Finding a File or Folder

Unless you’re incredibly well organized, have a great memory, or never create any files, you’ll probably forget where a particular file or folder is located. Windows provides powerful searching that you can use to find files by their name, their size, the date they were created, or even by a word or phrase contained in the body of the file. You can start a search directly from the Start menu, from an Windows Explorer window you’ve already opened, or by opening a Search Results window.

Searching from the Start Menu

Searching from the Start menu is handy when you don’t have an Windows Explorer window open and when you want to be able to start searching the Internet as well as your computer. To search from the Start menu, follow these steps:

1.  Click the Start button. Windows displays the Start menu and displays an insertion point in the Search box just above the Start button.

2.  Type your search term. As you type, Windows searches and displays a list of hits in the left part of the Start menu .

3.  If the item you want appears in the list, click it to open it. Otherwise:

•    To see the full list of results, click the See All Results link. Windows opens a Search Results window showing the results. Double-click an item to open it.

•    Click the Search the Internet link if you want to start searching the Internet for the search term. Windows opens Internet Windows Explorer and searches using your current search engine.