Many novice users are interested in how to find a file on a computer. Windows 7 or any other operating system is not so important. The principle of searching for documents on a computer is approximately the same. Especially when it comes to the Windows platform. In general, there are quite a few options for action. All of them are very simple. But you will have to not only study them, but also to understand some features of the search. So how to find a file and folders in Windows 7? What does the user need to know about this process? Perhaps this procedure is subject to even those who are not even familiar with the computer.
About Search
The first thing you should pay attention to is that the search in "Windows" is carried out, as a rule, without additional software. This is a standard feature that is available on all operating systems. You do not have to download additional programs that help you find information on your PC.
How to find a file on a computer? Windows 7 or any other version of the operating system is not so important. You must understand that the process is extremely simple. It is enough to know the name of the file or folder that you want to find. And do not succumb to offers on the Web, which supposedly allow you to quickly search for information on your computer. It has already been said - additional programs no need for this!
Location Address
How to search for files in Windows 7? As soon as the data gets to the computer, they are assigned a special address. It is on it that information is searched. All documents have a similar component in operating system. There are no files without an address on the computer.
It usually consists of a section name. hard driveon which the document is located, then the path to the desired object is indicated. It consists of folders. For example: C: / Windows / system32 / drivers / etc / host /.
Accordingly, the host document is located in the etc folder, which is located in the drivers. That, in turn, is located in a folder with the name "systems32", located in Windows on the partition of hard drive C. If you know the exact location of the document, you can quickly find it. That is why some recommend finding out or file. It can be used in the future. But more on that later. First you need to figure out how to find the file on your computer (Windows 7).
Manually
The first method is well suited when either the location of the document is known, or there is simply not the slightest idea of \u200b\u200bexactly how the subject of the search is called correctly. It goes self-discovery of a document in the operating system. It is enough to simply study the files and folders on the computer, think about where exactly this or that document can be located. This method is called extremely unstable. But if the user is at least approximately aware of where this or that information can be stored, such a solution can help.
If you know the exact location address, you can simply click on it. On the computer, the user is looking for what he needs hard section drive and the folder in which the document is located. Next is the discovery of the latter. Inside, a specific file is manually searched.
Exact transition to the address
But this is only the first scenario. In practice, it is not so often used if the user is not sure about the location of the document. How to find a file on a computer? Windows 7 offers one tricky and interesting trick. It is only suitable when the exact location of the document is known.
It is not necessary to manually open all the folders in which the file is attached. If you have the exact location address, you can quickly open the document source. To do this, it is best to open the "Libraries". Next, copy the file address into the address bar and press Enter. This will open the folder in which this or that document or the next daddy is attached.
That is, when you want to find host, you need to copy the inscription "C: /..../ etc" into the address bar. Then the etc folder will open, in which you already need to manually find the desired document. Nothing difficult or special. But so far, situations have been examined in which the address is either exactly known or approximately known about it. What if there is no such information?
Via Start
How to find files on a Windows computer (XP, 7, 8, 10 - this is not so important)? In general, you need to use the standard function of the operating system. It’s called “Search”. It is enough to know the name of the document to be found.
First way to real quick search - This is the use of the Start panel. How does the idea come to life with this opportunity? The user must adhere to the following algorithm of actions:
- Click on the "Start" button in the left corner of the screen. A small menu will open.
- At the bottom of the service there is an empty field with a magnifying glass image. On some operating systems there is an inscription "Find programs and files". It is required to click there once with the left mouse button.
- A slider cursor will appear. In the field, type the name of the file, program or folder.
- Press Enter and wait for the results.
Nothing more is needed. A few seconds of waiting - and the results appear on the monitor. Perhaps the use of "Start" is the most common option. But there are other ways. Searching for files on a computer in Windows 7 is carried out by various methods.
Through additional windows
You can implement the idea within a specific folder. This is not as difficult as it seems. Typically, the method helps when the user knows the approximate location of the document.
It is required to adhere to the following algorithm of actions:
- Open the root folder where the document can be located.
- In the upper right corner find the field with the image of a magnifying glass.
- Type the address or name of the document.
- View the search results.
In the example with, the situation will look like this: the user opens the C drive partition, then in the explorer finds the inscription "Search: Local disk (C :) ". In this field, you need to write host and wait until all documents containing this word are found. Next, among the entire list, a specific document is manually searched.
