What is the syntax of Windows 7 file search (wildcards, logical signs...) ?__

Anonymous
2009-11-16T14:40:26+00:00

Hello,

I am looking for it everywhere but I can't find it.

When in Windows search and you are looking for a file, you can type in *.txt to look for a '.txt' file.

But it seems that the syntax of file name to look seems more complex that it looks first.

For instance, the quote character (") and the equal sign (=) seem to have there own significance.

And I think I have heard that it was possible to use 'not' and 'and ' signs.

Please, where can I find the complete syntax of the search paterns?

Thank you a lot

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

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

55 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2014-04-24T02:30:49+00:00

    Follow this link:

    http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/desktopsearch/technicalresources/advquery.mspx

    This should be included in Help and Support.

    As with any MS link older than about 30 days, this one is worthless.

    Here's where it dumped me: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/meet

    WORTH. LESS.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Deleted

    This answer has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The answer was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.

    Comments have been turned off. Learn more

  3. Anonymous
    2013-10-23T16:57:33+00:00

    Microsoft removed that page. It just redirects to an ad for the new Windows. Try this: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/advanced-tips-for-searching-in-windows

    Also, if you use Name: instead of System.FileName:, it will highlight the search term.

    You might think you could use something simple like Name: *vm* to get all files with vm in the name, but that will only give you some, which is sort of worse than none as it gives you the false impression that the search worked. I think if there is a dash or space after vm, that would work. Yet another example of how this maybe wasn't all that well thought out.

    I like the metadata designator thing, like Name or Author, but why not then just use standard regular expressions instead of ~< to mean begins with, for example?

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2013-10-12T15:26:30+00:00

    Things change in four years ...

    The page Hannes3's post referred to is this one: Advanced Query Syntax. A few things have changed slightly since it was written in XP days, but it's still a good guide.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments