The built-in search feature in Windows 7 is significantly better than the horrible search options in Windows XP. Instead of installing a third-party program like Google Desktop to search for files on inside files on your computer, you can now do it with easily from Windows 7.
For example, let’s say your a programmer or web developer and you want to be able to search your code files like .aspx, .html, .java, .php, etc. With Windows 7, you can configure the search indexer to not only index any file you want, but also to index the file contents.
By default, the Search Indexer in Windows 7 indexes the most common locations where your files would be stored, i.e. all libraries, everything in your User folder, and e-mail. If this is not enough, you can add or remove index location really easily.
That means you can tell Windows 7 to index and return results from files and folder on network drives or external hard drives. To get started , click on Start, then type in search into the search box.
This will bring up the Indexing Options dialog. At the top, you’ll see the total number of items that have currently been indexed on your computer. Below that, you will see a list of all the locations that have been included for indexing.
To add a new location to the index, click on the Modify button. Any network drive or external hard drive will show up in the list of possible locations. You can check off any drive or folder that you would like to include in the index.
Depending on how many files and folders are in a location, it could take some time for search indexer to index everything. If you have noticed that certain files are not being indexed by search indexer even though they are included in the search locations, you may have to add the file type.
You can do this by clicking on the Advanced button on the main Indexing Options screen. Then click on the File Types tab.
If the file extension is not in the list, go ahead and add it at the bottom. Then select it and choose whether you want to index just the properties or the properties and the file contents. If you know the file contains only text, make sure to select the second radio button.
You can also click on Index Settings to modify some of the settings for the Search Indexer.
Here you can choose to index encrypted files and other options like treating similar words with diacritics as different words. If you are having problems with Windows search or something has become corrupted, you can rebuild the index by clicking the Rebuild button.
Lastly, you can completely move the search index to another disk or partition. If you have a faster hard drive that the OS is not running on, it might be a good idea to move it so that it performs faster.
Overall, the new search features in Windows 7 are greatly enhanced and let you customize most of the search options. Enjoy!
I DO have an update. If you use "Effective File Search" software with Win7, it adds a right click option. Right click a folder, and you have "Effective Search" (as compared with the built-in ineffective search) to use.
I DID have to tweak an option to add "Find folders", but otherwise I was good to go.
Most of the other comments above have been very entertaining, especially the ones from shills who don't know how really really awful the Win7 built-in search is. When you take a search software to a directory that HAS a file, and it doesn't find that file, well, that is worse than useless, because it means that usually you are assuming things that might not be true.
The reason I'm here is because I thought there was something wrong with my Win7 installation. Why give up such a beautiful feature as the ability to right-click your drive or folder, type in your file name, and have all your files stay open until you're done with them. I don't care or understand about all the indexing features you mentioned. I just want a no hassle way to search a folder or drive. I am trying my best to love Widows 7, but the lack of a user friendly search engine, like previous Window editions, is really astonishing.
I actually really like Windows 7 search, although I am a new convert..we'll see how long it lasts. I found this how-to to be easy to follow – it worked for me in any case:
emailsecuritymatters.com/site/blog/best-practices/windows-search-windows-7-outlook-2007/
Windows 7 seems to be designed for the people that think the iPad is a good idea. (My first 16 years of PC ownership starting in 1984 were all on Macs.)
This applies especially to the stupid search function. It really is on the iPad model. To get something that will work, you have to buy a separate app!
I really does suck.
W7 search is broken beyond belief. Firstly, why doesn't it find what I'm looking for? I stare directly at a file, then search that folder for that filename or any part thereof, and W7 search returns no results?!?!? Secondly, why does it find tons of files that have nothing to do with what I searched for? I search for Xmas or *.jpg and the results include hundreds of files that have neither Xmas nor jpg in their names or in their contents. Thirdly, what happened to the right-click context menu? Whose dumb idea was it to take that powerful functionality out of Windows? Fourthly, what is the point of indexing? Aren't CPUs, hard drives, and networks fast enough nowadays to find things quickly without indexing? I would prefer to turn indexing off permanently. Fifthly, why do I now have to use DOS commands or third-party utilities to do things that XP could do easily in a matter of seconds?