Filters
But that is not all. How to quickly find a file on a computer? Windows 7 or any other version of Windows is not so important. In any case, when it comes to newer types of Windows. You can use one trick. She will help among the results to quickly find what is needed. The method is based on the previous method. It is about specifying search parameters.
The fact is that if you do not use filters, you will often have to look through a lot of documents and folders when searching. It’s clear how to find the file on the computer. How to find the right one among the search results?
In this situation, it is proposed:
- Search in a particular folder.
- Click on the search bar in the upper right corner of the window.
- Mark the necessary filters and set their parameters. In this case, the name of the file or folder does not need to be erased. For example, you can select a document type. In the case of host, this is .txt.
- Press Enter and again look at the displayed results.
Accordingly, all documents and files that meet all the search parameters will appear on the screen. This is how the implementation of the built-in Windows features quick detection of the necessary software.
Search service
Now it’s clear how to find the file on the computer (Windows 7). But there is another scenario. You can call a separate search service on the computer. To do this, press a specific key combination. Then it will scan and search the entire operating system.
When using the standard function, you can adhere to the algorithm:
- Click on Win + F. A window opens with a bluish background. This is the standard Windows search engine.
- In the search bar (upper right corner, field with the image of a magnifying glass), the name of the file or folder is typed.
- The user must press Enter and wait for the results. You can work with search filters in advance. This will reduce the output.
By content
There is another last trick. It is called "search inside files and folders in Windows 7". Many users are familiar with it. To bring it to life, you need:
- Open this or that document / folder.
- Press Ctrl + F.
- In the field that appears on the right side of the screen, type the name of the document / folder / word.
- Press "Enter".
A similar method is often used when working with Word. It not only helps to search for data by text, but also helps to search for documents.
It so happened that after the release of the Windows 7 operating system, many users became disillusioned with the file and folder search system. The fact is that in the standard version of the settings there is not even a search on the contents of the file. Windows 7 was somewhat unusual in this regard.
Windows 7 Search Basics
It goes without saying that some basic search elements have been retained. But the file search itself in Windows 7 has become slower. In addition, if you enter a regular computer scan for files with a specific extension, the system itself involves the use of a comparison of the entered type only in the name of the file or folder.
Unfortunately, the same search on the contents of a Windows 7 file in initial setup parameters does not imply at all. It, as well as other parameters, has to be configured in manual mode. What this approach was associated with is still a mystery.
Standard Tools
Naturally, when calling the standard explorer, you can use either the search bar in the upper right part of the main application window, or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + F. Actually, it works in almost all programs, with rare exceptions.
But now about the system. As for the search for programs and applications, everything is simple. The system is optimized in this regard very well. Even in the Start menu in the bottom line, you can enter at least part of the name. The result will be instant. If for some reason he is not satisfied with the user, a link below is displayed indicating that you can familiarize yourself with other search results. In principle, it is very convenient. In addition, in this case, all expected matches will be shown, even sorted by file type.
Search customization
In order to properly configure the search for files in Windows 7, you just need to type the phrase “Search Options” in the main menu “Start” on the bottom line and select their change in the results.
In the new window, do not use the search parameter by name or file content. This is due to the fact that the system will produce a huge number of extraneous results, especially if the service responsible for the partial match is involved.
In this case, when searching for files in Windows 7, it is better to use the change in indexing options. You should not choose system folderswhere the file you are looking for simply cannot be.
Another important point in the indexing options is setting up search by extension. On the “Advanced” tab, you just need to select the desired types of registered extensions in the system, and then set the indexing property and content as a priority. Thus, you can get rid of the appearance of results that may coincide with the original at least partially.
In the same "Explorer" when you click on the search bar, you can select the appropriate filters. It’s worth noting right away: the more filters, the slower the search for files will be in Windows 7. You understand that you need to use them with a certain amount of caution, and then only in extreme cases, when you need to find something specific with complete confidence that such a file or folder is present on the hard disk or in a logical partition.
Search for duplicate files
Unfortunately, duplicate files are standard windows tools 7 to find is quite problematic. That is why it is recommended to search for duplicate files using third-party utilities.
