Ha! Finally figured out my "can't search my documents library" problem (Win7)

[mikeymikec]

I had a problem whereby searching the documents library (even for a file name that I could actually see in the window before I started the search) would result in no results found, but it would work for other random locations, like for example a folder on another partition which has nothing to do with any Windows libraries.

Apparently if you exclude your documents folder from being indexed, then try to search it through Libraries > Documents, you won't get any results. My workaround until today was to have a shortcut to my documents folder rather than a shortcut to Libraries > Documents, and searching would work fine.

My 'documents' folder isn't located in the default place, and I don't know whether moving the default documents folder would result in it being indexed by default.

I had probably explicitly switched off indexing for my documents folder anyway because I don't want Windows spending time indexing things that I rarely search, nor do I care if searching takes a little longer because the location isn't indexed.

Anyway, odd little problem, and I thought I'd post this in case anyone else is head-scratching over this weird little problem 🙂

 

[piasabird]

At work I use to put everything under the My Documents Folder often in subdirectories. That was because we update computers every 3 years or so and I need to be able to move things easily from one computer to the next.

I kind of wish for a multiuser computer that if you put everything in a common folder that it would be easier to find. Plus I accidentally deleted a username once and I could not access anything. That was a pain. The other problem is that cumbersome long convoluted folder name you have to use to get to the My Documents folder if you have to enter it in some field on some software.