How To Use Advanced Search in Windows 7, Similar To Windows XP

05/10/2016
HowtoUseAdvancedSearchinWindows7,SimilartoWindowsXP
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to Use Advanced Search in Windows 7, Similar to Windows XP
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Austin Krause | February 16, 2011 in How-To
When you need to le a speci c set of les on your computer, nding them in Windows 7 is a lot
different fromhow it was in Windows XP. By now, everyone should be familiar with the new Start Menu
and universal search box as it works great and was a big improvement over the Windows XP UI. But,
what happened to Windows Search, Search for Files and Folders, and that little happy puppy that used to
nd our les for us. Sadly, the puppy is gone, but all of the same features still exist; though they have
changed a bit. Lets take a look at whats changed and review a few tips for the new Windows 7 Search.
In Windows XP we had the groovy search dog and search menu. Things were speci c and search was pretty simple. Even
nding the search tool was simple, it was located on the Start menu and labeled Search les and folders.
http://www.groovypost.com/howto/howto/useadvancedsearchinwindows7similartowindowsxp/
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In Windows 7, there is a new universal search if you Click the Start Orb, however if you want to get speci c in your searches
with Windows 7, there is a separate place to do Advanced searches.
The search window is a regular Windows Explorer window, and all of the search options are located in one tiny little box. It
isnt really straight-forward, but once you get familiar with it, you should be good. Lets take a quick tour of Windows 7
Search and hopefully Ill answer most of your questions or at least get you started so you can explore on your own!
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How do we go about using Windows 7 advanced search?

Related Article: Windows 10 Tip: Increase Size and Color of the Mouse Pointer
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A search in Windows 7 can be performed within nearly any Explorer window. In every window, its the same with the search
box being located in the top-right corner and you can put in anything you like. The directory that your currently in will be
the directory that is searched along with any sub-directories.
If you want to perform an advanced search over the entire computer, initiate a search from the Start menu search box and
then Click See more results.
Alternatively, you could Type search-ms: into the address bar.
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So now we know how to search in speci c locations, but what about search based on variables? In XP we could search using
a range of dates, by le type, by size, or by whether a le was a song, photo, or document. Lets see how we do this with
Windows 7!
Using Search Filters

If you do a single Click on the search box in the top-right of your explorer window, it will pop-up with a small list of recent
searches, and available search lters below them. From here you can Click a Search lter to add exactly what you want to ne.
You can also just Type it into the search box manually.
Tip: Manually typing in your lter is actually very important since only a small portion of the possible lters appear asclickablelinks.
Heres a list of search lters you can Type into the search box to narrow things down:
Filter
Explanation
kind:
This will only search for les of the type that you specify. Some examples are document,
folder, picture, and calendar.
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datemodi ed:
This will search for anything based on the date that they were last modi ed.
Note that the mini-calendar will allow you to Select a range of dates if you hold down the Shift
key.
datetaken:
Searches for photos based on the day they were captured.
datecreated:
Searches for anything created on the speci ed date or time range.
name:
Windows will only search for les by their name, not contents.
type:
This will search for les of a speci ed extension. Some examples are .bmp, .pdf, .doc, and
.mp3. This is similar to the kind: lter, but much more speci c.
tags:
This will search for les based on the metadata tags that are included in the le.
size:
Search for a le of a speci c size, or you can broaden the search by looking for a range of sizes.
To make a custom range, put two periods in-between variables. For example:
size:=10mb..50mb
length:
Searches for audio and video clips by length.
authors:
You can enter the username of the person who created a le, and search will only display
results by that user.
Related Article: Your Windows 10 Questions Answered (Updated)

To make things easy, Microsoft made it so you can just type in a lter like kind: and if you wait a second, the search box will
list all the differnt Kinds You can choose from to narrow down your search. This should help you get familiar with the
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various lters and switches to use with them.
That being said, for the geekyReaders out there, if you want acomplete list of every single lter, checkMicrosofts Advanced
Query Syntax article. Microsoft also dives further into explanation of search ltershere. However, you dont always have to
use lters to narrow things down.
The wildcard is your friend!

