Stump the PC Club is a free tech-advice column written by members of the North Orange County Computer Club, which has been in existence since 1976. Visit the club’s site at noccc.org.
QUESTION: Sometimes I lose a file and attempt to use the Windows 7 Search feature to find it. Is there an easier way to locate things?
PC CLUB: The Windows 7 search feature is quite handy in some cases and not so handy in others. For example, if you click the Start button and start typing the letters w o r d, before you finish, entries will pop up on the left for WordPad, Microsoft Word, etc. This assumes that you have Microsoft Word installed on your PC.
You can also initiate a Windows Search by pressing the Windows key and the f (for Find) key.
The Windows 7 Search will locate programs and files quickly as long as their location on the hard drive is indexed. You can read more about the Search feature at http://bit.ly/w7search and indexing at http://bit.ly/w7indexing. For tips on improving your search results see http://bit.ly/w7searchtips.
Before discussing alternatives that can make it easier to search, let’s discuss the two main search objectives. One way to search is by file name only. However, you may want to search based on file content. For example, assume you have a file somewhere written to your attorney but forgot the file name. You do know, however, that the file contains the words “Smith Family Trust”. There are programs that can search for files based on their content.
You can make Windows 7 search for file contents as follows:
1. Open Windows Explorer:
2. Press the Alt button –> go to Tools –> Folder options –> search tab –> Here select, "Always search file names and content (this might take several minutes).
3. Press okay. Now your searches will work for file content like the good old days of XP.
Searching can be sped up by indexing your files and folders. See the link above for more information. Also, see more information on searching with Windows at http://bit.ly/moresearchinfo.
Here are some suggestions for programs that may make searching easier for you:
Searching for files – one of the best programs for finding files quickly is the free program called Everything. You can download it, including a portable version, from www.voidtools.com. It will index all of the files on your PC in minutes and really finds files or folders really fast.
Searching for content – one of the more popular programs for searching for both files and their content is the free Google Desktop Search available at http://desktop.google.com/. Another program that I like is Copernic Desktop Search which is available in several versions including a free one at http://bit.ly/copernicfree.
Ed Schwartz is a member of the North Orange County Computer Club. To send in a question, go to edwardns.com and click the Contact Me menu. Archives of previous columns are also on the website.