• Instantly search files in Windows. Sleight of hand and no fraud. How to find files on your computer

    The search mechanism in Windows 7 is organized a little differently than in Windows XP, but it is no less convenient and is performed at a much faster speed.

    How to start a search

    To start searching for files in Windows 7, you need to open Explorer and select the folder in which you want to search, or, if you do not know approximately what directory the file is located in, select “My Computer.” Then the search will be performed on all hard drives.

    You need to search for files of any format using the search bar, which is located in the upper right corner of Explorer in any of its windows. Keyword or phrase must be entered in this line.

    The search is performed very quickly, similar to the request processing mechanism in any search engine. As you enter a query word, the system immediately begins scanning files and producing results with titles containing the characters, words, or phrases you entered.

    How to use search filters

    At first glance, it may seem that the usual filters available in XP, such as date created or modified, file type, size and author, are not available when searching in Windows 7, but this is not at all the case.

    When you enter a search query in the drop-down line below, a list of filters corresponding to the desired file type appears, the conditions of which can be set right there in the search line. To do this, click on the desired filter and set its value, for example, the change date “Last week”.


    How to find files of a specific type

    To find a file whose format is known, for example audio, video, photo or document, but its name, creation date or other parameters are unknown, you can use a search by file type, specifying its extension in the search conditions.

    Documents. To search for documents Word format you need to enter the characters “*.doc” (for Word 2003 format) or “*.docx” (for Word 2007-2010 format) in the search bar. An asterisk denotes any sequence of any characters.

    For Excel files you need to use the symbols “*.xls” (for Excel format 2003) or “*.xlsx” (for Excel 2007-2010 format).

    For files text format created using the Notepad application, you need to enter “*.txt” in the search bar.

    Video. To search for video files, enter the video file extension in the search bar. The most popular extensions: “*.avi”, “*.mp4”, “*.mpeg”, “*.wmv”, “*.3gp”, “*.mov”, “*.flv”, “*.swf” " You can find out the file extension by right-clicking on it and selecting context menu“Properties”, where the “File type” line will indicate its extension.

    Audio. The most popular audio file format used on computers is MP3, and to search for them you need to enter the characters “*.mp3” in the line.

    Images and photographs. To search for pictures, you should enter the most used extensions of such files “*.jpg”, “*.jpeg”, “*.png”, “*.bmp”, “*.tiff”, “*.gif” in the search bar.


    How to find a file in a large list of already found files

    It often happens that the file attributes are unknown, or only one is known, and it is very uninformative. For example, we know that the document was created last year. However, over the past year, a huge number of documents have been created and stored in different places. It is often not possible to view and check a huge number of files found based on one characteristic.

    To find required file in the list of already found files, you can use several filters simultaneously, setting and changing each of them during the search process as necessary. Each time you add a new filter, the selection will be made again in the list of found files, reducing processing time and the number of results, which greatly simplifies the search for the very desired file.

    How to find a file by content

    As a rule, files are searched in Windows 7 based on the content of the query in the file name, and not on the text that the file contains. To find a file with with the right word in its text, and not in its name, you need to make simple settings.

    Let’s say the task is to find a document among 500 files with the word “Shovel” in its content. To do this, click “Arrange” on the control panel and select “Search folder options” from the drop-down menu.

    It is worth noting that a search specifying this parameter will take more for a long time, and when the need to search by content is no longer necessary, this option should be disabled.

    How to save search terms

    It often happens that files need to be searched frequently, for this the same search conditions are used, and there are several of these conditions. In order not to waste time entering the same search parameters every time, the list of these conditions can be saved.

    To do this, you need to set the search conditions, wait for the results to be displayed, and upon completion, click “Save search conditions” on the control panel, and in the window that opens, enter the file name for the recurring query, for example, “JULY 2013.”

    In the future, when the saved set of search conditions is needed again, the desired shortcut can always be selected in Explorer in the “Favorites” folder under the saved name.

    How to clear your search terms

    Click on the cross at the end search string, you can clear the previously entered information and filter conditions that were used for the search, and the line will become empty.

    Having tried search in Windows 7 several times, you can verify in practice that it is practical, easy and fast. Now you know how to search for files in Windows 7.

    Searching for files may seem difficult for novice users and take a long time. In this article we will look at all the ways to search for files on your computer.

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

    Main search window


    Explorer window

    The next way to search for files is to use any Explorer window. To search for files using Explorer, you must conduct a request to the appropriate section of any open window(for example – “My_computer”).

    This method is more convenient than others because, using Explorer, you can search for files directly inside the specified (open) sections hard drive(folders) without the need to enter appropriate restrictions using a search filter. What is significant is the process of searching for files.

    Search filters

    In addition to how you search for files, it's also important how you can narrow your search results to find exactly the file you need. This is done by using special search filters; you can use them by searching for files in the Explorer window. Because the submariner uses the most filters to filter out unnecessary search results.

    Search settings

    Sometimes the search is unable to find the file of interest, this happens if it is located inside an unindexed hard section disk. This can be fixed if you configure and expand the search parameters. To do this, follow the instructions described below.

    Search operators

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

    The most popular operators:

    • Quotes “” – finds files containing the exact phrase of the search query in the name (for example, “rules of the game”);
    • Asterisk * - finds files with the extension specified after the asterisk (for example, *.doc);
    • Logical “AND” “AND or +” - finds files containing all the listed words, between which “AND or +” is written. (for example – “rules+game+football”, “rules AND football+game”);
    • Comparison relative to the specified file parameters >, 1GB, color depth:
    • Exact value = - searches for files equal specified parameters(for example – dimensions:>=”800 x 600″);

    Reference

    If after reading the article you have any questions about searching for files, 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. To obtain information regarding searching for files, enter the search query - “search”.

    This way you will find all Windows Help topics related to file search.

    In Windows 7, the search service does a pretty good job. By indexing computer files, search necessary information happens almost instantly. But, unfortunately, troubles happen. It happens that the search refuses to work and produces an error, for example, like this: Cannot find “search:query=information”. Check if the name is correct and try again .

    I think that there is no need to rack your brains over the reasons for such an error. It will be much more effective to go directly to fixing the problem. I will give several ways to restore search functionality in order of their effectiveness.


    1. First of all, you need to check if the service is running. To do this, click Start, right-click on the item Computer and in the context menu select Control.

    In the window that appears, on the left, we need to select Services. In the list that opens, find and check the status - if the service is disabled, then you need to enable it.

    To do this, in the service properties, click Launch, Startup type put - Automatically.

    2. The second way is to perform a clean loading Windows. Its essence is that services and programs that are not related to the operation of the operating system are disabled. Windows boots “naked”, just like when you first start it. I wrote about how to perform a clean boot. If the search works during a clean boot, then the problem is in the installed programs.

    3. Check the search parameters in folders. To do this we go to Control Panel and looking for Folder Options, then click on the link of the same name.

    In the window go to the tab Search, and then press Restore Defaults, and then OK.

    4. Check the indexing settings. IN Control panels we search and open.

    There we press the button Change.

    We check that all elements are ticked. Click OK.

    Now go back to the window and press the button Additionally. Approximately in the middle of the window that appears there will be a button Rebuild- press it.

    5. If there is a restore point, you can try to restore the system from the specified point. The problem is that not everyone sets up . But if it does exist, then this method may be the most effective.

    6. Try creating a new user. Perhaps the existing profile has become corrupted and some have been deleted system files- anything can happen. If the search works under the new user, then it is no longer advisable to use the old profile.

    I told you everything I remembered. If you know any other ways to “treat” search, then share them in the comments - perhaps your answer will be useful :).

    Also read on this topic:

    Searching for a file in Windows by its contents using the XYplorer program Doesn't work Windows Media Player. What to do?
    How to create a restore point in Windows 7? Automatic login in Windows 7. Setting up autologon How to increase the page file 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 engine 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 there are too many results for a search query, the system suggests using dynamic filtering by various signs– date, file size, type, etc.

    Based on this efficient work The OS search engine has 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 searching in the “ Windows Explorer" 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 base from system partition hard drive to another partition to free up free space on the disk, then for 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, however, 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.

    Hello Friends! Before writing this article, I hardly used search in Windows. Why, if everything is already clear what is where. It was enough to look at 2-3 places. This took about 5 minutes. Moreover, on the computer, as unnecessary, the search service was disabled, which provides enormous opportunities in Windows 7. And the search service also automatically turns off indexing and it was not at all possible to find any files quickly through search. That is, out of ignorance, I turned off this universal thing. But this is no longer the same slow search in Windows XP. It has evolved greatly into Windows Vista and took a huge step forward in Windows 7. Here we will look at the main search capabilities in Windows 7, so that we can find the information we need even more efficiently.

