How to Search in Windows 7 for text within a document?

Anonymous
2010-06-28T02:30:00+00:00

How do you search for a document by using searching specific text in the document? (Word or other searchable doc.) Other forum answers suggest that this will happen with the general search box that appears in the upper right corner of explorer - but this does not seem to be the case.

I have searched for known words, and documents do not come up.

Is there a default? Is there a way turn on the search within document? (formerly, the detailed search option for any folder would prompt you to select 'search within document.')

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

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Anonymous
2010-07-06T20:15:26+00:00

Try just typing the phrase into the search box. If this doesn’t work, try content: “words in phrase”

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  1. Anonymous
    2012-06-25T20:33:15+00:00

    Well, none of that works.  Searching the following strings gives me no documents or hundreds of documents.  I used to be able to find things with the XP search.  Now the search function is useless and your answer incorrect.

    'content: "of, in, to" ' or "of, in, to"

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  2. Anonymous
    2012-03-21T18:40:23+00:00

    I tried the search again in "file contents" button (which is below: no items in search), and it does look inside the documents. But not inside pdf files. It does word, excel, powerpoint, and text files just fine, but not pdf. I need it to look inside the pdfs. I ran Text recognition on the pdf file to make sure that wasn't the problem. And it still wouldn't search inside the pdf.  What next?

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  3. Anonymous
    2012-02-09T20:38:54+00:00

    It seems that when you search the first time it searches the file names but then under the search results you'll see a label titled "Search again in:"  Choose the Content button under "Search again in" and the search will restart and search the contents of the documents.

    I tried looking in the "search again in" field and I don't have a "Content" button??  Where did you find that?

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  4. Anonymous
    2012-02-09T16:58:38+00:00

    What search function?  It seems they've eliminated anything but the most basic search.  I've been trying to figure out how to search within a file, so tried everything above--with no results. Actually, on one search, when i asked for "More Search Results", it then listed about 1000 files, none of which contained the phrase I wanted.  Great job, Microsoft!

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