When youre unsure of the le name, or you want to broaden the range of the search, this is where a wildcard comes in
handy. In Windows search the wildcard is a asterisk (*). If you dont want to mess around with lters, using a * can make up
for it. For example: If I want only les that have a .pst extension to show up I can type *.pst into search. This can also be
used when you dont know the complete le name of something, but typically Windows search is smart enough to nd them
regardless of if you use a wildcard.
Now granted, in this example you might also use a search like type:.pst if your looking for all FILES which had a .pst
Conclusion
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Window Search has changed a great deal since Windows XP. The new interface may not be as user friendly, but then again
the search engine itself has improved enough that you probably wont need to use Advanced search anyways. But if youre a
user who uses advanced search, the available lters more than make up for the lack of a puppy dog.
Related Article: Windows 10 November Update Restored to Windows Update and MCT
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51 Responses to How to Use Advanced Search in Windows 7, Similar to Windows XP

SakiFebruary17,2011at6:05am#
Thereisalsofiltercontents:tosearchforakeywordinsidefilecontent.ItisnotlistedinMIcrosoftadvancedquerylist
REPLY
MrGrooveFebruary17,2011at11:37am#
VerynicetopSaki!Thanks.Justtesteditoutandyeah,thatsanicefilter.
REPLY
gmodeathAugust29,2011at11:44am#
andhowdoulookforalldifferenttypeofmoviesallatoncelikeinxp?Idonththink7getsclosetoxpmoviesearch
REPLY
GertDecember31,2013at6:07am#
Thewin7searchisutterlyuseless.
Yes,ithasmanymanynewsearchoptionsbutunlessyouknowwhattheyarecalled,youcantusethem.Ifyouhappentoclick
insomemysteriousplacesyougettoseeafewbutnotall.Oryouhavetodoanintensivesearchontheinternetforthem.
HadtosearchthreeforumsbeforeIcameupwith:type:*.ccontent:interrupt
REPLY
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TerryMay10,2014at3:10am#
Ihaveoftensearchedforafile,andnotfoundtheoneIamlookingfor.
Ifounditmanually,then,withtheWindowOPEN,IsearchedAgain.IcouldSeethefile,butWindows7couldnt.
Idontneedthepuppy(thoughitwasnice),buttheoldsearchengineinXPwasmorereliable.
IsthereathirdpartysearchenginethatdoesthesamejobthattheXPsearchdid?
REPLY
MauraMarch16,2015at10:12am#
Icompletelyagreewiththispost.
Thepuppywasnottheissue
TheissueisthatIALWAYSwanttonarrowthesearchbyfiletype,date,and*keyword*
ForyearsXPletmesearchthatwayanditworksfine.Thisistoocomplicated,anditdoesntfindthefilesImlookingfor!
Butthesearchlistdisappearswhichcompletelymakesmenuts.
ThisiswhyIhateMicrosoftandwhytheirstockisdropping.Toobig.Notuserfriendly.ItsasiftheyveNEVERhadafocus
groupwithregular,noneITpeople,toseehowtheyuseit,whatworksforthemandwhatdoesnt.
TheonlyreasonIamnotonMacisbecauseWindowsiswhatmyclientsuse.Theendofwindowsdominanceisnear.
Iwillcelebrateitsdemise.
mj
REPLY
JPERCYFebruary17,2011at7:51pm#
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ThatexplanationofusingsearchinWindows7istoocomplicatedformetounderstand.
WhenIthoughtyoureallyhadsomethingthatcouldmakeWindows7searcheasy,Iwasexcited.
Canyoubreakthissearchthingdownsowecanunderstandit?Iamnowrunning2computerssothatIwillstillhaveXPtodothese
