How to Search in Windows 11 [4 Ways to Explain]

What’s new in Windows 11 Search?

Windows 11 brings a lot of low-level improvements to Search, but there aren’t many obvious changes to how Windows Search works externally. Nonetheless, you can still expect the following new changes to Windows Search.

• New taskbar icon
• Dedicated file type search
• Access search settings from the Start menu
• Supports cloud search and cloud storage services Combined
• Comprehensive indexing options
• Faster results
• Efficient indexing on mobile devices with low battery usage

and more . As you explore Windows Search in Windows 11, you'll discover tiny new details in every aspect of the feature.

Windows 11 Search Keyboard Shortcuts

You can use the Windows S keyboard to bring up Windows Search directly on your system. You can continue typing to start searching your system for relevant applications, files, and folders. Additionally, pressing Enter on your keyboard will open the first search result on your PC.

How to use Windows Search

You can use the following methods to use Windows Search. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages, so depending on the files you are searching for, you can use one of the following methods.

Using taskbar icons

Windows 11 has a dedicated taskbar icon for Windows Search that lets you search for files, documents, folders, and more on your PC. Simply click on the icon to initiate a search as shown below.

#However, if there doesn’t seem to be an icon in your taskbar, follow these steps.

Right-click on the taskbar and select "Taskbar Settings".

Now click and enable the toggle for Search.

You should now have a search icon in your taskbar, which you can now use to initiate a search on your PC.

Using the Start Menu

Press the Windows key on your keyboard to open the Start menu. You can also click the icon in the taskbar.

Once opened, start typing the name of the file/program you are looking for and the file/folder/program should automatically appear in the search results. If you don't see your file at the top, try expanding your search results by clicking on one of the following categories.

Once found, click on the search result to open it. You can also click on the arrow to see more details about it. That's it! You will now use Windows Search from the Start menu.

Use keyboard shortcuts

Press the Windows S keyboard to open search. If required, now switch to the desired file type.

Enter your search terms. If necessary, click the text box.

Windows will now search your files/folders and the results will be displayed on your screen. You can click and expand the categories below to see more results.

Also, if you want to see more details about a file or program, you can click on the arrow next to it. You will now use keyboard shortcuts to use Windows Search.

Using File Explorer

Press the Windows E keyboard to open File Explorer. Navigate to the drive/directory/folder you want to search. Once it opens, click on the search box in the upper right corner of the screen.

Now enter your search term and press Enter on your keyboard.

Windows will now search the current directory for your search terms and display all results on the screen. You can now click and launch the file.

You can also right-click it and select "Open file location" to access its current directory in local storage.

Additionally, you can use the drop-down arrow at the top to sort the search results to find your files/folders/programs more easily.

That's it! You will now use Windows Search through File Explorer.

How to increase Windows Search's index

By default, Windows Search will only search files and search terms in selected directories and paths. These default paths cover the most common directories on Windows, such as Start Menu, Documents, Music, Pictures, and more. If you want to increase the index range on Windows 11, you can use the following tutorial to get started.

Press the Windows i keyboard to open the Settings app. Now click on “Privacy & Security” on the left.

Click Search Windows on the right.

Click and expand Find My Files.

Select "Enhance".

Now, if you wish to exclude any folders from the index, click on “Add Excluded Folders”.

#Note: Windows will add some folders by default. We recommend continuing to exclude these folders to avoid unnecessary resource usage for indexing system files.

After excluding all folders, we can now start indexing all your drives. Click "Advanced Indexing Options" at the bottom.

Click "Modify".

Now check the checkbox for your drive.

Click "OK" when finished.

Click "Close". That's it! You will now increase the index position in Windows Search. If using a laptop, your new location will be indexed as soon as your device is connected to power.

Using Search Options

Search tools have been present in File Explorer for some time, and they allow you to manage your search results more efficiently. This can help you find a file you don't remember the name of and just remember a few details about it. The search tool has now been renamed Search Options in Windows 11, and you can now see a drop-down menu for the options. Start by exploring your options as usual and searching for a term in File Explorer. Once the search results are displayed, you should find "Search options" at the top of the screen. Now use the options below to filter your search results accordingly.

