How to fix File Explorer so it goes back to treating search terms as "ands"?

Question

How to fix File Explorer so it goes back to treating search terms as "ands"?

Jim Ranish 20

Microsoft 365, Windows 11 Pro. Since yesterday, Windows File explorer using search words as "ORs" instead of "ANDs"?

Examples:

marilyn - 117 items

will - 97 items

[Moderator note: PII removed] - 185 items

will AND marilyn - 185 item

will OR marilyn - 196 items

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Answer 1

Anonymous

Hi Jim Ranish,

I understand this is unexpected behavior, especially since File Explorer normally treats multiple search terms as AND by default.

Please note that our forum is a public platform, and we will modify your question to hide your personal information in the description. Kindly ensure that you hide any personal or organizational information the next time you post an error or other details to protect personal data.

First, could you confirm:

Did this start after a recent Windows update?
Does the same behavior happen in all folders or just one location?

In the meantime, please try the following:

1, Force AND behavior using quotes (quick workaround)

For example, try: "name a" "name b"

This ensures both terms must exist in results.

2, Reset Folder Search settings

Open File Explorer
Click “…” (three dots) > “Options”
Go to the “Search” tab
Click “Restore Defaults”
Apply and restart File Explorer

This can fix changes in how search queries are interpreted.

3, Rebuild the search index (if behavior changed suddenly)

Open “Control Panel” > “Indexing Options”
Click “Advanced”
Under “Troubleshooting”, select “Rebuild”

Note: This may take some time and temporarily affect search results.

4, Check if the issue is folder-specific

Try searching in:

A different folder
The root of a drive (e.g., “C:\”)

If the behavior differs, the issue may be tied to that folder’s indexing scope.

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Anonymous

2026-06-16T02:54:41.63+00:00

Hi Jim Ranish,

Have you had the chance to check my answer yet?

Please do keep me updated.
Jim Ranish 20 Reputation points

2026-06-26T02:03:01.6333333+00:00

#1 and #2 did not work. #3 indexing is still running. #4 yes, same situation in different folders
Jim Ranish 20 Reputation points

2026-06-26T02:04:46.01+00:00

According to Copilot, Windows 11 File Explorer no longer treats multiple search terms as AND by default. It now behaves like OR, unless you explicitly force AND with operators (like yours). This is a design change, not a bug — and there is no setting in Windows 11 to revert to the old Windows 7/8/10 behavior where space = AND. Also I don't know what PII you're referring to. Marilyn is a fairly common name, and a will is a document many people use to specify what should be done with their estate after death.
Anonymous

2026-06-27T03:20:25.19+00:00
Hi Jim Ranish,

Thanks for the update. If rebuilding the index does not change the behavior, then I would be careful about accepting Copilot's statement as definitive.

Based on Microsoft's documented Search functionality, File Explorer still supports Advanced Query Syntax (AQS) operators such as AND, OR, and NOT, and multiple search terms are expected to be processed by Windows Search rather than automatically treated as a permanent OR-only search model.

What stands out in your example is:

marilyn = 117 items

will = 97 items

marilyn will = 185 items

will AND marilyn = 185 items

will OR marilyn = 196 items

The fact that "marilyn will" and "will AND marilyn" return the same count suggests Windows is still interpreting those two queries identically on your system. If Windows had truly changed to OR-by-default behavior, I would expect marilyn will to match the OR result much more closely. Instead, your numbers suggest something more nuanced is occurring than simply "space = OR".

At this point, I would wait for the indexing rebuild to finish completely before drawing conclusions. While the index is rebuilding, Windows Search can return inconsistent or unexpected result counts.

One question that may help narrow this down:

Are you searching in indexed locations (for example, Documents, Desktop, or a folder included in Indexing Options), or are you searching a non-indexed location such as a network share, external drive, or a folder outside the indexed scope?

Also, when the rebuild completes, could you test a pair of uncommon words that are known to exist together in only a few files? Using common terms such as will may introduce matches from file contents, metadata, authors, and other indexed properties, which can make the results harder to interpret.

Regarding the PII comment, I agree that neither"Marilyn" nor"will" appears to disclose personal information in the context you provided. That part is not relevant to the search behavior being discussed.

Please let me know the result after indexing finishes, and whether the search location is indexed or non-indexed.
Jim Ranish 20 Reputation points

2026-06-29T03:04:55.01+00:00

The indexing has finished, in Documents:

box - 5

waltz - 6

box waltz - 8

+"box" +"waltz" - 8

+"box" AND +"waltz" - 8

+"box" OR +"waltz"- 8

I expect box + waltz to find 3
Anonymous

2026-06-29T06:07:24.5466667+00:00
Hi Jim Ranish,

Thank you for testing that and for providing the additional results.

Based on what you've reported, this no longer looks like a normal indexing issue. Normally, AND and OR should not produce identical results in a test case like this. Windows Search supports these operators through Advanced Query Syntax (AQS).

At this point, I'd like to narrow down whether the issue is specific to File Explorer search parsing or to the Windows Search service itself:

Open File Explorer and browse directly to your Documents folder.

Search for:

name:box

name:waltz

name:box AND name:waltz

Note whether the result counts still appear incorrect.

Also, are the files you're finding primarily matching:

file names,

file contents,

or metadata (author, tags, comments, etc.)?
Jim Ranish 20 Reputation points

2026-06-29T13:16:26.3+00:00

That worked for file names:

name:box - 5

name:waltz - 6

name:box AND name:waltz - 3

Now I can use the same old searches, just double about the number keystrokes
Anonymous

2026-06-30T03:16:48.2866667+00:00
Hi Jim Ranish,

I understand your frustration. Based on your latest test, it appears Windows Search is not treating unqualified terms as filename-only searches. Instead, it is searching across multiple indexed properties (such as file contents and metadata), which is why:

box = 5

waltz = 6

box waltz = 8

When you used:

name:box AND name:waltz = 3

the results matched your expectation because the search was restricted to filenames only.

Unfortunately, there is no known setting in current Windows 11 File Explorer that restores the older behavior where a simple space-separated search effectively behaved like a filename-based AND search. Windows Search uses Advanced Query Syntax (AQS), and specifying properties such as name: is often required for more precise results.

As a practical workaround, using: name:box AND name:waltz or name:(box waltz) will give the most reliable filename-only results.

Since your indexing has completed and the behavior is consistent across folders, this appears to be expected behavior of the current search implementation rather than an indexing problem.

Thank you for sharing the test results.