tasks.IvebeenusingWindows7forawhilenowandfinditsounfriendlythatImthinkingofjustloadingXPonthismaincomputer
again.
WhydoesMicrosoftwantustostopusingtheiroperatingsystem?Itusedtobefuntouseacomputerandmanyofuscaughtonreal
quick.
REPLY
Lightning_ThiefFebruary18,2011at1:51pm#
Windows7haschangedthingsalot,butithasalsoautomatedjustabouteverythingforyou.NowImapersonwho
hatedVistaandskippeditentirely,butIthinkWindows7isahugestepupfromXP.
Sure,theADVANCEDsearchisntasuserfriendlyasitusedtobe,butIhaveneveronceevenusedthisfeature.TheStart
Menuuniversalsearchwill9/10timesbringupexactlywhatIamlookingfor,andifitdoesntyoucaninstallthetheupdatehere:
http://www.groovypost.com/howto/microsoft/searchcontentszipdocswindows7/
IknowthatXPisalotdifferentthanWindows7,butIvefoundalotthatIlikeaboutitandhardlyanythingthatIdontlike.Ithink
myonecomplaintwouldbethenewNetworkandSharingCenterthatisaboutasusefulasaretardedelephantwithdiarrhea,
butotherthanthatitsallgravy.
REPLY
janApril22,2012at11:12am#
ifADVANCEDsearchisnotsomethingyouuseatall,thenyouarepostingatthewrongsite!thisisabout
ADVANCEDsearchinwindows!
REPLY
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KatabeachSeptember11,2011at4:20am#
Iwouldliketoexpressmythankstothiswriterjustforrescuingmefromthistypeofproblem.Becauseofcheckingthroughout
thethenetandgettingthoughtswhichwerenotpowerful,Ifiguredmyentirelifewaswellover.Beingaliveminusthesolutionstothe
issuesyouvefixedallthroughthissiteisaseriouscase,aswellasoneswhichmighthavebadlydamagedmycareerifIhadnot
discoveredyoursite.Youractualknowledgeandkindnessindealingwithallthestuffwasinvaluable.IdontknowwhatIwouldhave
doneifIhadnotcomeacrosssuchathinglikethis.Icannowlookforwardtomyfuture.Thankyouverymuchforthereliableand
effectivehelp.Iwillnothesitatetoreferyourwebpagetoanybodywhooughttohavedirectionaboutthistopic.
REPLY
RobbieNovember4,2011at1:28pm#
ImwithJPERCY.Yes,thesamesearchcapabilitiesareavailabletheyarejustadamnsighthardertoutilise.IvehadWin7
sinceitsintroductionandthisistheonefeatureIstillloathe.Whydoesntsomegeekwriteaprogramwecanruntomakeitbehave
liketheoldXPsearch?
REPLY
TerryukDecember16,2011at8:25pm#
Someoneaftermyownheart.WindowsXPsearchengineisclearanduserfriendly.IfIHAVEtoupgradetoWindows7I
thinkIwillstillkeepacopyofXPformysearches.
BringbacktheoptiontouseanXPstylesearchengine
REPLY
MikeNovember15,2011at3:06am#
Thanks.Iunderstandthis,butIdonotlikeit.
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Thisdoesnotseemtometobeanupgradeasfarassearchoptionsgo.SeemstobeashortcutandwaymoretaxingontheCPU.
IcanseethattheymayhaveintendedtomakesearchesmorespeedyforthepersonthatknowstheOPlikethebackofhishandbut
bydoingthat,theylefttheother99%outinthecold.Iwouldratherhavewaitedonasearchitemasitsearchedmysystemthanhave
hadtodoallthiscraptogettothesectionIwantedtosearchonlytofindthattheanswerisonsomeotherdrivealltogetherandthaatI
havetodoitagain.
Nicethatthisisexplainedherethough.Thanksforthat.
ireallywishtheywouldjustquitgettingsotechyaboutthewholesystemthingandjustmakeaOPthatisawesomesimple,makesit
possibletobackupwhenyouwantandwhatyouwanttoadedicateddrivethatneverintertwineswithanythingelseandhassome
sortofunpenatrablesaftydevicethatdoesntallowdiseasedfiles.LOL
ORthatIcouldjustbeinvisobleatwillwouldbecooltooIguess.justwishing.LOL
REPLY
DRGNovember17,2011at8:21am#
Idontfinditimprovedatall.Ivespentanhourtryingtofigureouthowtosearchfortextinsideadocument(andnotjustthe
documenttitle)unsuccessfully.Thisarticledidnthelpmeeither.
REPLY
PumpkinSeedFebruary14,2012at10:05am#
IthinkyouneedtoinstallMicrosoftOffice2010FilterPacks:
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=17062
Also,asSuperJmentioned,youwilldowelltohaveFileSearchEX:http://goffconcepts.com/products/filesearchex/
(FileSearchEXworkswiththeFilterPacks)
~Andrew
REPLY
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VivekSeptember1,2014at4:21am#
Thiswasaveryhelpfulupdate,loveditthanks
REPLY
PeteDecember4,2011at8:19pm#
Thanksforyourtips.Ithashelpedwithsearchingforfiles.
WindowsXPhadagreatsearchfeatureandonlyMicrosoftcouldshootitselfinthefootbyintroducingauselessfeatureinWindows7,
whichitpromotesastheultimateWindows.
REPLY
JohnDecember14,2011at2:25pm#
IagreethatWindowsshootsitselfinthefoot.Exceptitiswe,notthem,thatgetinjured.
Thisgroovyarticlewaslessthanusefulinhelpingmetounderstandonethingaboutthenew,lameWindows7searchfeature.
HowcanIgetittosearchwithmorethanonefilterinplace?DoIneedtolearnasyntaxandbecomeaprogrammer?Ionlyseemto
beabletoselectfrompriorsinglefiltersearches.HowcanIknowwhatishappening?IlikedseeingitlaidoutformmeinXP.
REPLY
SuperJJanuary17,2012at2:46pm#
>>Whydoesntsomegeekwriteaprogramwecan
>>runtomakeitbehaveliketheoldXPsearch?
IthinktheyhaveitiscalledFileSearchEX.
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REPLY
ktakespeedJanuary25,2012at4:58am#
ThanksAll,ButIcouldntunderderstandyetHowcanIsearchadocumentinhiddenfiles.PuppywashelpmeinXP.Nowis
itpossiblewithfilter?How?
Thanksforassistants
REPLY
NettechJanuary27,2012at6:45am#
Thisarticledidnothelp,andwindows7searchisatotaljokeandadisgrace,Iamnowgoingtosearchfora3rdpartyGUIto
dowhatthisOSshoulddobydefault.ShameonMS.
REPLY
RobbieJanuary30,2012at10:42pm#
ItriedAgentRansackandwasntgreatlyimpressed.IfsomeonefindsasearchprogrammorecloselyresemblingtheXP
searchpleaseletmeknow,asIstillloatheWindows7search.
NettechisrightShameonMicrosoft.
REPLY
DheerajGroverFebruary12,2012at12:09pm#
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Ihavemanytypeoffiles(.jpg,.doc,.xml,.txt)inafolderandinitssubfolders.Iwanttosearchfollowingstringinallxmlfilesundera
folderandallitssubfolders:
IcouldnotdosousingWindows7search.RatherDOScouldhelpme:
d:\dheeraj\test>findstr/s/C:*.xml
IsthereanywayWindows7candothis?
REPLY
DheerajGroverFebruary12,2012at12:13pm#
oops..repostingmyquery:
ANote:Kindlytreat{less_than_symbols}asasthispostcovertsthemtotags.
Ihavemanytypeoffiles(.jpg,.doc,.xml,.txt)inafolderandinitssubfolders.Iwanttosearchfollowingstringinallxmlfilesundera
folderandallitssubfolders:
{less_than_symbol}taxyear=\201112\{greater_than_symbol}
IcouldnotdosousingWindows7search.RatherDOScouldhelpme:
d:\dheeraj\test>findstr/s/C:{less_than_symbol}taxyear=\201112\{greater_than_symbols}*.xml*
IsthereanywayWindows7candothis?
REPLY
JPApril11,2012at11:33pm#
IcantbelieveanyonewoulddescribetheW7searchasanimprovementonXP.
Yourstatingthatmakesallyourpostsheresuddenlysuspect.
SincethedaythisoperatingsystemwasfoistedonmeIhavebeenlookingforanalternativefilemanagementandsearchfunction.I