I know I am stupid when it comes to this kind of thing, but I just wanted to find out how to search the drives, all of them, and hidden files. Can that be done on windows?
I need help. I'm probably at the wrong place, but thought I'd try just the same.
I went from an XP computer to Win 7. I don't know much about Win 7, so I copied all my files from external drives into the library area (making a whole bunch of subfolders, etc.). Now, I find out I shouldn't have done that, & it's put me at a total standstill as far as further organizing. I'm Angry because I wanted to use/store/organize everything via libraries. I have no idea which folders are where now. I didn't put anything elsewhere, but I am afraid to do anything now!
Windows 7 Explorer simply does not work and should not be relied upon. I was searching for all of my Excel files in a directory and its sub-directories. It found only some of the Excel files.
I, then, went directly to the sub-directory where I knew one of the files I was looking for resided. I, then, performed the search in that directory. Even though I was staring at the file name in the list before the search and I was in that directory where it resided, this piece of junk could not find that Excel file.
It did find (only) some of the Excel files in that directory.
Really, how does Microsoft stay in business. Windows Explorer is a fundamental application that is essential for using Windows. For it to not be reliable is really unforgivable.
I found a FREE Windows Explorer replacement called "Free Commander" that works very well and actually (as far as I've seen so far) finds the files I'm looking for!
If I didn't hate the whole Mac concept so much (being a slave to a "benevolent" company like Apple)…
Well the consensus seems to be well and truly against your opinion of: "The built-in search feature in Windows 7 is significantly better than the horrible search options in Windows XP" and this says it all to be honest.
My reply would be exactly the same as that of Crow: Windows & search is absolutely diabolical, over complicated, basically useless. I have gone back to Vista where I am in charge of what the thing does – and I can find my files as well.
I actually did a search on Google today to find a better third-party option for searching Windows 7 as I will be re-installing this OS on a friend's PC later and need to find a lot of stuff to back up before doing it. The fact that I came looking for a different search option says it all. I came across this and had to comment.
I am in fact going to jump on the "your lying" bandwagon because as Marikhen, the first and last sentences are lies.
MICROSOFT SHOULD HAVE KEPT ITS OLD SEARCH FEATURE, I CAN NOT FIND A SINGLE FILE, i HATE THIS,, TOTALLY USELESS – windows seven is horrible
Major problem with Windows Search is this:
You add lots of folders to a new library called "Pro Audio" (For example, I want to save about 50 pro audio folders containing 1,000's of audio wav files spread over several disks into a new "Pro Audio" LIBRARY folder).
Firstly, I automatically have to go in a remove ALL of those locations from Windows Search, because it's taken upon itself to add them automatically because they're libraries. I DON'T WANT TO ADD THEM! simply because Windows Search (I'm sorry to say) it garbage and it would grind to a complete HALT.
So I remove them. BUT!!
If I go in and read or change a SINGLE file in any of the folders I have added to to my new "Pro Audio" library folder, BANG! the folder is automatically added to windows search yet again and it proceeds to index to god damn audio files yet again.
Sorry, it's a POOR piece of software which is not very well thought out, written or executed. NOT TO MENTION SLOW AS HELL. If this software is based on Microsoft SQL, then I'm sorry Microsoft but your Main Database product solution is terrible (I know this isn't Microsoft obviously, but who knows someone might see my gripe). Doubt Microsoft will EVER get around to changing this. That's one of the things that makes them a terrible software Company (compared to the likes of Apple who seem to appreciate users concerns and adopt changes to their software quickly).
The Search function in Windows7 is like going back to DOS 3.3 (that's the earliest I can remember.) I used to be good with autoexec.bat and config.sys.
