How To Use Windows 7 Search

Posted by The Geek

Windows 7 Search is not easy to use and the complete lack of documentation on it only serves to make it even more of a pain to use. The learning curve for it is particularly high due to the extremely limited user interface that it provides. Without at least some knowledge of where to start it is of little help to most people. These are some of the commands that I have found that work. If you have additional commands please add them in the comments below.

To use these commands begin by typing in the command below and when you have the syntax correct the color of the command will change to a light blue. Once the first part turns blue there will be a pop-down that will then let you click to select a secondary option if available. Once the secondary command has been selected it will look like this kind:=document. If you are searching for the contents of a document it will look like this contents:”how to use windows 7 search”. You must manually include quotation marks if the phrase or item you are searching for includes spaces.

Available Commands

datemodified:
size:
contents:
folder:
type:
ext: (jpg, doc, avi, etc.)
datetaken:
tags:
name:
author:
kind:
from:
before: (date)
after: (date)
lastsavedby: (username)
comments:
datelastprinted:

Type of files

kind:
kind:=Document

Calendar
Communication
Contact
Document
Email
Feed
Folder
Game
Instant Message
Journal
Link
Music
Movie
Note
Picture
Program
Recorded TV
Saved Search
Task
Video
Web History

Music specific search keywords
bitrate:
artist:
album:
genre:
lyrics:
track:
year:

Picture specific search keywords
cameramake:
cameramodel:
dimensions:
orientation:
width:
height:
flashmode:
taken:

28 Comments

Tolga

Said,

I used to love being able to search for a word in a text preview in the preview pane. I used to hit F4 and type for a search phrase. That functionality seems to have disappeared in Win 7. Is it there and I’m missing it?

If that’s not available, is there an alternative search application/add-on/preview snap-on/whatever it might be out there that can be downloaded to augment or replace Win7’s search?

named_one

Said,

It appears that M$ has decided that we don’t need to be able to search for things by name. Once upon a time, names were considered a good way to identify things… I guess I’m behind the times, because I still though it was, but searches in Windows Explorer now default to searching everything, including file extensions! A gargantuan leap backwards in functionality and user friendliness… but then it *is* M$. I guess if I want user friendliness I’ll have to join the cult of jobs.

Don A in Pennsyltucky

Said,

None of this is as useful as the Win2K/XP Search which allowed simultaneous specification of ext(s) and contents. My favorite was to find all the places where something was used so the exts would be:
*.cpp,*.h, *.hpp
containing
fooBar(

But I found AgentRansack which provides the functionality that is missing.

And none of it explains how the developers of Win7 failed to keep the old style search available. No one will ever convince me that this search is useful to anyone outside of a Marketing Dept who lost their phone# and have to search by SSN to find it.

pristinecc

Said,

Are you married? I love you. ;-) Seriously though, thank you so much. This Windows 7 has been the most frustrating thing for me. Once again, thank you. You are a such a time saver for me and I am sure for everyone who finds your post.

Sincerely,
Annie Garrison

nygrump

Said,

Typical of MS to DOWNGRADE all their new versions – I don’t want to have to search the contents of all files each time – its idiotic – the formerly entitled File Management features keep getting worse and worse with each version, its like a joke. But the MS monolith has all the tech media in line for their ad dollars so we can’t look to them to discuss the situation form the user point of view.

Jimster

Said,

This search facililty was probably developed by the same twits that gave us Microsoft “Bob”. It too sucked.

The Hook

Said,

Thanks loads.

Windows 7 is geared up for the point-and-click generation, which makes it incredibly inefficient for anyone who knows even the most miniscule amount about filing and sorting their data.

Sadly, none of this is/was necessary, the menus with lists you can read as opposed to a goofy, archaic, jumbled, nonlinear ‘ribbon’ could have been kept they way they were; it’s just a few more lines of code.

Like the iPhone, Windows is moving towards makig the computer (almost) work the illiterate.

It has cost businesses billions and billions of dollars in lost productivity. Someone should sue them, or maybe we can join some kind of class action lawsuit.