    First you need to show the main search window. It is called using the keys Win+F or F3 on the desktop.

    The window is not bright and there is almost nothing to talk about here. The question immediately arises about the need for it in Windows 7. Most likely, it was left for those who recently switched from previous versions Windows. So as not to get lost.

    The most accessible and easy to find search in Windows 7 is from the main Start menu. (How to do familiar button Start in Windows 8 can be read). Just open the main menu and the cursor is immediately placed in the search field. You start typing part of the file name and the results already appear. The speed of issuing results and its further sorting is surprising. We'll talk about this later.

    The results are presented as groups of files from different categories. In the figure, these are Programs, Control Panel, Documents, Videos and Music. If you know which category your file might be in, go straight to it and search further. We will also look at this below.

    From the Start menu it is convenient to search for programs or control panel items. Now there is no need to go the long way Start > All Programs > Accessories to select the Calculator. Just open Start, write “Ka” and the good old Calculator is already at hand.

    For convenience, the width of the search field can be changed by dragging the border between address bar and a search field in the desired location.

    You can and should combine different filters. For example, you sorted files by modification date, now you can sort by size. Click on the search field and select the Size filter. The window below will open in front of you with a range selection

    If you need files up to 50 MB and between 100 and 200 MB, then search operators come to the rescue again.

    size:<50мб + размер:>100mb<200мб — вот такой вот получился запрос.

    Of course, typing it is inconvenient because everything slows down due to the search. Therefore, it is recommended to create a query in Notepad and copy it into the search bar.

    As I wrote the article and tried different filters and sorting options, I managed to find such files in such places that you are amazed. Search in Windows 7 + indexing by efficiency like Google for the Internet.

    In addition, you can search not only by modification date and size, but also by other file properties. For example, by extension, frame width and others. If the search did not give the desired result, then you are offered the choice below to search in the Libraries (see in the next section) in the Home Group on your entire computer, select another place to search, search on the Internet and by the contents of the files.

    When you select Other search location, a window will open where you can use checkboxes to select places where the required files may be. These can be external hard drives, flash drives and other storage devices

    Then click OK and the search will automatically begin in the selected locations.

    If you select a location that is not in the index, the system will immediately alert you and warn you that the search may be slow. It is also suggested to add the selected location to the index

    If you often look for this place, then you need to add it. If this is an isolated case, then most likely you can skip it. The index will be smaller and searching through it will be faster.

    Search in Libraries

    The library is a place where a lot of useful information is stored. On a computer it’s the same, only there the library is divided into four categories for easy searching: Music, Video, Images and Documents. You can add up to 50 folders to each of these libraries. + you can create your own libraries. To create a new library, right-click on “Libraries” > New > Library. Give the new library a name

    It turns out that the Library is a virtual folder into which you can connect your real folders from various places on your hard drive. The library will be searched across all folders connected to it.

    How to connect a folder to a library

    Go to the library to which you need to connect the folder. In the “Includes” section, click on the link. In my case - 2 places

    In the window that opens, click the Add... button and select the desired folder

    Libraries are indexed by default and when the process is finished you will be able to instantly find the information you need.

    The libraries have an expanded set of filters, which adds convenience to the search.

    When you place the cursor in the search window, in addition to filters, your search queries that you have entered in the past. If they suddenly start to bother you, you can easily remove them by hovering the mouse cursor over the desired one and pressing Del on the keyboard.

    In Explorer, you can search in the folder you are in and all its subfolders. In the library you can search in all connected folders at once and since they are in the index it will be fast. Another advantage of using libraries is advanced filters for easy searching. I don’t know how you can bypass using Libraries in Windows 7.

    Since Libraries are something virtual, nothing happens to your files when they are deleted.

    Conclusion

    Friends! In this article we have touched on a small part, the tip of the iceberg, called - search in Windows 7. We also figured out how to index files on your hard drive and how this can help you find information faster. We dwelled in more detail on the search in Explorer. Thanks to convenient filters, you can search and find information much more efficiently.

    I would also like to add that search terms can be saved. To do this, click on the button of the same name on the toolbar

    All saved searches are located in the folder of the same name (Searches) in your profile.

    To display the results for one of the searches, just go to the Searches folder in Explorer (on the left side of it) and select the desired one. The results will appear immediately.

    More detailed information about searching in operating system You can read Windows 7 on the website http://www.oszone.net/11299/Search

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