Dec 22

2007

Searching For Files, Folders, And Documents

Filed Under (Windows Xp) by Admin on 22-12-2007

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It is very easy to search for files and folders in Windows XP—you get a host of options that you can specify, thus speeding up your search. Press [Windows] + [F] to open the search window. Alternatively, you can open it by clicking Start > Search. Look to the left hand side: you will notice that the Companion offers to filter your search by choosing one of several options:

  • Pictures, music or videos
  • All files and folders
  • Documents (formatted text, spreadsheets, etc.)
  • Computers or people

    • An option to search the Internet is also provided; this uses the MSN search site. The last option you have on the main screen is that of changing your preferences. Some changes in the preferences can be helpful. Proceed to the preferences screen by clicking ‘Change Preferences’. The first two options relate to the animated character, which you can change or disable. The most important option in the preferences is the Indexing Service. Turning this option On will enable file indexing when the system is idle. File indexing is a method by which an OS keeps a record—sort of a database—of all the files on your hard disk. When a search is initiated, it first scans this database file and verifies if the file still exists on the hard disk, thus saving time and system resources. System resources are used only when the search entry is not found in the database file, upon which it searches through the hard disk. This, naturally, consumes system memory and time, depending on the size of the partition being scanned.

    Other options include changing the ‘Files and Folders search behavior’ and ‘Internet search behavior’. Both options deal with the method by which you can choose to search for files. For instance, you can opt for ‘Advanced Search’ in ‘Files and Folders behavior’ or change ‘Internet search behavior’ to use Google.com instead of MSN.com. Apart from these options, you can choose to enable or disable balloon tips and auto complete. To begin searching, choose any of the options (from Pictures, Documents, etc.) on the main page. Let’s take ‘All files and folders’: all you need to do is type in the file name (see search tips below) and/or enter a keyword that the file may contain.

    Searching Tips:

  • If you do not remember the file name but you know what the file extension is, you can use special characters. Say you’re looking for an executable (.exe) file, and you remember that the filename begins with, say, “K”, then you can enter the search word as “K*.exe”. This will search for files that have the .exe extension and also begin with the letter G. You can also use the asterisk (*) for the file extension part. A few examples are *ae*.jpg, agaz.*, andre*.j*
  • The additional assistance feature: ‘Date of modification’, ‘Size’, and ‘Advanced Options’ can be used to force the search engine to look for files created or modified within a particular period, or search for files by specifying a size range. Use Advanced options to look for system files or hidden files.

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