Or do we all move to something logical, like Linux?

frazzled

Said,

One major thing even the ridiculously-difficult-to-use “advanced” search syntax from windows 7 does not seem to support is fairly frequently needed. Need to search for (1) all files containing “minutes” within the file name, and (2) all files containing text string of “decision”, for example. I.E., all files with a given string, that also contain a different string in the text. EASY with XP, ain’t happnin’ with Windows 7. (And please don’t come back with a mile-long syntax I need to type in to do the search. I have no intention of wasting my time figuring out how to use this abomninable tool…getting freeware. Did Microsoft not even test this garbage? Who would have approved this?

Win7SearchReallySucks

Said,

All I want to do is select a directory, and find a string that occurs inside any file from that location. How hard should that be.
I am sick to death of rebuilding, recreating and messing around with indexes…..it would be quicker to just open 1000 files into notepad and do a text search on each…..what a waste of time.

Bring back Windows XP search…..at least it would find things.

Psycogeek

Said,

Thank you sir, for your intelectual tutorial on how to use the windows 7 search fatures.
Without such a good help file on its use, I would have actually thought about using it more. It has been heck, and cant even find the odd things i wish for it to locate. the Options for it are Ketch 22, and the coresponding search indexer (i tried to use) is as big a waste as it ever was.
This type of tool aparentally has a few function for a few people, WHO must be the same ones who dont know where they stored thier own documents. it has little or no value to the normally organised, and for those that use more than 4 file types.

now i can find something to replace it that is intuitive and fast, and not bother with whatever this THANG is .
Your assistance has been greatly appretiated.

Allan4576

Said,

Why did Microsoft$ destroy the Windows XP Search. It worked well. You could easily search by name and/or file contents, plus it was easy to use.

Are they are hell bent on making changes to Windows so they can justify a new version and make a profit$.

They do the same in the development tools like Visual Studio where they have removed useful functionality in the newer version. Visual Studio 2010 is inferior to Visual Studio 2008.

timandm

Said,

Gotta agree with Allan4576, XP search worked so well… So why did they freaking change it???

I’m trying to follow these instructions (and I do appreciate them) but I don’t seem to be able to follow them… For example,

“To use these commands begin by typing in the command below and when you have the syntax correct the color of the command will change to a light blue. ”

Type the commands WHERE?!?!?! Into WHAT?

Please help. I’m so stuck.

SuperJ

Said,

To those of you looking for XP Style search under Windows 7, there is a solution … it is called FileSearchEX … I have no idea why Windows 7 search works the way it does … I appreciate the author trying to figure it out though!

win7sucksucksucksucksdiediediehorriblyMS

Said,

Win7 (which I am forced to use at work; at home I will use XP until its no longer functional and then either swith to linux or write my own OS. Actually it should be called Lose7 Not Win…) should come with a thesaurus of swear words; my 28 years as an enlisted person in the military did not leave me with sufficient vocabulary to adequately express myself when using Win7 – within 10 minutes of booting win7 EVERY DAY I find I am repeating myself already.

I have just spent 20 minutes (so far) watching a HUGE list of completely f-ing irrelevant files pile up (36000 and counting; ~9 of them are what I wanted it to search for [ I dont mean successful search results, just that it looked at 9 files I wanted it to out of infinity minus 3 stupid ones and actually I am just guessing at the 9 – its impossible to get a meaningful count] ) when all I wanted was to know what files had ‘website’ in the name.

And why on earth when I click on a directory name on the left column would I want the *** thing to instantly scroll down off the screen where I cant see it?!?! Odds are I opened it up so I could view files in it and now I have to find it and drag it back up after overcoming the confusion caused by it disappearing without even a cartoonlike puff of smoke to let me know something happened?

And what did it cost them to have an “up” button so I can convienently go back to the parent of the current window? I dont want to have to read and process the file path to figure out which one is the next higher one and I dont want to have to keep moving the cursor to hit it – I want a fixed-location button that takes me up one level – not an eye-hand coordination dexterity test. If I wanted to try to chase moving targets all over I’d have started World of Warcraft, not windows explorer.

win7sucksucksucksucksdiediediehorriblyMS

Said,

Oops – got myself so worked up I left out kudos:
“Awesome – this is great”

madatms

Said,

I used the contents:”text i new was in a file in the search tree” and it didn’t work. Not surprised. Microshaft Windoz is harder to use than any other OS now.