havetriedseveralbutsadlynoneseemedabletoovercomeMicrosoftsAPI.
Oh..andIneverlikedthatannoyingpuppyeither.
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WeneedPeterNortonandhisCommanderback!
REPLY
SteveKrauseApril12,2012at7:12am#
Really?XPSearch?IhadafewAddonsbutXp..HaveyoutriedEVERYTHINGbyVoidTools?
http://www.groovypost.com/reviews/freewareeverythingvoidtools/
Thatsnottoobad.
REPLY
JPApril12,2012at8:58am#
ThankyouSteve.Ijusttrieditnowanditsnothalfbad.IthinkIamgoingtocontinueusingit.
Tinyandfast.
Nobloatwarethere!
REPLY
JPApril11,2013at12:09am#
umm.yeah
Steve?
IhavebeenusingEverythingfromVoidToolseversinceyoufirstpostedyoursuggestion.(Forthosewhomaybe
confusedEverythingisanaddonsearchtoolthatdoesabetterjobofsearchingthanW7.)
ButSteve
ItstilldoesnotreplaceXPsfunctionalityanditisclunkyandverynonconfigurable.
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IreallyreallyreallywanttofindasearchenginethatactuallyworksthewayIwantitto.
REPLY
AlaaJune26,2012at11:17am#
Thankyouman.Youdirectlypointedthetruth.
Microsoftkeepsdoingthesamemistakesandafter23versiongoesbacktowhatwasworkingfunctions.
IloveNorton
REPLY
LorrieJune5,2012at4:59pm#
Greatinformationthanksverymuch,thisisextremelyhelpful.
Forthoseindividualswhocontinuetohavedifficultysearchingpdffiles,hereisawebsitelinkforafixthatIalsofoundtobevery
helpful.Itsveryimportanttoreadalloftheinstructionsbeforedownloading.
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=4025
Thanksagain
REPLY
dbJuly23,2012at1:40pm#
Windows7searchisasignificantstepBACKWARDS:thereare100soffiltersyoujusthavetoknow:forChristssakethey
dontevenprovidealinkthatyoucangetthelistandtheiruse!!!!
TheproductmanagerforWindowsSearchshouldbeFIRED!!!!!
Whytheycannothaveanadvancedseachlinklikeeveryotherbasicseach.
Itscrap
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REPLY
AndrewSeptember20,2012at9:29pm#
IhadtoinstallavirtualwindowsXPtobeabletofindsomethingonwindows7,andIfounditwithXP,notwithwin7.Your
postsareobviouslybiased.
REPLY
FactChecker3October31,2012at2:15pm#
ThefirstWindowsversionthatmakespeoplehappyisthelastonetheywillwanttobuy.EveryWindowsversionmusthave
someannoyingfundamentalflaws.Itsthebusinessofamonopoly.
REPLY
ReseApril2,2013at12:42am#
ThisWindows7isahugetimewaster(ifthatisevenaword).Ittake35timesaslongtolocateanythingthatyousave,ifyou
caneverlocateitagain.IftechnologywasntsuchabigpartofmylifeandcareerIwouldstillbeusingWindows98orevenxp.Every
productthathascomeafterthosemodelshavebeenajoketosociety.Windowsdefinitelysubscribestothemotoifitaintbroken
breakit.thensitbackandlaugh.
Ugh!frustrated!
REPLY
DarrenApril10,2013at3:29pm#
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Ilikewindows7,overallimprovement.
Searchisadisappointmentregardinghowitwasimplemented.
ThefactyoucanenterveryspecificcriteriaisgreatbuttheGUIhasalmostnofeedbackonitsusage.Imasoftwaredeveloper,used
tousingveryadvancedsyntaxsuchasREGEXandhonestlyIfindthisformatcumbersomeandvague.ImneverquitesureifwhatI
typedisreturningwhatImexpecting.
ThereshouldbesomethingyoucanclicktogettheFULLlistofsearchfiltersANDhowtointeracttogether.Thereseamstobeno
explanationofcomplexsearchesbeyondsimplewords.
Eg.IfIwanttowanttosearchforafilewhosnamecontainsbothcommonandfilethesearchsyntaxisname:commonAND