Now to search in Windows7 you need to use keywords. I discovered the following (I could not find this in any description or blog.)
I will try to explain the best I can. (As I write this, I realize how horrible is to try to describe this, so bear with me.)
First challenge: Selecting the “View option” in Windows Explorer (this is easy if you are a computer whiz)
In Windows Explorer you have several ways to display the contents of a folder.
Somewhere in your organize bar there is a button called “More Options”. If you click that you get several options including:
“Medium Icons”, “Small Icons”, “Details”, and more
The “Details” view shows the files and folders organized in a vertical fashion, showing perhaps the date when they were created and other attributes.
Across the top of the main window you see the headers or names of the columns that are displayed. For example:
“Name”, “Type”, “Size”. I call this the “Header Row.”
For this explanation you want to use “Details”. Once you understand how this works you can search from any starting point.
Windows Explorer also allows you to display one or more of dozens of attributes by right-clicking the “Header Row” and selecting the correct option.
Now you decide which column you want to search.
For example if you want to search the Column “Name” for a file that has the string “Home” in the name, you need to type the following inside the search box:
name:home
I tried the following searches successfully:
type:folder
size:3,832 KB (note, when you type size you get also some options automatically that you can choose.)
You can do more complex searches as follows:
name:home datemodified:6/1/2011
name:home datemodified:8/10/2011 .. 8/11/2011
size:>1 MB
size:>1 MB datemodified:5/1/2011 .. 8/12/2011
size:>200 MB datemodified:5/1/2011 .. 8/12/2011 name:Office
I added to the view an attribute called “Title” (to be able to see its contents) and searched for
title:home
It looks like the syntax is simple and I was able to find what I was looking for.
It looks like you can use the name of any column in the search box.
Once you know how to use this, you don’t need to change the view the “Details”.
I hope all this makes sense. Good luck.
/Victor
I've used Windows since 2.0. Aside from Windows Live, the search in Windows 7 is the biggest pile of crap Microsoft has ever written. Aside from the issues of the "index" becoming out of date two seconds after the indexing service finishes grating your hard disk for nine hours, it actually doesn't find any of your files. Even more annoyingly, while it's searching it will show "No items match your search" yet doesn't display any indication that the search is still running, so you have no way of knowing whether it's still looking, or it's finished, or the file does really exist but the indexing service needs another nine hours to find it.
Simple way to turn OFF searching within a file?? I don't want to turn off indexing just DON'T want to search within a file.
WIN7 is going to drive me nuts.
When I see the hard drive activity light is lit and the computer is idle I get paranoid. How do I know when indexing is going on in the background and not some hacker rifling through my files? In past versions of windows used to be an animated icon in the task bar but haven't seen this in windows7.
+1 "your joking" ;p
indexing searches are a pain in the ass, i have been forced to go to w7 by bf3 and an ocz ssd, grr, i REALLY didn't want to..using "classic start menu" and the classic windows theme i can make it look a bit like xp, but i still don't like it, wtf do they have to change xp explorer it works perfectly well! m$ idiots!
i don't mind waiting for windows to find a file, if i don't know where i've put my files (der!), so i'm happy to let it sit there and search and NOT have these stupid services running in the background..
I went to Linux when Vista was thrust on us. I looked at 7 today, and have decided I made the right choice. Windows has become a nearly useless impediment to all that I want a computer for. Microsoft has peaked twice, 3.11 and XP. At this point there are really good options out there including hundreds of flavors of Linux, and of course MAC. Why suffer this communist inspired abomination. Where do you want to go today? For most people it's back to XP. But I simply moved on when I realized that the hardware manufacturers are in on the forced upgrade. I will not let the industry push me around anymore. God I love the open spaces of open source… wooo hooo!!!!
It is so unbelievable that they trimmed down all search gui into a single line all as if it needs to be similar to google main page.
