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

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-07-14T01:49:00+00:00

    i found it at

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/advanced-tips-for-searching-in-windows

    the syntax seems idiosyncratic and kind of random.

    Why does Microsoft have to make searching so difficult?

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-06-21T23:37:03+00:00

    Actually there is nothing less helpful than Linux. I have never been able to install and do anything meaningful with the 2 or 3 successful attempts I have made to install and use Linux. Every attempt at installing Ubuntu, supposedly the easiest Linux for the average user, has been met with a problem or error of some kind.

    Windows 7 search is actually very useful if you are willing to learn a little about how it works.

    Try this:

    NOT kind:=folders

    and you should only turn up files, basically it looks like you flattened a directory tree.

    once you have that and are in detail view you can click on the type column and then see all the types or extensions of the files in the folders. if you are looking for all the word documents click the check mark next to the Microsoft word document type and then press enter and now you have just the word documents.

    the more you learn about the search function the quicker you can find what you are looking for. I use the advanced query syntax a lot in my work and when I show people these features they are amazed each time.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-10-21T14:38:04+00:00

    All I want to do is use a wildcard to find filenames. I'm not interested in the content or type of the files. For example, suppose I want to find (to delete) all the Word system files that are opened when you open a Word .doc file but haven't been closed when the .doc file is closed. If the .doc file is, say, example.docx, the system file will be called ~xample.docx (or ~$ample.docx). So I want to put in a query using wildcards like this...  ~*.* . But this search will find ALL files - the tilde (~) isn't recognised.

    How can I do the search I want?

    The old search method had no problem doing what I want.

    Exactly. I think someone at Microsoft is completely out of touch. Windows XP search worked fine. That of Windows 95 worked even better. Now this **** which only work part of the time. I have to keep restarting the Windows Search service for anything to show.

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-04-24T08:24:37+00:00

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

    There's quite a difference between 30 days and 4½ years. I've amended the post you replied to to reflect subsequent changes in location. Note that the AQS has also changed a bit since then, but the article is still valuable.

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