Questions tagged [windows-search]

Windows Search is the functionality built into the Windows OS for finding files, folders and programs on a PC or in connected storage.

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11 votes
5 answers
9k views

Command line tool to search phrases in large number of pdf files [closed]

I'm using Opensuse 10.3 and like to know command line tools to search phrases in large number of pdf files inside a directory. In Windows XP the Explorer search allows this but is too slow. Is there ...
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

How to remove Windows 10 Bing / Copilot recommendation from search

For quite some time now I have this annoying Recommended section pop up in my search (when clicking the search bar), suggesting me to try out "the new Bing" with "Your AI-powered ...
4 votes
3 answers
4k views

Find all folders with specific files in them?

This is on Windows-7. I need to find all folders with specific files in them and list them preferably in Explorer. Is it at all possible, I seem to have hard time figuring this. This probably can be ...
-2 votes
1 answer
1k views

How to revert the new Windows 10 search icon?

Back in May somewhere, all my laptops automatically updated Windows 10. I immediately got disgusted by the look of the new search icon on my taskbar: I can't stand the look and size of this icon, it ...
1 vote
1 answer
265 views

Windows 10 Refresh Search Results Program Icon

I created my own executable with an icon file embedded into it and I put a shortcut to the program in the start menu folder C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\...
0 votes
2 answers
2k views

How to search only for folders in the search bar = Windows File Explorer Search Box of Windows 10

I wonder what I am doing wrong or whether the search bar has changed. I need to make a search from the search bar of the Windows Explorer that puts out only folders. There is quite some rough research ...
1 vote
1 answer
3k views

Windows 10, how to recover deleted files that were deleted from a search in the file explorer?

In Windows 10, I have searched a folder for files containing a certain name and deleted it. Afterwards, I reconsidered and wanted those files back; I then went looking into the recycle bin, but it was ...
4 votes
2 answers
5k views

Windows 10 File Explorer Search Not Working

Using Windows 10 Pro 64bit. When I type something in the top right Search box of the File Explorer nothing happens. However it does work in Safe Mode. How do I fix this?
3 votes
3 answers
3k views

Windows 10 search within images

Just like Windows 10 will search file content like pdfs etc. is there a way to get it to OCR and search within images? Especially I have a lot of screenshots etc in a folder of websites or other text ...
56 votes
8 answers
138k views

How to search inside PDFs with Windows Search?

I'd like to use Windows Search for searching through multiple PDFs in one go, but I see that in the Indexing Options' Advanced Options screen, PDF files don't have a registered IFilter: What is an ...
149 votes
3 answers
46k views

Windows 10 Search not loading, showing blank window

The Search menu on my Windows 10 suddenly stopped working. When I click the Search icon or type something in the Start menu, it just shows a blank search window. I've tried rebuilding the index, SFC /...
1 vote
3 answers
5k views

How to find video files with length less than 30 minutes on windows 10

I want to search for all video files that have a length that is less than 30 minutes, so that I can delete them. How can I do that?
0 votes
1 answer
245 views

Alternatives to Windows Search using Advanced Query Syntax or similar

Windows Desktop Search in Windows 10 from within Explorer seems wonky. In recent Win 10 versions, Microsoft has chosen to no longer show the Search tab in an Explorer window until a search has ...
0 votes
1 answer
129 views

Why Windows 10 Search forcefully excludes folders from the indexing locations?

For some reason, there are a pair of folders I want indexed in the root of my X: drive that can't be fully indexed. I open indexing options, click "Modify" to change locations and checkmark ...
1 vote
0 answers
31 views

One application (Steam) lagging when hitting “Enter” after searching on Windows Start menu

My question is similar to this one. I've noticed that my problem only happens with Steam (so far), there is a delay between me hitting Enter and Steam actually starting. The delay is not due to Steam ...
0 votes
1 answer
82 views

Unable to use task bar search next to start menu

Ever since Windows 10 forcefully restarted my computer for an update on Wednesday night, I've been unable to use the task bar search box that's right next to the Windows icon. I can use the regular ...
0 votes
3 answers
378 views

How to index Desktop in Windows 11 where Desktop is part of OneDrive

Since I use OneDrive and Desktop is part of my OneDrive Backup folders, it's located at %UserProfile%\OneDrive\Desktop I can't find the OneDrive directory and hence can't find Desktop to index; how do ...
1 vote
3 answers
7k views

How to find one specific folder in Outlook among very many folders?