name:filenotname:commonANDfilebuttrytofindthatinanyhelpordocumentation,youwont.
REPLY
WesApril15,2013at8:21am#
Windows7searchwillNOTsearchmetadatawithinfilesnorwillitsearchbinaryfiles.ThesearchassistantinWindowsXP
did.
REPLY
JPApril15,2013at11:15pm#
AustinKrause?SteveKrause?
Whoiswho?
AtanyrateIamdeclaringthewriterofthispieceoftripetobeamerecheerleaderforMicrosoftandIwouldadviseanyonelookingfor
factualinformationoncomputerrelatedissuestolookelsewhere.TheWindows7searchfacilityispathetic.
AustinKrauseyouhaveyouropportunitytoreplyhere.
AsfarasIandobviouslymanyothersareconcerned,youneedtoeitherapologizeforwritingthisarticleorattempttoconvinceusthat
Windows7actuallyhasadecentsearchfunction.
Goodluckwiththat.
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REPLY
RogerMay31,2013at6:45am#
IlladmitupfrontIdonotlikeWindows7.Iamforcedtouseitinacorporateenvironment.Asahomeuser,ifIneedtouse
MS,IuseXPandwillcontinuetodosountilitisnolongerfeasible(includingforgoingtheuseoftheextraRAM).Asfortheadvanced
searchinWindows7,itdoesnotworkforme.IsearchaspecificbinaryfileonaUSBdrive.IcanseeitisthereinWindowsexplorer.
WhenIsearchusingthefirsttwolettersofthenamewithawilcardandthedateitwasmodified,Windows7advancesearchfailsto
findit.WhenIcloseseachandbrowsethedirve,itisthere.Whatanepicfailofasearchengine!
REPLY
ShehzieSeptember29,2013at10:23am#
ProfessionallyIneedtousethesearchoptionawordorphraseinthefile,asIhavetosearchforatermintonsandtonsof
MSworddocfiles,anditsreallyreallyeasytofindafilewithspecificterminXP.
AnyonehasanyideahowtodothatinW7??
REPLY
MikeMay20,2014at11:45am#
IwasfortunatetohavethecompanyITpeoplefindasolutiontothisproblemasIsearchadirectoryofabout30files
containing600documentsforastringofwordsorpartialsentences.TodothisinWindows7typethefollowing
contents:wordsgohere
Dontputanyspacingbetweenthecolonandthequotemarks.Worksgreat.IfonlyIcouldhavefoundthisoutearlier.
REPLY
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bhoomiDecember19,2015at3:38am#
thanks,beenveryusefulinemergencysituation!!!!!!!!
thanksagain
REPLY
AnandDecember19,2013at12:24pm#
VeryHelpful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
REPLY
LinoMarch12,2014at11:13am#
IuseWindows764BitUltimate,WindowsXP32bitadnUbuntu12.04LTS32and64bitathome,CentOSandwin732bit
professionalonmywork.
Iamadvanceduser,workinginsoftwarecompanyandIamfrustratedwithwindows7.
YesterdayItryedtosearch:*.nrg(allNeroimagesonmyG:partition).Ihaveover60*.nrgfilesbutwindows7findsonly3ofthemor
evenbetter,Ihave28*.isofiles,windows7finds0ofthem.
Iamtalkingaboutfreshinstallofwin764bitUltimate.Iamalsofrustratedwithannoyingrunasadministratorthing(hereshouldbe
optionofmodularwin7installation)andyes,Iamfamiliarwithalwaysrunasadministrator
Also,firewallinboundandoutboundrulestimewaster.Iemansomeoptionsaregoodforsomegeekwithglassesandnerdybrain
butIamsickandtiredoflosingtoomuchtimeonsomanylittlethings.
NetworkoptionsarepainintheassandIwillrepeat,whythehelltheydontmakemodularwindows7/8installation???
AthomeIjustwantsimple,userfriendlywindowsonwhichIwillbeabletoplaygames,storefiles,connectothercomputersandwatch
movies.
WIndowsXPwasextremlysimpletousejustasWindows98/95,Windows7arepainintheass!
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REPLY
AugustMay5,2014at9:53am#
ImgladIfoundthisarticleandtheaccompanyingcomments(thataddmuchneededinformation/experience).Iamrunning
Win7Professional64andthesearchfeaturerarelyfindsthefilesIamsearchingforandIcouldntfigureoutwhatIwasdoing
wrong.Infact,whenIfirstinstalledWin7IfoundittoofrustratingtoattempttousethesearchfunctionsoIwouldslidemychairover
toamachinerunningWin2000,onthesamenetwork,tosearchtheHDsontheWin7machine.
TheMSdocumentationbackthenwaswoefullyinadequate,simplystatingthatalloneneededtodowasbegintypinginthenameofa
fileandpresto,thefilewouldbelocatedmuchquickerthanbefore.B*llsh*t!Now,yearslater,Ihaveattemptedtodeterminewhythe
Win7searchfeaturedoesnotworkwellforlocatingfilesandIhavenotbeenabletoidentifyapattern.
IamhappytolearnthatIamnottheonlyuserforwhomthesearchfeaturedoesnotperformasadvertised.
REPLY
qpirselMay11,2014at1:41am#
@August
AtfirstyoushouldcheckiftheWindowsfunctionWindowsSearchisactivated(normallybydefault).Donotbeamazedwhenyou
alsofindafunctioncalledIndexService.ThiswasthepredecessorofWindowsSearchandshouldnotbeactivated.
ThenyouhavetosearchforIFiltersonthewebforadditionaldocumenttypeslikePDFs,VSD,etc.
Afteryouinstalledthemsetupthelocationswhichshouldbeindexed(MSdidagoodjobtoconfusetheuserswiththeseterms)by
WindowsSearchanddontforgettochecktheadditionaloptionslikesearchwithinfilesorthephoneticsearch.Trytotypesomething
likesearchinyourstartmenutofindthecorrectoptionwindow.
AfterallWindowsSearchshouldstarttoindexorreindextheselectedlocations.
OnewordortwototoWindowsSearchitself.Itisarealpowerfullandfastsearchtoolonceyousetituptherightway.Oneofthemost
powerfullfeatures(IMHO)is,thatclientsareawareofthesearchindexonservers(likefileservers).Mostofthe3rdpartytoolscant
dothatbecausetheyusetheirownindexandthisleadsintomassiveI/Osontheserver.
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BTW:Windows8broughtbackauserfriendlysearchguiforwindowssearch.ImalsostilllookingforasimpleGUIforWindows
Search(notany3rdpartytool).
REPLY
DevinJuly15,2014at10:21pm#
Excellentarticle,forthosewhoknowtheirwayaroundthings.
REPLY
meatballOctober12,2014at5:09am#
IwishMSwouldmakeabrandnewretrowindowsXP.MaybecallitXPCLASSIC2015.Makeitwithallthefeaturesasthe
pastbutabletorunallthelatesttechnology.Iftheydidthissaleswouldbeveryhighandtheywouldmakebillions.almosteveryone
wouldbuythisOSasfastastheycould.WhichleadsmetowonderwhybigcorporationslikeMSdonotunderstandthingslikethis?
insteadtheykeeplosingshareontheOS.
REPLY
thisisunbelievableOctober19,2014at4:05am#
Well,thearticleseemsbiasedtome,too,hopefullyonlybecausethewriterisaverytechiepersonwhoenjoystyping
commands,etc.
Well,Iamontheotherside,Icouldntbelievetheadvancedsearchwasjustcutdowntothissmall,uselessboxintheupperright
corner.
TheonlythingIdidnotlikeaboutXPsearchwasthestrangesoundeffectthatcamewiththedogeverhadalotofwindowsopen
andsuddenlythissoundappearedinthemiddleofthenight?
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05/10/2016
Ihopesomeonewillcreateafreewarewithabunchofanimals,UFOs,smiley,etc.thatwecanchosefromtoaccompanythesearchif
wewish,withoptional,usefulsoundeffects(e.g.aonethattellsyouthatsearchisoverwhileyouaredoingsomethingelseina
differentwindow/computer).
Iknowthepuppyisnotarealfunctionalityproblemandguysmayfreakoutbutthosewerementionedalready:searchinWin7isnot
