Windows Desktop Search Tips
Well, if you want to be more efficient in locating your files and e-mails in Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP using Windows Search, then Advanced Query Syntax (AQS) can help you do just that. You can get the desired results using AQS, as it allows you to quickly define and narrow your searches. To make your searches specific, you can use a variety of keywords, or search parameters, which can restrict your query to specific locations, specific file types or properties within those types, or specific “file kinds”. At the top of the Windows Search Explorer, File kinds are displayed, which you can access by pressing the Windows Logo + F. Use double Quotation marks to match a specific string literally, so that it does not get interpreted as a Keyword. The words will be matched exactly in the order they are entered in a search query between quotation marks. An overview of syntax in the tables below can be used with Windows Search, including the properties that can be added to your search terms to narrow and refine your results.
Search Syntax
Specifying Numbers and ranges
In order to specify a date range, enter the property followed by two dates. For instance, type from:Thomas sent:11/05/10..11/05/11. Windows Search identifies all Windows date formats and also recognizes the following values: • Relative dates: Today, tomorrow, yesterday • Multi-word relative dates: week, next month, last week, past month, or coming year. The values can also be entered contracted, as follows: thisweek, nextmonth, lastweek, pastmonth, comingyear. • Days: Sunday, Monday … Saturday • Months: January, February … December
Common file properties
The preceding table contains a list of words that can be used with any of the following file properties. For example, to find e-mail from “patrick” that was sent in 2011, your query would look like this: kind:email author:patrick after:12/31/2010.
To restrict by file store
You can use the store: indicator to narrow your search scope which will limit a query to either Microsoft Office Outlook or Outlook Express, in case if you have multiple accounts.
Properties for file type: All
Properties for file type: Contact
Properties for file type: Communications (e-mail, appointments)
Properties for file type: Calendar
Properties for file type: Documents
Properties for file type: Music
Properties for file type: Picture
Properties for file type: Recorded TV
Properties for file type: Video
Windows Search: Find files with Ratings
Here are some tips for searching files that have ratings! Open Windows Search from the Start Menu. You can even access the search box from Windows Explorer. In the search box enter: Rating:>0 Star This will find all files that have a rating of 1 to 5 stars. But let’s try some advanced parameters to really narrow the results. Find files with a rating of 1 star Rating:1 Star Find files with a specific rating 2, 3, 4 or 5. In the example below, we are searching for 4-star ratings Rating:4 Stars Find files with a rating in a range. To find files rated from 2 to 4 we use Rating:>1 stars <5 stars Sourced from: Microsoft.
