Using Windows’ File Explorer will be the slowest but most accurate option, with flexibility that other options don’t offer.
File Explorer offers a search box at the upper-right, with the caveat that that box searches whichever folder of your PC you have currently open: If you have the Documents folder open, for example, Documents and any subfolders are searched by default. File Explorer search uses the folders that your PC has access too, making no distinction between cloud-native and local files; if your PC stores placeholder files locally, they’ll be searched just like any other file.
The File Explorer search box will autofill several recent searches, saving you the trouble. Boolean searches work here, too, so if you want to search for “sales proposal NOT Acme,” the search will exclude proposals made to Acme Corp.
Finally, File Explorer offers what some of you may have been looking for all along: a detailed “search options” menu right in the center of the screen. Weirdly, however, that menu only seems to materialize after you’ve typed in a search term inside the search box. The search options are there to refine that search, with intuitive options that include “kind” (email, journal, task, picture, and many more), and whether the file exists in a subfolder, a compressed folder, an entirely different folder, and more.
File Explorer also has the advantage of an optional preview pane, by which you can get a look at a photo, PDF file, or document without needing to technically open it. The preview pane’s default size is small enough that you’ll likely have to open the document to use it, but you can at least get an idea of whether it’s the document you were looking for.
File Explorer: The power search option
Come here to find solutions to difficult problems!
Return to “Computer Technology Zone”
Jump to
- AMD ® Processors
- ↳ AMD Ryzen™5 5600U(AMR5) 5800U
- ↳ AMD Ryzen™ 7 3750H(AM02/PRO)
- ↳ AMD Ryzen™ 5 5600U(AM06 AM07 &PRO Series)
- ↳ AMD Ryzen™ 9 6900HX(AM08PRO)
- ↳ AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800H with RX6400(G1)
- ↳ AMD Ryzen™ 7 7840HS (AM18)
- ↳ AMD Ryzen™7&5. 5700U PRO5675U (AM16)
- Intel® Core™ Ultra Processors Family
- ↳ intel® Core™ Ultra 5 125H Ultra 7 155H (F2A)
- Intel® Core™ i5 Processors
- ↳ i5-12450H & i7 11800H(AD15)
- ↳ i5-1135G7/ i5-11320H/i7-11390H (TK11 series)
- ↳ i5-8279U/i7-10810U/i7-10710U/i7-11390H/i5-12450H (CK10- series)
- ↳ i5-5257U(CK6)
- ↳ i5-7200U(CK2-8+128)
- Intel® Core™ i7 Processors
- ↳ i7-7500U(CK2-8+256)
- Intel® Core™ i9 Processors
- ↳ i9-12900H (AD08)
- ↳ Intel® i9-12900H/12700H(TANK 03 M1A )
- ↳ Intel® Core™ i9-11900H(AD08)
- ↳ i9-12900H (F1A 3 colors)
- Intel® Processor N-series Products formerly Alder Lake-N
- ↳ Intel® Processor N95(AD03/AK1PLUS/GK3PLUS/T8PLUS)
- ↳ Intel® Processor N100(AK2 PLUS)
- ↳ Mini PC RGB AK1 Plus
- ↳ New Model S1
- Intel® Celeron® Processor N Series Jasper Lake
- ↳ N5105(AK1PRO)
- ↳ N5105(GK3pro)
- ↳ N5095(T8Pro)
- Intel® Celeron® Processor Apollo Lake
- ↳ J3455(AK1)
- ↳ J3455(AK2)
- ↳ N3350(AK3)
- Intel® Celeron® Processor Gemini Lake
- ↳ N5100(JK06)
- ↳ J4125(T6Pro)
- ↳ J4125(GK3)
- Intel® Atom™ Processor-X5
- ↳ Z8350(T5)
- ↳ Z8350(T6)
- ↳ Z8350(W8)
- ↳ Z8350(T11)
- Notebook Area
- ↳ Intel® Processor N95 Laptop (AX15 & AX16)
- Activity Center
- ↳ Super User Club
- ↳ New Deal
- ↳ Buy in bulk
- ↳ CEO Response
- ↳ Customer Loyalty Program
- The Hub
- ↳ Off Topic
- ↳ Computer Technology Zone
- ↳ Directions
- ↳ Troubleshooting
- ↳ FAQ
- ↳ General Discussion
- ↳ Forum Feedback
- ↳ Emergency