userfriendly,impractical,afterthesearchresultsappearyouareeitherluckytohavetheoptionsearchfilecontentsornot
(workaroundwassuggestedonhelpsitestosetalwayssearchinfilecontentswhichisoftenunnecessaryandslowsdownthe
searchfornogoodreason),findslessfilesthanXPdid,apparentlydidnotsearchfortextin.srtfiles(maybeitispossibletoteachthis
tothelamethingbutwhyisitnotinthedefaultsetting?)
IfsomethingisnotbrokenwhyfixingitThissolutionseemsmoreasiftheyforgotaboutthesearchengineGUIandinthelasthour
beforeofficiallylaunchingWin7someonegoes:Whatthehell,weforgotthesearchGUI?!andsothelittleboxwastweakedinto
haveatleast*something*.
WhydidnttheylaunchanoptionalupdateforpeoplelikeustohavetheoldGUIback?(Orincasetheyreallyforgot:foreveryoneto
havetheGUIagain)
IcantbelievethatIneedtolookforadditionalprogramstorestorethebasicfunctionalitythatIhadmorethan10yearsagoalready.
Thanksforthetipsfromthecommenters.
REPLY
KrisNovember25,2014at11:13pm#
soiwanttogetthiscompletelycorrect
Thewildcardismyfriend.IfIwantonlyfilesthathavea.pstextensiontoshowupIcantype*.pst
thenwhyshould
iNowgranted,inthisexampleyoumightalsouseasearchliketype:.pstifyourlookingforallFILESwhichhada.pstbecauseifyou
donottellwindowsthat.pstmeans.pst
imlitterlyloosingmymindatthemoment..icantwrapitaroundthefactITISTHESAME@@@@ingthing
MYSONSLIPPEDWHILECOPPING1500MP3FILESANDCREATED1500DUPLICATESALLNAMEDLIKETHISDeepPurple
SmokeontheWaterSoundsoftheSeventies_1973(1).mp3(rememberthewildcardismyfriendhere)SOIRUNASEARCHFOR
*(*).MP3thenewsearchwindowdoesnothaveadjustiblefieldssoicantseethefullfilename..igetaimageinfrontofeach
(incorrect)result..GIVEMEAwindowthatusesmypredefinedwindowssettingsfontsizeanddisplaylayoutGIVEMEAUSABLY
SeARCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
25/29
05/10/2016
REPLY
JPNovember29,2014at1:17pm#
SorryKris
YouareSH*Toutofluck.
EversinceXPWindowshasgonedownhillinsomanydirections.
ThewildcardisNOTyourfriend.
NothinginWindowsSearchisyourfriend.
Infact,Windowsisnolongeryourfriend.
MicrosoftissobusytryingtoemulatetheworstfeaturesoftheMacOSthatitnolongerhastimeforyouandyourproblems.
Microsoftactuallyhatesyou.
Microsofthatesanybodywhoactuallycareswheretheirfilesareontheircomputers.
So..Getovertryingtomakeyour$2,000.computerdowhatyoupaidittodo.Itwontwork.Microsofthasputanendtothat.
WanttobuyanewcomputerwithXPinstalled?
Hahaha!sorry
Getusedtostrugglingwitheverything.
TheWindowsyouusedtoknowisextinctandhasbeenreplacedbyanOSdesignedbyandforidiots.
Putyourdumbhatonandgetusedtoit.
REPLY
DamianDFebruary13,2015at11:29am#
Honestly,theWindowssearchisstillcrap!Ithinktheonlywaytogetadecentsearchexperienceistouseathirdpartytool
suchasLookeen(www.lookeen.com)oreverythingsearchengine.Justmyopinion
REPLY
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How To Use Advanced Search in Windows 7, Similar To Windows XP

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How do we go about using Windows 7 advanced search?

Using Search Filters

Searches for photos based on the day they were captured.

Searches for anything created on the speci ed date or time range.

Searches for audio and video clips by length.

Related Article: Your Windows 10 Questions Answered (Updated)

various lters and switches to use with them.

The wildcard is your friend!

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