I have Outlook 2013 and have many folders down the side for all my contacts and supplier emails received from them. I want to be able to find a folder quickly without having to trail down through them ...
4 votes
2 answers
347 views

Prevent Windows Explorer to use "LocalizedResourceName" when renaming file or folder from Search result

Maybe this is only on localized version of Windows, I don't know. If you rename a folder while in a Windows Search result window, instead of renaming the file, it will create a desktop.ini file and ...
12 votes
5 answers
13k views

Windows 10 is not finding all my applications

I am having an odd issue with Windows 10 and it seems to have started about a month ago. When opening an application, I usually just click in the Cortana search bar and type a few letters of the ...
0 votes
1 answer
55 views

Is it possible to replace windows search with another software like Agent ransack?

For example in Explorer, the search uses Windows Search under the hood to display the results. Is there a way to have it use a different search like X1 or Masterseeker instead and display the results ...
10 votes
4 answers
37k views

How do I get Windows 10 to index mapped network drives?

I have three network drives (S:, U: and Z:) mapped to a Synology NAS. They are all online and read/write accessible. Without installing additional software or making the files available offline, how ...
6 votes
3 answers
6k views

Estimate size of Windows Search index

I have to index a rather large amount of data with Windows Search, so I wanted to have an estimation of index size. I've indexed a subset of data (about 60GB; 13e6 pages of text data each about 4-5KB)....
1 vote
1 answer
34 views

In the Windows 10/11 Start menu, is there a way to set the search term to program/file/etc. association?

As you use the startup search and pick which program (or file/folder/etc.) you want to run, the search term and also the incomplete search term gets associated to that program. Like for example I have ...
1 vote
2 answers
1k views

What is the difference between cortana and search?

It seems that until Windows 7 or 8, there was a search box, on th bottom of the start menu. In Windows 10 it seems that only Cortana is avaiable to search. What is the difference, how and where the ...
1 vote
1 answer
149 views

Search videos by exact length under Windows File Explorer?

is there a way to search videos by exact length under the Windows File Explorer? (i.e. length:00:31:42) There is a command "length:" but it only supports values like "Very Short, Short, ...
1 vote
1 answer
47 views

Finding folders on PC with fewer than five files inside [closed]

Is it possible to find folders that contain fewer than five files inside?
0 votes
1 answer
38 views

Windows - How to search a word with a number in a fixed position

I'm trying to search inside files for a word and a number in a fixed position. Example: Fast 104 However, the search results will give me any files containing the word "Fast" and "104&...
1 vote
2 answers
2k views

Search menu zoomed in

I have recently adjusted my setup (can't have enough monitors, right?). I changed my primary display to one of my external monitors, but now I have one small, but very challenging issue. My search ...
0 votes
0 answers
203 views

Windows search bar is acting up in an abnormal way [duplicate]

Essentially, what happens is whenever I press the start button/use the windows key or go into the windows search bar, I get this full-screened loading screen for what I think the full-screened version ...
1 vote
1 answer
576 views

Windows Search service - Not searching within index in network drive

Users are not finding specific files with Windows Search on Windows 10. File is obviously there, but Search returns "no matches". First thing I've noticed is that some directories do not ...
0 votes
0 answers
14 views

Is there a way to launch a program that it sees the current windows search result as its working directory?

Let's say I have a bunch of files in various formats, and my default media player/image viewer/comic reader/text editor/etc would normally grab all the relevant files in the current folder and add ...
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

Start menu shortcuts and settings not appearing in start menu search

When I start for Windows settings, such as personalisation, nothing appears. Additionally, shortcuts located in these two locations %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs %AppData%\...
30 votes
3 answers
6k views

How to stop Windows Search from auto excluding repository folders?

