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I frequently use File Explorer to search for local files. Until recently, it would remember my past file searches, but beginning two days ago, without warning, File Explorer no longer remembers those searches; the search bar is empty. How do I reenable it?
I've confirmed that search and file history is enabled in Privacy settings. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Windows 11 Home 10.0.22621 Build 22621
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.
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The correct path to History is Settings / Privacy & Security / Search Permissions / History .
There is a listing for "Search history on this device" with an On/Off switch.
This did not restore the function of viewing previous searches.
Those settings have nothing to do with the drop down history (aka auto-suggest list) in Explorer search. That's a feature that was removed when Microsoft changed the search to results-as-you-type. There's no known way to restore the old search on Windows 11.
Hi Patricia,
What I'd recommend doing is switching your Explorer to the Windows 10 version. Since the old version is still built into Windows 11, you can do that easily, even as a Standard user. The easiest method is to use a free tool I made called SwitchExplorer. Just download and run. Nothing to install.
I downloaded and ran the SwitchExplorer tool, but it did not seem to work... I tried several searches, restarted computer, etc, but it still did not seem to work... ???
SwitchExplorer will let you switch to the Windows 10 style of Explorer and right-click menu, which I think will address some of the issues that you described. However, it will not change the Explorer search to provide the history drop-down menu. Unfortunately, there is no patch available to bring that back to Windows 11. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression there.
ANOTHER RELATED ISSUE
With search to results-as-you-type how do we get results be consistently in detail view instead of what it defaults to?
Everytime I search I have to change it. What a hassle
ANOTHER RELATED ISSUE
With search to results-as-you-type how do we get results be consistently in detail view instead of what it defaults to?
Everytime I search I have to change it. What a hassle
It's a frequently asked question and the usual answer is to set the view you like, open Options, View, click Apply to Folders, and repeat for every folder type (General items, Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, Downloads). However, you will find that this procedure will not update all views, everywhere. In particular, folder views via file open/save dialogs will not get updated.
Microsoft has never provided a procedure or tool to globally change your default folder views, so I wrote one. It's called WinSetView. It's a free, open source, portable tool. It only sets registry entries for your user profile. It doesn't "install" anything or require administrator privileges. However, if you're on a work computer, it's likely to still be a violation of your company's rules to use it, even though it will likely run just fine.
