Windows 10: Where is the file search box in Win 10?

But what I'm asking is how to get that search option to appear!

How do I get that, please?

Nothing I've seen so far, and I've been looking on and off for almost 24 hours, approaches any of the options I've seen on websites. This computer just doesn't have them.

 

The Search/Cortana box next to Start on the taskbar may well have been be hidden. To turn it back on, right-click on the taskbar. Choose either 'Show search box' or, to save space, show just the icon (click on the icon to open the search box).

 

I've already made it clear that I can get Cortana, but I cannot see how to make it find any files.

I don't want to use Cortana, there is another search method mentioned everywhere I go, but I cannot find it.

Please understand, I want to find that search option, not Cortana.

 

Just put the file name you want to search for in the "ask me anything" box... I have just typed "service history" in mine and it found the file in my documents called "service history"

 

No, that didn't work...

This is the result I got:





Once again I ask, is there anywhere in Windows 10 where I can search for a 'file or folder'?

It was there in XP, in Windows 95 etc, but it doesn't appear to be easy to find in Windows 10 at all.

And please, can we try to do it without Cortana?

 

No idea then, you can use Cortana and get the results below, or type it into file explorer and it does the same... bot suggested above and quite simple to use.. very similar to Windows 7

 

If you want to find files or use a template to find a group of files - Simply use the file search box in the File explorer.

You can limit the search to areas of the files system by navigating to a particular area (use This PC for the widest local search, or even Network if you have multiple devices, and the sufficient rights)

The old fashioned rules still apply - ? =1 Character, * = Multiple Characters, lowercase searches for lower and upper case whilst upper case searches only for uppercase (eg *.doc searches for all Doc files )

Windows now as it has for a while creates an index of files of a number of file types in certain places by default but will search any or all areas though searches in non indexed areas can take longer

If your favoured file structure is a lot different from the windows default setup using the Users files area and file type folders, then you can add/remove folder structures and types To/from the index

Search Index - Rebuild in Windows 10

 

That's what I want to use, but I cannot find it!

How does one get the 'file search box'? And please, I only ever want to find one file at a time, so there's no need to complicate things with 'groups of files'.

Please, just direct me to the 'file search box'. I don't believe it appears on any 'file explorer' option I can get.

 

open file explorer (by default its on the taskbar), but has other ways to open it ( press the windows key and type explorer is one ) or double click any folder shortcut, eg. " This PC"

The search bar is beneth the toolbar on the right side

If you are really looking for something similar to XP you could try a free 3rd party option such as Everything search from Everything Search Engine

 

Oh, I see my real problem now, it's tucked away out of sight and then it's a very pale grey on a white background!

Thank you, gentlemen, I now have it. Mind you, it doesn't find 'snowintrees' because it's not the full file name. And most of my searches are not the full file name because I'm looking for specific things not files. But I do know how to use asterisks before and after the part I want.

Again, thank you and no thanks at all to Microsoft!

 

The index nature of windows search means that for certain file types you can extend the search to include the contents of the files as well as the name. This can make things a lot easier to find. Just knowing that a word document contains a name or place can find the particular file whatever the file name .

Check out the indexing link in my previous post

 

The only reliable way for me to search is (for the whole computer) to use File Explorer, or if I know the folder, is to search in it. Searching in the "Ask me anything" field always fails unless the file is on ther SSD.

Perhaps this is because my C drive is an SSD and all Documents, Pictures etc. etc. have been re-directed to my internal spinning drive. If that is true, I would have thought Windows 10 would be bright enough to notice that re-direction and search it as well as the C drive.

 

I use my Windows 10 system as a music server that has 90,000 songs in it. If I want to play any particular song I just start typing and the more I type the more it narrows it down.

For example if I just type the word "down" I get 534 files in a matter of about 2 seconds. If I add the word "by" then it narrows it down to 19 items, and if I add the word "the" it narrows it down to just 14 items.

Windows 10 search works perfectly because I have over 60,000 photos, 22,000 documents and 90,000 songs.

 

In the above example I was just searching my music collection. If I search This PC, then the word "down" brings up 1307 items. That took several seconds to do.