MS Desktop Search Tips

I recently figured out a bunch of ways to make Windows desktop search a lot more effective.

File Name

name:search -> finds files with term ‘search’
name:=”search.png” -> finds files with exact file name ‘search.png'. Note :=

Extension and Folders

ext:docx -> finds files with extention .docx
folder:documents -> finds folders with name documents in them

Kind of File or Item

kind:favorites
kind:email
kind:programs
Kind:pictures -> Finds files of type pictures (png, psd, gif, etc.). See ext:png to better narrow.

Date

date:>11/05/04 -> Finds items with a date after 11/05/04
date:this week -> Finds items that were saved this week.
date:today

File Size

size:>5mb -> Finds items with a size greater than 5 megabytes (good for large files).
size:<5kb -> Finds items with a size less then 5 killobytes (good for icons)

E-Mail Searching (Outlook)

from:”jeff johnson” -> Finds e-mails from Jeff Johnson.
has:attachment -> Finds e-mails that include attachments. Great for narrowing the list.
!word -> a shortcut (not sure what this means anymore).

Operators

Keyword/symbol	Example	Function
NOT	social NOT security	Finds items containing social, but not security
-	social -security	Finds items containing social, but not security
OR	social OR security	Finds items containing social or security
Quotation marks	"social security"	Finds items containing the exact phrase social security