does anybody else here hate Windows 7 search function??

[frozentundra123456]

I forgot where I saved a file today on my work computer which is running win7.
I could not even find where to search by date. Finally after spending half an hour on the web, I found that you can open Windows explorer and click on the little magnifying glass to do some filtering. However, I found it all extremely confusing. I also hate that it starts searching as soon as you click a filter or start typing the word. Couldnt it just wait till you are done typing and have you click to start the search?? And when I did find out how to search by date, it couldnt find the file until I directed it to the folder where I thought I had saved it. What a mess.

Anyway, is there a way to enable an advanced search like you could do in XP? Maybe this is just too simple or something and they felt they had to change it. Kind of reminds me of the ribbon in office. If something is straightforward and works, be sure to change it. XP was way, way better than this, and even Vista seems more intuitive in the search function.

/end of rant/

 

[SMOGZINN]

So, your rant is that you don't know how to use the features in windows 7, therefor windows 7 sucks?

Windows 7 search is about 10,000X better then windows xp's pitiful excuse for a search system.

 

[gmaster456]

I really don't find it that confusing at all. The see more results button is pretty self explanatory. However, if you want to change the way windows searches, type something into the search box, click see more results, and click on the organize button (in the upper left) in the windows that pops up and click on folder and search options.

 

[Zxian]

I've never had any issues with the Win7 search. The only thing that you really need in order to make it work is to save your files to indexed locations. You can even use the filters directly in the start menu. I just searched for "datemodified:today" in the start menu and picked up all the files and Outlook emails that I've worked with today.

As for "instant search", i.e. searching as you type, I'd much rather this than have to type out the entire word. I get the first few characters, and *poof*, the file I want is there. Typing "wo", "ex", "ou", and "no" in the start menu and then hitting Enter is rediculously quick (You can likely figure out which results those will show).

Once you actually learn how to search in Win7, you'll feel dirty any time you go back. Sure, the layout of XP's Advanced Search might have been a little more intuitive, but it was slow as hell. I found Vista's layout a little too haphazard - a little bit of funcionality here, some of it there. In Win7, the results you get from the Start Menu are the same as you'll get in Explorer.

 

[ninaholic37]

Apparently the search in Windows 8/Metro is better. Anyone tried it?

 

[gmaster456]

Apparently the search in Windows 8/Metro is better. Anyone tried it?

Yeah. I like it so far.

 

[Binky]

Win7 search is significantly improved from XP. If you want something more powerful, but still free, try Agent Ransack.
http://www.mythicsoft.com/page.aspx?type=agentransack&page=home

 

[Nothinman]

I hate it too. It works well enough for the start menu and Outlook, but I can't remember the last time it actually found a file for which I was searching.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I really don't find it that confusing at all. The see more results button is pretty self explanatory. However, if you want to change the way windows searches, type something into the search box, click see more results, and click on the organize button (in the upper left) in the windows that pops up and click on folder and search options.

Is there a good place to get a step by step explanation of how to use search in Win7? I looked in the Help menu and found almost nothing. I also searched on the net and found a lot of references to the microsoft website, but no clear explanation of how to use the interface.

I realize most people on this forum are probably much more experienced with Win 7 than I am. The only place I use win7 is at work, and I dont have time there to spend hours learning a new search interface. (I use Vista at home.)

 

[frozentundra123456]

I've never had any issues with the Win7 search. The only thing that you really need in order to make it work is to save your files to indexed locations. You can even use the filters directly in the start menu. I just searched for "datemodified:today" in the start menu and picked up all the files and Outlook emails that I've worked with today.

As for "instant search", i.e. searching as you type, I'd much rather this than have to type out the entire word. I get the first few characters, and *poof*, the file I want is there. Typing "wo", "ex", "ou", and "no" in the start menu and then hitting Enter is rediculously quick (You can likely figure out which results those will show).