One of the most simple programs You can call the famous application Duplicate File Finder. It is designed even for an inexperienced user and allows you to perform almost all operations without his participation. But the trouble is - then you have to puzzle over which of the duplicates to delete. The fact is that some programs during installation different versions can embed files with the same names and extensions into the system, which the application itself can identify as the same (even when comparing checksums). So here you need to be very careful.
Program for finding files in Windows 7
As for the search tools, we already figured out a little what it is. Now it is worth noting that the question of how to enable file search in Windows 7 has another aspect. Everyone knows that recovery of deleted files and folders in the system is not provided.
It’s better to use system utilities such as the program Recuva, which is able to recover deleted data even after formatting the hard drive or partition. Unfortunately, it, like some other software packages, does not always work correctly in terms of determining the state remote file. In addition, some utilities have a generally narrow focus. For example, they can search and restore only multimedia files (graphics, video or audio) or office documents. So here you need to choose exactly what the user needs at the moment.
As for how to search for hidden files in Windows 7, everything is simple. When using standard system tools, you must first enable their display in service menu on the “View” tab, where the corresponding parameter is used. Naturally, after that, you can use the regular search engine using the same indexing or search by extension or content. As you can see, there are no problems.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it remains to add that although the search for files in Windows 7 is organized somewhat differently, compared, say, with the same XP or Vista system (not to mention earlier versions), nevertheless, with the right approach, configure it yourself search engine you can, what’s called, for yourself, applying some additional features.
This should not cause particular difficulties. A little patience, and custom tuning will be done in a couple of minutes. Moreover, the use of some specialized settings compared to those that are installed by default will even reduce the search time in terms of information processing. And we are not talking about specialized programs and applications designed to use many additional functions, which are simply absent in Windows 7 itself.
Hello, friends! Before writing this article, I practically did not use search in Windows. Why, if everything is clear already, what and where lies. It was enough to look at 2-3 places. It took about 5 minutes. Moreover, on, as unnecessary, the search service was disabled, which gives great opportunities in. And the search service also automatically turns off indexing and it was not possible to find any files quickly through a search. That is, out of ignorance, I turned off this universal thing. But this is no longer that slow search. It has evolved greatly in Windows Vista and has taken a huge step forward. Here we consider the main search capabilities in Windows 7so that we can more effectively find the right information.
First you need to show the main search box. It is called using the keys. Win + f or F3 on the desktop.
The window is not age-old and there is almost nothing to talk about here. The question immediately arises of the need for it in Windows 7. Most likely it was left for those who recently switched from previous windows versions. So as not to get lost.
The most affordable and easy to find search in Windows 7 is from the Start menu. (How to make a familiar Start button can be read). It is enough to open the main menu and the cursor is immediately set in the search field. Start typing part of the file name and the results are already appearing. Surprising is the speed of the results and its further sorting. We’ll talk about this again.
Results are presented as groups of files from various categories. In the figure, these are Programs, Control Panel, Documents, Video and Music. If you know in which category your file may be, go directly to it and look further. Below we will also analyze it.
From the Start menu it is convenient to search for programs or control panel elements. Now there is no need to go the long way Start\u003e All programs\u003e Accessories for calculator selection. It is enough to open Start, write “Ka” and the good old Calculator is already at hand.
For convenience, the width of the search field can be changed by dragging the border between address bar and a search box in the right place.
It is possible and necessary to combine various filters. For example, you sorted files by date modified, now you can sort by size. Click on the search field and select the Size filter. You will see the window below with a choice of range
If you need files with sizes up to 50 MB and from 100 to 200 MB, then search operators will come to help again.
the size:<50мб + размер:>100mb<200мб — вот такой вот получился запрос.
Of course, typing it is inconvenient so everything slows down due to the search. Therefore, it is recommended to generate a query from notepad and copy it into the search bar.
As I wrote the article and tried different filters and sorting options, I managed to find such files in places where you wondered. Search in + indexing by efficiency as Google for the Internet.
In addition, you can search not only by the date of change and by size, but also by other file properties. For example, by extension, frame width and others. If the search did not give the desired result, then below you are invited to choose to search the Libraries (see in the next section) in the Home group for all of yours, choose another place to search, search the Internet and the contents of the files.
If you select Other search location, a window will open where, using the checkmarks, you can select the places where the necessary files can be. It can be flash drives and other drives
Then click OK and the search will automatically start in the selected places.
