File Explorer search Current folder option doesn't work

Hmm... From what I can tell, when you search for an item, it shows results from all subfolders as usual. But, if you click on the arrow next to the search box after searching for an item, and then click on "current folder", the results from the current folder are shown.

Not sure if this is an intentional bug or something I discovered recently, but I hope this problem gets fixed.

Windows 10 Home Edition Build 19041  (update # 2004) - really exasperated this search problem in File Explorer.

Here's my 1-click workaround:

1. First of all, add the "Current folder" button/option from the "Search" tab to the "Quick Access" menu by doing the following:

• Start a search as you normally would by typing something into the "search" box on the top right of File Explorer and then press Enter.
• When the "Search" tab appears, which IMHO is the whole root of the searching problem in File Explorer anyway - the tab should be visible BEFORE executing a search, right-click the "Current folder" icon/option in the "Search" tab and then select "Add to Quick Access Toolbar".  If that option is grayed out then it has already been added to the Quick Access Toolbar and you will need to hover over the icons in the File Explorer Title Bar until you find the one that says, "Current Folder   Search only in the selected folder, not in any subfolders."

2. With the "Current Folder search ...." icon added into the quick access title bar it becomes easier to perform a search in just the current folder:

• Navigate to a folder you want to search.  (For me, I always do one-click on the left navigation pane to select a drive, and then multiple double-clicks in the right-hand folder/file pane to navigate to a subfolder.)
• **Click the "Current Folder  search" icon that you added to the quick access bar.**It may appear that nothing happened, but upon closer inspection you may see a light blue box around it with some shading.  If you click it again, the box and shading should go away.  These changes may be more visible if your title background color is something other than medium blue or if you switch to another app momentarily. 

Note: this "quick access" toggle button has weird behavior, just like two separate icons/buttons labeled "Current folder" and "All subfolders" in the Search Tools tab -- toggling it while the "Search Tools" tab is open and then pressing F5 or clicking the refresh (clock-wise arrow) button may or may not perform the search you want.  

• Type into the search box on the top right and press ENTERor click an item in the dropdown box, if the desired term appears in the dropdown!   

Viola - search results as intended - current folder only, and didn't have to wait for search to complete.   

Why didn't MS think of asking user how to perform the search, BEFORE doing the search?   Also, why not just remember if user typically  searches "Current folder only" or "All subfolders?"

I think for now on I am going to always make sure to look at the "Folder" column of the returned results to make sure everything is just from the one folder.

Man, this is amazing that the Microsoft tech did not understand the first complaint about what was not working within File Explorer.  The explanation could not have been more clearer which means that the tech has absolutely no clue about the Microsoft 10 operating system!  Very sad!  I and many peers have been having this same issue and it's very clear that it is a Windows 10 update issue.  Too bad Microsoft hires tech's that have not training or exposure to the OS they are trying to help us on.

Hi Aditya,

Thanks for your quick response.  In response to your questions:

• I am using Windows 10 Version 1909 Build 18363.778
• What i meant in my original inquiry is in in the attached images.  the original search includes all subfolders.

          When i click on Current folder 

![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/34ca0501-9670-4d48-a0ca-3ac98aa29c3f?platform=QnA,

          it should narrow down the search to only files in the current directory and not any subfolders.  However, it still includes all

          results in all subfolders.  

          If this were working correctly, only one folder would be shown in the search and not all of the files in that folder.  (I hope this 

          makes sense) 

• Lastly, I have restarted my computer multiple times to no avail.

I have also just tried the two methods you suggested.  Sadly, they did not work. 

Thanks again for responding so quickly.  I look forward to any help you can give me. 

Thanks

Lance Windsor

I am not a pro and have the same issue. After reading all the responses on this page, I did not bother trying any of those "Methods" that Microsoft guy came up with. Just a quick goofy band-aid is to use the "Group-by" under "View" and apply grouping by "folder". You can collapse all those subfolders, if need be.