Windows search indexer is adding most paths to repository folders (both .git and .svn) to the exclusion list. I can remove them manually of course, but each time i rebuild the index - they are re-...
0 votes
1 answer
155 views

Windows Explorer - Search - Layout keeps resetting to Icons

Every time I use the search function in Windows Explorer (Ctrl+E) it ignores my global setting to use the Details view (unless I explicitly set it already for the folder I'm searching in the past). ...
6 votes
1 answer
2k views

Create alias in windows start menu search

I'd like to customize the results that show up when I type something into windows search. For example, when I type VPN into the start menu search, I'd like PIA / Private Internet Access to show up. Is ...
2 votes
1 answer
132 views

dp:// search root for windows search indexer

The search indexer on my computer has recently been acting up. Looking into it, it seems there is a strange search root DP:// that contains several 100k items: It seems to contain a copy of my file ...
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

Windows search not finding files on one drive - Drive missing from indexer search roots

Note: I have posted the same question a while ago on answers.microsoft.com, where I got no reply so far While trying to investigate issues with files not being found by the search indexer, I have ...
2 votes
1 answer
8k views

Is it possible to search inside PHP files using the Windows search engine (W7)?

I'm using windows 7. I have hundreds of PHP files inside a folder, and I want to find all the files that contains a particular word. I know that the Windows search engine is able to search inside a ...
0 votes
0 answers
2k views

How can I gracefully stop the Windows Search service via console?

I use the following PowerShell cmdlets to stop the Windows Search service: Set-Service -Name WSearch -StartupType Disabled Stop-Service -Name WSearch But if I do that while the Windows Search service ...
0 votes
1 answer
430 views

App icons not showing for microsoft store apps when searching

When I use Windows search to find programs installed through the Microsoft Store, their icons don't show up properly. Instead of their normal icons, their all replaced with the Paint3D icon. I did set ...
3 votes
3 answers
4k views

Windows 10 Search Instant Calculator Not Working

Usually, typing a few numbers with an operator into Windows 10 Search would give an instant calculation, but this doesn't work on my laptop. I don't remember when it stopped working. I have the ...
0 votes
0 answers
186 views

Random black background "overlay" blocks Windows 10 search popup background

As shown on the screenshot, I have issue within this Windows installation which is related to dark background appearing inside the search popup and blocking the view. It sometimes is as low as on the ...
14 votes
3 answers
33k views

Why can I not see LocalLow and Local when I type in %AppData% into the Windows 7 Start Button Search, and how can I fix this issue?

I typed %AppData% into the search box in Windows 7 that I get when when I click the Start Button. For some reason, all I see is the Roaming folder, even though I have confirmed that LocalLow and Local ...
2 votes
1 answer
3k views

Search doesn't work for Windows 7 offline folder

Ever since the My Documents folder was setup for offline use on my new laptop I can no longer use the search box in explorer, neither when I am online nor offline. My admin says this is normal. I don'...
0 votes
0 answers
432 views

windows search bar background gets white even when is in dark mode

after disabling web search suggestions in windows search/start menu by regedit per that tutorial: edit explanation: windows is in dark mode, and this background is dark in dark mode, but it is not ...
0 votes
0 answers
21 views

Disable Bing Search on Windows Start Menu for Standard Users [duplicate]

I found that the How-to-Geek Guide - How to Disable Bing in the Windows 10 Start Menu works also for Windows 11 (or at least for versions prior to 22h2). I have more than one account on my machine, ...
0 votes
1 answer
2k views

Find files by contents (Windows 11)

I'm trying to search through 15 years of bank statements (PDF) for a specific payment amount, $42.69. I used Windows explorer file search (bar in upper right corner of file explorer) in the folder ...
32 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is there a way to show all Windows 8 Modern UI search results on one page?

There are three search tabs: Apps, Settings, Files. I currently have to mouse click or navigate down to reach Settings and Files, as Apps is searched by default. Is there a way to get all search ...
0 votes
0 answers
94 views

How to remove Microsoft software promotions from Windows Search results

Since a few weeks, every time I search for my default internet browser (Google Chrome) I also get the suggestion to download the new Microsoft Edge browser, which annoys me (Ssee the screenshot. ...

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