I used Isys, X1 once upon a time but do not know if they still exist.
You must be a Microsoft Engineer. Only they think the Windows 7 search is usefull. It is USELESS. I like being able to search EVERY file on my computer. Windows 7 search only searches the first 5000 files it finds.
Do you also think "Hide extensions for known file types" is a good thing? If so then, "Anna Kournikova" virus. That says it all!! The only reason it was spread is because of the known file type extensions being hidden. America is smart enough to know what a JPG is but not smart enough to know that they don't normally see .JPG because it is hidden. They can't put 2 x 2 together to realize this.
I agree with you and disagree with the OP. The search function in XP is significantly better than Seven's which is basically useless. I've tried modifying indexing locations but there are certain files and folders that I simply cannot find how in god's name to remove from the exclusions list, and why is that set anyway? I want to search everything on my PC not just a few folders and files! Furthermore when I look for particular files it ignore my C: drive and only lists items by default on my D: drive! I have to choose "see more results" to get it to search the C: drive! I cannot fathom why it does this as both locations are setup to be searched in the options.
Seven's search is an utter waste of space IMO. Get hold of the "Everything" search indexer program, it's free, very easy to use and it works, unlike Windows' garbage version.
I to join the band wagon regards this all amazing windows 7 search engine, all I want to do is search my external hard drives, simple, no! Even in Vista all I hard to do was put what I wanted into search box and presto, it would look into all drives. I don't want to index all my files or build a bloody library, I just want to be able to do a search and see the results from my external hard drive!
Windows7 search is the best and the worst. The worst in that I've been using 7 for 2 years now and still have to look up online how to use the more sophisticated features (which I love!). What will really irritate me is by about the time I've memorized some of the more useful features they will change it and I will have to learn the new system all over which will probably go back to one of those stupid wizard type setups that cater to the lowest common denominator with no way to turn it off.
The other thing I find highly annoying about it is that you can't shut off "search within a file" which sucks because I only need this feature about once every 100 times I do a search. Most often it's for a jpg or a mpg or a program of some type and it's very very annoying to have to sift through 3000 hits because I can't narrow my search down to JUST FILE NAMES.
Lastly I can't stand it not knowing weather windows is indexing my hard drive or weather I have some type of nefarious type of virus activity going on. Would it be that difficult to put one of those little icons in the task bar that tell you such and allow you to shut off the indexing activity if so desired???
I have WIn7 64bit on my home computer and 32 bit on my laptop. I can usually find things with the 32 bit but no matter what I do I can't find anything at all using search with my 64 bit version. Been using computers since Bill Gates was a little boy with a big head.
I just had to leave a comment, because this article is a joke, right? it is telling that the article was written in 2009 and people are still leaving comments as recently as 3 weeks ago.
I really liked Windows 7, UNTIL i tried finding a file. I am a PROFESSIONAL and, I swear, this is the most useless search function I have EVER seen. I do not care what other features it has, because you CANNOT simply tell it to find a file on a drive!!! I thought it was me, so I have read every search related document M$ put out.. I could not believe it. Fortunately, there are third party search utilities available that put the S_ back into the Win 7 pain in the “_earch”.
Windows XP search might have been basic, but it worked. M$ should have added to that basic functionality, but instead they removed it!!!
This is the kind of stuff that makes M$ lose customers. Vista was enough to make me want to get a Mac/Linux. Vista Service Pack Gold Edition, I mean, Win 7 is a great OS otherwise, but I wonder what other hidden “features” it has that will make me want to kick it.
M$ really has not learned anything over the years… with this kind of mentality, they are bound to continue losing market share, remain mediocre, fail in all new niche markets and, eventually, fade away. They are just one big blunder away , and it will all be downhill from there.
… and I say this as a long time PC and Microsoft products user. Yet, I think Apple will survive much longer. M$ should be worried if even their loyal supporters start to think this way.
Is this sponsored article? Win7 search is a joke.