's try to find data that contains the "quality" key. Searching for files in Windows 7 begins immediately after a word or phrase has been entered into the field, that is, there is no need to press or confirm anything to start it.

As soon as your machine completes the search task for the keyword you entered, below you will see a list of files in which the word “quality” we entered will be encountered. You should also remember that after the end of your search, you need to change the settings (those that you set to those that were by default). This must be done in order to reduce the search time in the future. Indeed, with the settings that we are talking about, it happens not only by the name of the data, but also by their content.

If you know roughly where the folder or file you need is located, then go to this directory in the explorer and enter the information you are looking for already there. Thus, searching for files in Windows 7 will be much faster. That's all I wanted to tell you. Use for health!

Finding files can be difficult for novice users and take a long time. In this article, we will go over all the ways to find files on your computer.

Important: Search results through the Start menu will display not only files, but also the search results will display the Windows system commands of the same name. For example, entering the search query "cmd" will result in a command (program) that launches the command line.

Main search box

Explorer window

The next way to find files is to use any Explorer window. To search for files through the explorer, you must enter a query in the appropriate section of any open window (for example, "My_computer").

This method is more convenient than the others because, using the explorer, you can search for files directly inside the specified (open) partitions of the hard disk (folders) without the need to enter the corresponding restriction using the search filter. What a significant file search process.

Search filters

In addition to how you search for files, it is also important how you can narrow your search results to find the exact file you want. This is done by using special search filters, you can use them by looking for files in the explorer window. Since the diver uses the most filters that filter out unnecessary search results.

Search settings

Sometimes the search is unable to find the file of interest, this happens if it is inside a non-indexed hard disk partition. This can be fixed by configuring, expanding the search parameters. To do this, follow the instructions below.

Search operators

Operators are characters / words that include additional search results filter options. In other words, these characters are used to quickly filter out results, similar to how it is done in Internet search engines (Yandex, Google, Yahoo).

reference

If after reading the article you have any questions regarding file search, then you can find answers to them in the specially created help section of the operating system. The help menu will open after pressing the F1 key. For information on finding files, enter a search term - "search".

In this way, you will find all the Windows Help topics concerning file search.