If you choose a place that is not in the index, the system will immediately warn you and warn you that it might be a slow search. It is also proposed to add the selected location to the index
If you often search from this place, then you need to add. If this is an isolated case, then most likely you can skip. There will be a smaller index and faster search on it.
Search Libraries
The library is the place where a lot of useful information is stored. The computer is the same, only there the library is divided into four categories for easy search: Music, Video, Images and Documents. You can add up to 50 folders to each of these libraries. + you can create your own libraries. To create a new library, right-click on “Libraries”\u003e Create\u003e Library. Name the new library
It turns out the Library is a virtual folder in which you can connect your real folders from various places of your own. The library will be searched in all folders connected to it.
How to connect a folder to the library
Go to the library to which you want to connect the folder. In the section “Includes” click on the link. In my case - 2 places
In the window that opens, click the Add ... button and select the desired folder
Libraries are indexed by default and when the process is over you can instantly find the information you need.
Libraries have an extended set of filters, which adds convenience to the search
When you set the cursor in the search box, in addition to filters, your search queries that you entered in the past are also shown. If they suddenly started to bother you, you can easily remove them by hovering over the desired mouse cursor and pressing Del on the keyboard.
In Explorer, you can search in the folder in which you are located and in all subfolders. In the library you can search immediately in all connected folders and since they are in the index it will be fast. Another advantage of using libraries is advanced filters for easy search. I don’t know how to get around using the Library in.
Since Libraries are something virtual, nothing happens when deleting your files.
Conclusion
Friends! In this article, we touched on a small part, the tip of the iceberg, called - search in windows 7. We also figured out indexing files on and how this can help find information faster. In more detail we stopped at the search in the explorer. Thanks to convenient filters, you can search and find information much more efficiently.
I would also like to add that the search terms can be saved. To do this, click on the button of the same name on the toolbar
All saved searches are located in the same folder (Searches) in your profile.
To display the results for one of the searches, just go to the Explorer folder (in the left part) in the Search folder and select the one you need. Results will be shown immediately.
More detailed information You can read about the search in the operating system on the website http://www.oszone.net/11299/Search
Almost all users who switched from Windows XP to the Seven were disappointed with the more meager set of search functions, since, at first glance, the search for programs and files in Windows 7 is not equipped with the usual filters. However, if you know the basic techniques for using the system to find the necessary data on the computer, you will not need significant time and effort even for novice users. Below are all the main methods for quickly finding any file or program on a Windows 7 computer.
Using the Start Button
You must complete the following steps:
Note: as can be seen from the above example, the same method allows you to find a program, not just files.
As an example of finding and launching a utility quickly, consider the launch of the Console. You can simply type “cmd” in the same column, and the link to open the “Command line” will be displayed in the top line.
Using a special search interface "Windows 7"
Of course, the relevance of this method almost completely disappeared after the introduction of the search field directly in the start menu by specialists from Microsoft, but it would be useful for any owner of a computer running on the Seven to know about its capabilities.
The following sequential steps are required:
Through conductor
The action algorithm consists of the following steps:
How to configure search parameters
The following steps need to be taken:
Quick search by file type
If the user knows the type of file to be searched for, you can specify its extension, and only specific types of files will be displayed: images, video, text, audio, etc.
In order to perform the operation only among the “Word” files, it is necessary to print the extension “* .doc” or “* .docx” in the column. Instead of *, the characters from the document name are entered. Similarly, the procedure for "Excel" is performed, only "* .xls" or "* .xlsx" is applied.
Examples for searching images, video, text and audio files:
* .jpg, * .avi, * .txt, "* .mp3". 
Content Search
In the "Seven" there is a convenient opportunity to find desired file and in the text that it contains. For example, the user knows that within the document there are definitely sequentially and next to each other printed characters - "Shovel".
To identify the location of the file with such a word, the following steps of sequential actions will be required:
Note: the search procedure will now take the user several times more time, therefore it is recommended to use this filter only when the others did not allow to obtain a successful result.
Fixing search parameters
Users usually need to apply the same search parameters. In "Windows 7" there is a convenient opportunity to save them in order to further eliminate the time spent on their re-entry.