• All Folders: Search for your search terms in all folders in the current drive/partition.
• Current Folder: Search for your search terms in the current folder only.

You can also specify how search results are sorted. This can help you find large files or files based on file type. Use one of the following options

• Modified Date: Use this option to sort the results based on when they were created in local storage.

• Category: You can use this option to sort files by file category. You can find calendar files, folders, games, pictures, music, and more. You can choose from over 23 different file types to sort your search results.

• Size: Use this option to filter files based on their size. You will be given the following options to choose from.

• ##Empty: 0kb
• Small: 0kb to 16kb
• Small: 16kb to 1MB
• Medium: 1MB to 128MB
• Large: 128MB to 1GB
• Gigantic: 1GB to 4GB
• Gigantic: Files larger than 4GB

In addition, you can also get the following more Multiple options to filter search results. These options will dictate the locations and files that Windows will search for. Just click on the option to activate or deactivate it.

System files
• Compressed (compressed) folders
• File contents

This is how you can use Search options to work to your advantage. We also have some tips to help you get the most out of Windows Search in Windows 11. You can use the following sections to get started.

Tips to use Windows Search to your advantage

Windows Search has some hidden shortcuts and key terms that directly help you filter or sort search results according to your preferences. The following tips can help you get the most out of Windows Search on Windows 11.

Finding Large Files

You can easily find large files in a drive or folder using the command "size:". You can then use a term in the search options to filter your files and display them based on their size. For example, if you wish to search the current directory for files larger than 4GB, you can use the following command.

size:gigantic

Likewise, you can further filter the search results using the search options to identify large movies, pictures, calendars Files, games, or more taking up space on your PC.

Find file types

Similar to the command above, you can use the 'kind:' parameter to find certain files in the current directory. The 'kind' parameter will allow you to find calendar files, text documents, pictures, video games, etc. When using the kind parameter in this way, you are not limited to Windows' predefined categories, instead you can also define specific file extensions to find them on your PC, as shown below.

kind:.exe

The above command will help you find the executable file in the current directory.

Similarly, using the following command will help you find PDF files in the directory of your choice.

kind:.pdf

That’s it! You can use these commands to find certain files on your PC using Windows Search.

Find files by date

You can also use the "Date:" parameter to find files created on a specific date. Additionally, this command can be used in conjunction with the Boolean filter below to find files that were created or modified before or after a certain date on your PC. For example, if you want to find files created on January 1, 2020, you can use the following command.

date: 1/1/2020

Similarly, if you want to find files created on January 1, 2021, You can use the following command.

date: 1/1/2021

Using Boolean filters

Boolean filters can help you work together or in combination with each other when using Windows Search Search for multiple terms. Here are the following Boolean filters you can use.

AND parameter

You can use the AND parameter to search for two search terms at the same time. This way you can find files that contain both terms but not either one, which can help you filter out unwanted results that contain either term. For example, if you want to find files that contain the words "Samsung" and "galaxy" in their names, then I can use the following terms to search for your files.

Samsung AND galaxy

This will filter out files that only have "Samsung" and "Galaxy" in their names. Documents with either term will be filtered out.

The OR parameter

The OR parameter is the opposite of the AND parameter and allows you to search for files that contain either word in the search terms. For example, if I wanted to search for files that have "Apple" or "Airpods" in their name, I would use the following search terms.

apple OR airpods

Similarly, if I look for PDF and EXE files in a specific directory, I can use the following command.

kind:.exe OR .pdf

This is how you can use the OR parameter to find multiple searches in a single file name way of words.

'NOT' parameter

If you want to filter out a certain search term or file type, you can use the NOT parameter. The NOT parameter will exclude the desired file type, kind, size, or name based on your selection. For example, if in a folder full of .docx files you are looking for other file types and want to filter them all out, then you can use the following command.

kind: NOT .docx

Similarly, if I want to find files that don't have "Apple" in their names, I can use Search terms below.