DonInCt

Said,

I try to search files for content, but the windows 7 search, narrowed to a particular folder only returns files of type *.docx, while I know there are other files (but not of Microsoft apps) that are simple text files that are not returned. If I try to search these files by type (name: *.txt contents: ABC) the search engine returns nothing.

Is there a third party search engine?

The Larch

Said,

Third party search engines that I have seen recommended are Voidtools Search Everything, http://www.easexp.com/xsearch, and http://goffconcepts.com/products/filesearchex/index.html.

kirkp

Said,

With Libraries in Win7 Professional, I was able to Arrange by Type.
However, in Win 7 Home, the Arrange By drop down menu seems to just default to Folder. Are the options diabled, or is there a setting I need to change?

Debnerd

Said,

I believe the technical term we are all looking for here is ‘SUCKS’.

IT support

Said,

thank you :)

window7=insanity

Said,

win7suck…..die….horrible….
I could not agree more – search function sucks, just show me the 10-15 files that have the word i am looking for in the “FILENAME”, not the thousands of irrevalent BS that it keeps coming up with. And the scrolling down thing in the left column, complete cr*p. And yes, please, please, please – just a simple up button. One last thing, when I type cr*p into the search, why do i get a bunch of results that dont seem to have that work in the name or in the file?

WindowsLost

Said,

Win7 search is the most useless, frustrating and stupid search tool I’ve every worked with. Finds stuff that doesn’t match my search term, and doesn’t find other stuff that does match. After spending WAY too much time trying to figure out how to find a file that contains a string (yes – even after reindexing and using the “contents:” command) and not finding the results, I downloaded FileSearchEx.

Found that file approx. 5 seconds after downloading it. Abandoning Win7 search forever now.

Still use XP at home. And like it MUCH better in general.

English68

Said,

I know this is old but I’d still like to know how you search for all documents etc for a certain word or words. I loved the XP way but 7 doesn’t have this feature (or at least I haven’t found it yet).

AlsoEnglish

Said,

@ English68
Do this: Open up computer, then in the top right type CONTENTS:ABC This will list everything with ABC in it. To narrow down your search results, navigate to the folder you have saved your document or whatever it is.
Hope this has helped.

Faustino X. Morton

Said,

Could I please have this issue bumped? I find the ability to print to generic text files critical as the lowest format to integrate uncooperating programs. The omission is a defect of Windows 7.

Bill South

Said,

Yes, this is an old thread.
But the Win7 search still sucks.
Due to how ‘locked down’ my work machien is:
– third party solutions are a non-starter (yes, that means I cannot add a search tool to the machine)
– making *ANY* changes to the Indexing Options is a non-starter (yes, that includes changing which locations are included or excluded; or changing any of the options available within the Advanced portion)
Yeah, that is very limited.
I have a shared laptop that still has XP and am doing my best to prevent it from being ‘upgraded’ to Win7 just so I can have a viable search option (all our comps went straight from XP to Win7).

Problem is, I support users that are less intuitive // command line oriented than I am.
And even using all the ‘manually type this criteria in’ options, the Win7 search routinely does not find what I know exists.
The search utility should be able to find a file faster than I can lookign for it manually based off where I think it might have been placed.

I won’t say I am at my wits end (I’m not), I will say I am very disappointed and would like to have a viable answer for when one of the staff askes me:
“How do I find a file that I do not know any part of the name but I might …
… know some of the text that might be in the file?”
… have some vague idea of when it was created?”
… have a general idea of the size it is?”

[And yes, I have been asked each of those more than ocne this year.]
[And yeah, I have a solid handle on AQS – just try explaining that to a “grandma trying to find her Backstreet Boys mp3s” type user.]

Bureau of Sabotage

Said,

Thank you! I’ve been struggling with this since I got the new OS.

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