For this purpose, it is enough to specify the necessary parameters once and, after receiving the result, click “Save conditions”. Next, a menu will appear in which to type the name of the request and click "Save."
During the next search with similar parameters, the user will only need to enter the “Favorites” section and click on the name of the request specified earlier.
The search engine in Windows 7 is organized in a slightly different way than in Windows XP, but it is no less convenient and is produced at a much faster speed.
How to start a search
To start searching for files in Windows 7, you need to open Explorer and select the folder in which you want to search, or, if you don’t know which directory the file is in, select “My Computer”. Then the search will be performed on all hard drives.
You need to search for files of any format using the search bar, which is located in the upper right corner of Explorer in any of its windows. Keyword or the phrase must be entered on this line.
The search is performed very quickly by analogy with the request processing mechanism in any search engine. As you enter a query word, the system immediately starts browsing files and displaying results with names containing the entered characters, words or phrases.
How to use search filters
At first glance, it might seem that such familiar filters available in XP, such as the date of creation or change, file type, size and author, are not available when searching in Windows 7, but this is not at all the case.
With the introduction search query in the drop-down line below the list of filters corresponding to the desired file type appears, the conditions of which can be set right there, in the search bar. To do this, click on the desired filter and set its value, for example, the date of change "Last week".
How to find files of a certain type
To find a file whose format is known, for example, audio, video, photo or a document but its name, date of creation or other parameters is unknown, you can use the search by file type, setting its extension in the search conditions.
Documents . To search for Word format documents, you need to enter the characters “* .doc” (for the Word 2003 format) or “* .docx” (for the Word 2007-2010 format) in the search string. An asterisk denotes any sequence of any characters.
For Excel files you need to use the characters “* .xls” (for excel format 2003) or "* .xlsx" (for Excel 2007-2010 format).
For text format files created using Notepad, enter “* .txt” into the search box.
Video. To search for video files, specify the video file extension in the search bar. The most popular extensions: "* .avi", "*. Mp4", "* .mpeg", "* .wmv", "* .3gp", "* .mov", "* .flv", "*. Swf ". You can find out the file extension by right-clicking on it and selecting "Properties" in the context menu, where its extension will be indicated in the "File Type" line.
Audio. The most popular audio file format used on computers is MP3, and to search for them you need to enter the characters “* .mp3” in the line.
Images and photographs. To search for images in the search bar, you should enter the most used extensions of such files “* .jpg”, “*. Jpeg”, “* .png”, “* .bmp”, “* .tiff”, “* .gif”.
How to find a file in a large list of already found files
It often happens that the file attributes are unknown, or only one is known, and it is very uninformative. For example, it is known that the document was created last year. However, over the past year a huge number of documents have been created, stored in different places. View and check the huge number of files found by one attribute often does not seem real.
To find the desired file in the list of already found files, you can use several filters at the same time, setting and changing each of them in the search process as necessary. Each time you add a new filter, the selection will be made again in the list of found files, reducing processing time and the number of results, which greatly simplifies the search for the file you are looking for.
How to find a file by content
As a rule, the search for files in Windows 7 is performed by the content of the request in the file name, and not in the text that the file contains. To find the file with the desired word in its text, and not in the name, you need to perform simple settings.
Let's say the task is to find among 500 files a document with the word "Shovel" in its contents. To do this, click on the "Organize" button on the control panel and select the line "Search Folder Options" in the drop-down menu.
It is worth noting that a search with this parameter will take more for a long time, and when the need to search by content is no longer needed, this option should be turned off.
How to save search terms
It often happens that files need to be searched often, the same search conditions are used for this, and there are several of these conditions. In order not to waste time each time introducing the same search parameters, a list of these conditions can be saved.
To do this, you need to set the search conditions, wait for the results to be returned, and when it is finished, click on the “Save search conditions” button on the control panel, and in the window that opens, enter the file name for the repeated query, for example, “JULY 2013”.
In the future, when the saved set of search conditions is again needed, the desired shortcut can always be selected in Explorer and the Favorites folder under the saved name.
How to clear search terms
By clicking on the cross at the end of the search line, you can clear the previously entered information and filter conditions that were used for the search, and the line will become empty.
Having tried several times the search in Windows 7, you can in practice be convinced of its practicality, ease and speed. Now you know how to search for files in Windows 7.