NOT apple

Double quotes

If you remember the exact term of the file you are searching for, you can Use double quotes. This will force Windows Search to look for the exact search terms in a specific format and case to find the file you are looking for. For example, if you want to find files with "Apple 2019" in the title, you can use the following command.

"Apple 2019"

Bracket

Bracket is a Boolean filter that is typically used when you search the contents of a file. Anything contained between brackets () will be searched and files containing one or all of these terms will appear on your screen. For example, if you want to find files that contain "Apple, Samsung, Mi, Microsoft, and Dell" or all of these terms, you can use the following terms.

(Apple Samsung Mi Microsoft Dell)

Similarly, if you want to find multiple file types, you can use the following command.

kind:(.exe .pdf .txt)

That’s it! Now you'll use parentheses to find multiple search terms in a specific file.

'>' and '

These two Boolean filters are typically used when looking for file types or sorting results based on parameters. The greater than and less than parameters can be used to filter results based on numbers. For example, if you want to find files after January 1, 2021, you can use the following command.

date: >1/1/2021

Similarly, if you want to find files smaller than 10GB, you can use the following command .

size:

You can use the greater than and less than parameters to your advantage this way and get the The required file is found on the system.

Are there any alternatives to Windows search?

Yes, there are some Windows search alternatives developed by third parties that offer competitive indexing options and promise greater productivity when using system resources. However, Windows Search is still the tool we recommend because it is installed locally on your system. Unless you completely disable Windows Search, using third-party tools will add extra work to your PC. Therefore, we recommend that you try Microsoft's PowerToys first to get a native utility on your PC that uses and enhances Windows Search. If this doesn't work for you, you can choose any of the third-party utilities listed below.

PowerToys

PowerToys is a series of enhancement tools from Microsoft that provide you with utilities such as PowerToys Run (Windows Search), Color Picker, Power Renamer, etc. to help improve your work efficiency and enhance your workflow. PowerToys Run is the spotlight-like search feature in PowerToys that uses Windows Search to index and display files on your PC. PowerToys Run gives you a more elegant way to use search on your PC. Use the tutorial below to get you started.

• Power Toys | Download Link

Use the link above to download and install PowerToys on your PC. After installation, launch PowerToys from the taskbar as shown below.

#After PowerToys launches, we recommend that you click on each feature on the left and disable the ones you don't want to use. PowerToys has a comprehensive range of tools that, if you don't know them, can cause your system to behave unexpectedly. Therefore, disable any features you don’t need or want on your PC.

Click "PowerToys Run" on the left.

Enable the toggle at the top.

Set a custom shortcut if desired. By default, you can use Alt Space to activate PowerToys Run.

If necessary, increase the number of search results you want to see.

If you have a multi-monitor setup, set the position of the search box.

Choose a custom theme if desired.

Additionally, PoweToys Run is powerful enough to help you access apps from the search box itself. For example, you can enter an equation into the search box and you will automatically get a result from the calculator app as a search result as shown below.

Likewise, you can also execute commands from the search box itself. Ping is a good example that shows up in search results as shown below.

#However, there is no point in enabling these features on your PC if you are not going to use them. Simply disable the plugin in the PowerToys window as shown below.

That's it! You will now configure PowerToys Run on your system as a replacement for Windows Search.

We hope you were able to use the above tutorial to become familiar with Windows Search in Windows 11. If you encounter any bugs or have any questions for us, please feel free to contact us using the comments section below.

Can you disable Windows Search in Windows 11?

no. Windows does not provide a native way to disable Windows Search. However, this can be harmful on older systems, where searches can end up taking up important resources in the background, slowing down your system. In this case, you can use some workarounds to disable Windows Search in the background in Windows 11. You can use the following tutorial to disable Windows Search on Windows 11.

How to Disable Windows Search

If you wish to disable Windows Search, then disabling the service is the easiest way. Follow the tutorial below to get started.

Press the Windows R keyboard and enter the following. Press Enter on your keyboard when finished.

services.msc

Search for the service named "Windows Search" and right-click on it.

Select "Properties".

Click "Stop".

Click the drop-down menu and select "Disabled".

Click OK.

Restart the system and Windows Search should now be disabled on the system.

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