Once you actually learn how to search in Win7, you'll feel dirty any time you go back. Sure, the layout of XP's Advanced Search might have been a little more intuitive, but it was slow as hell. I found Vista's layout a little too haphazard - a little bit of funcionality here, some of it there. In Win7, the results you get from the Start Menu are the same as you'll get in Explorer.

So how would you search for a file created say between 2 dates a few days apart, like between Apr 15 and May 20? Or a file of a certain type, say JPG? This was very clear in the Advanced search box, but it seems you have to learn a whole new syntax to use Win 7 search.

 

[gmaster456]

This might help

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/ar...ing-Windows-7s-New-Search-Features-Part1.html

 

[gmaster456]

So how would you search for a file created say between 2 dates a few days apart, like between Apr 15 and May 20? Or a file of a certain type, say JPG? This was very clear in the Advanced search box, but it seems you have to learn a whole new syntax to use Win 7 search.

In Windows Explorer, there's a search box in the upper right corner like in a web browser. You can sort those results from the date last modified.

 

[slicksilver]

Get Everything from Voidtools.com. The rest will be history.

 

[Nothinman]

In Windows Explorer, there's a search box in the upper right corner like in a web browser. You can sort those results from the date last modified.

Sorting and searching through a list of files manually isn't the same as limiting the results to the date range you want.

 

[sm625]

So, your rant is that you don't know how to use the features in windows 7, therefor windows 7 sucks?

Windows 7 search is about 10,000X better then windows xp's pitiful excuse for a search system.

It cannot be 10000X better when it clearly does not work. I've tried it many time. I type in "resume" and it does not find a file called "resume.doc" if it is in a certain folder. It is not just useless, it is broken. I've tried this on countless files and am in utter disbelief they could possibly screw up what worked just fine even in windows 95.

That's why I install agent ransack on every computer I work with. It does not fail ... ever. Failure is just not an option for me. I do not trust windows search. Plus it uses heaps of cpu cycles for no apparent reason.

 

[gmaster456]

Sorting and searching through a list of files manually isn't the same as limiting the results to the date range you want.

I'm aware of that.

 

[Ketchup]

It sounds like the hatred for Windows 7 search stems from the fact that it is different. I got used to it, and like it, after I spent a few minutes learning how to use it. Depending on where the file is (aka indexed locations) it is at best worlds better than XP, and at worst about the same.

 

[notposting]

Don't forget to make sure Windows indexes everything you want, that helps make sure everything pops up.

 

[Nothinman]

It sounds like the hatred for Windows 7 search stems from the fact that it is different. I got used to it, and like it, after I spent a few minutes learning how to use it. Depending on where the file is (aka indexed locations) it is at best worlds better than XP, and at worst about the same.

It's not just that it's different, I would love a good indexed search function. But it just doesn't work well and it's worse because all of the UI elements for dealing with the simple cases (e.g. modified between 2 dates) were removed in favor of search command syntax with no obvious documentation except for the 4 modifiers that popup when you start typing something. If you want some other criteria you're on your own to figure out how to specify it.

 

[pcunite]

Anyway, is there a way to enable an advanced search like you could do in XP?

I really like FileSearchEX ...

 

[Zxian]

So how would you search for a file created say between 2 dates a few days apart, like between Apr 15 and May 20? Or a file of a certain type, say JPG? This was very clear in the Advanced search box, but it seems you have to learn a whole new syntax to use Win 7 search.

In the search box, file types can be found one of two ways. First, simply type the following into the search box:

*.jpg

or

type:jpeg

You'll see the option for "JPEG Image" show up as soon as you hit the letter "j" in the above example as well.


For date ranges, click on the Date Modified option (or type 'datemodified:') and the calendar will appear. Find the start date, then shift-click to the end date. You'll see the resulting search syntax appear in the box. Learn some of the basics and you'll be able to search for your files quicky and directly from the Start Menu. The Start Menu search box will search all indexed locations, while the search box in Explorer will only search the current directory and subdirectories by default.