Windows 7: Search does not find files that it should, directory is indexed, and *.php included on the extension list

Are you sure that the documents are not simply hidden?  Try turning on "Show hidden files, folders, and drives" from Explorer (Organise | Folder and search options |View).  If you can see the files in Explorer, you will be able to see and open them from Word.

It makes no difference to Search whether files are read-only or not, but it will not find hidden files unless "show hidden" is set.

If the files have somehow had the system attribute set, they will not show up unless "Hide protected operating system files" has been unchecked, in the View window mentioned above.  (I am not sure whether Search will find files with the system attribute set at all.)

That's all I can suggest, and if that doesn't help, you have a really weird case, and if you find a solution, I'd like to know what it is!

I'm having a problem finding files in Windows 7. I have a .doc file that is "read only" and is in the Library, but I can't see it when I use open file in MS Word to find, can't find it using Windows Explorer or the Start>search.  The only way I can find it is navigating to it from my comp>C:>filename.  So I know it is there.

It seems that the files I can't find are .doc (not .docx.) files and that have somehow had the "read only" attribute assigned to them.  I've even done the cmd attrib -r -s to the folder, but that folder still has the read only attribute.  However I can find other files in that folder.

I am re-indexing again.  Any ideas would be appreciated.

Robert

Just to add to JM's remarks, to search for an .avi file, you can use the search term ext:avi. 'ext' is an acceptable abbreviation for the file attribute extension, and the syntax attribute:value will find all files with that value for that attribute. To find that particular video, then, I would have entered as the serach term name:image ext:avi. ****

Oh dear, MaDTWiCH.   It's a pity you didn't read this thread properly before posting such rubbish.  Windows Search is a very sophisticated tool.  If you just typed "image" in the search box, of course it would find all the images it could.  It would also find all files tagged with the word "image", and with "image" in the title or caption tag fields (which you can modify using Movie Maker and Photo Gallery).  That's what it's supposed to do.

If you want to find a file called "The Image", you have to type - surprise, surprise - "The Image" - in quotation marks, so Search knows all you're looking for is a name.

If all you knew was that the file contained the word "Image", you could tell Search that by specifying name:~=image, which means find files whose name contains the word "image".  Even *image would find the file for you.

I just tested the above using movie and picture files that I modified for the occasion, just to reassure myself that at least I'm not talking out of my backside.

To use Search, you need a bit of common sense.  It helps also if you are prepared to make just a little effort to learn how to use it properly.  There's plenty of information referenced in my and other posts above.

Linux has locate, find, and grep, all of which are good in their own way, and fast.  None of them is as capable as Search.

Finally, Search indexes files in the libraries by default, so that's the easiest way to set up what you want to search.  However, files do not have to be in libraries; if you search from Computer you can find any file anywhere by name and simple property.  Also you can set up folders to be indexed by using (surprise!) Control Panel | Indexing Options.  Select Modify and check the locations you want.

I can't believe I'm bothering to go through all this again yet again after all the posts above.  If I can find all the relevant information online and work out how Search operates, surely you can?    Obviously not.