ARCHIVED: In Windows, how do I locate a file if I know its name or its contents?
To locate a file with a known name or known contents in Windows:
Windows 8
With the cursor anywhere in the Start screen, begin typing your search term(s).
Windows 7 and Vista
Enter your search term(s) in the
menu search field.Windows XP
Note: If this doesn't match what you see, refer to ARCHIVED: Get around in Windows.
- From the
Search Results
dialog box will appear. menu, select either or
, and then or . A - In the resulting dialog box, click
Note: You may use wildcard characters in place of text of which you are unsure; see ARCHIVED: What is a wildcard, and how can I use it?
. Then, in the "All or part of the file name" field, type
the name of the file you want to locate. Alternatively, in the "A word
or phrase in the file" or the "Containing text:" field, you can enter
search terms based on the file's content.
- In the "Look in:" field, click the arrow to display a drop-down menu from which you can choose a drive or folder to search. Select the drive to search. To search all your hard drives and mapped network drives, choose .
- Click .
Note: To include hidden files in your search returns,
you must specifically instruct Windows to look for them. See ARCHIVED: In Windows, how do I view hidden files? (You can also indicate this in the Search
Options
window itself.)
You can further restrict or direct your search.
In the Search Results
window, the down arrows beside
"When was it modified?" allow you to search for files recently
accessed. Similarly, the down arrows beside "What size is it?"
allow you to search for files of certain size ranges. Under "More
advanced options", you can specify the type of file, whether or
not to search system and hidden folders, whether or not to look in
subfolders, and additional options.
This is document accs in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2018-01-18 10:35:23.