After the launch of Windows 7 (hereinafter referred to as Win 7), various functions have been well received by users. Among them, the search function of Win 7 is a highlight and has become the most commonly used function by many users. Compared with Windows XP's instant search, which relies entirely on computer performance, the search principle of Win 7 is completely different from the past, and the performance has also been greatly improved. But maybe you don’t know yet, by optimizing the usage, we can make Win 7’s search faster and more accurate!
The easiest way to narrow your search
Usually when we use the search function of Win 7, we may do it directly in the start menu of Win 7. However, such a search will retrieve all index files, and those files that are not added to the index cannot be searched. . In addition, although the index mode search in Win 7 is already very fast, if you search for the first time, it will take a certain amount of time to build the index file, so it will take longer.
In fact, if you know the directory where the file you want to search is located, then the simplest way to speed up the search is to narrow the scope of the search, access the directory where the file is located, and then complete it through the search box in the folder window. Win 7 has integrated the search toolbar into the toolbar. Not only can you find files at any time, but you can also search any folder (as shown in Figure 1).
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Custom index directories speed up searches
As mentioned above, Win 7 adopts a new index search mode, which can greatly improve the search speed. So naturally, whether the file or folder is indexed will directly affect the speed of our search.
However, by default, some of the contents in the index options are what we want, but some are not, and some of the things we want to add are not yet in the default search list. So in order to speed up the search, we can customize the index directory ourselves to make the search faster and more accurate.
Tip: The principle of the index mode is like the table of contents of a book. When we want to query a certain part of the content in the book, we can quickly find the location of the content through the table of contents of the book. Of course, this metaphor is not appropriate enough, because compared to the "dead" directory of the book, the index is dynamically updated, and we do not have to worry about the index being invalid due to the movement of some files, so that the files cannot be searched.
To customize the index directory, just enter "Index Options" in the search box in the system's start menu (or open the control panel and select the large icon mode, then click "Index Options"), open the "Index Options" setting window, and enter " Modify" to add, delete and modify the index position at will.
In addition to setting it in the control panel, we can also add it to the index when searching for a folder that is not in the index. When searching for a folder, a message to add the folder to the index location will be displayed below the dynamic toolbar of the explorer. Click the mouse on the message bar and select the "Add to Index" option in the menu that opens. Folders can be quickly added to index locations (as shown in Figure 2).
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Under normal circumstances, index files require little maintenance after they are created, but if a known file cannot be found in the index or in other special circumstances, you may need to manually rebuild the index. To manually rebuild the index, users only need to open "Index Options", click the "Index Settings" tab in the "Advanced Options" dialog box, and then click "Rebuild". However, searching before the index has been completely rebuilt may result in inaccurate results.
Tip: The index file is saved in the "ProgramDataMicrosoft" folder of the system partition by default. The size is related to the number of index options created by the system, usually ranging from tens of megabytes to one hundred megabytes. If you are worried that the index will be cleared after the system is reinstalled, you can locate the index location to a non-system disk. Click the "Advanced" button in the "Index Options" dialog box, select the new index location in the "Advanced Options" dialog box, and confirm (as shown in Figure 3).
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Reduce search time by not searching subdirectories
The powerful search function of Win 7 also includes the ability to search not only file names, but also file contents. If you only remember part of the contents of the file but not the file name, then this feature will undoubtedly help you to a great extent. However, the actual situation is that users do not use it much when searching for file content. After all, it is much easier to remember the file name than the file content. Therefore, by default, Win 7 will only search the file name, not the file content, when searching an unindexed directory.
In addition, in order to make the search faster, we can also make further settings, choose not to search subdirectories, and set the search content keywords to match exactly, etc. This can further reduce the search time and speed up the search.
In order to achieve better results, Win 7 searches folders and subdirectories contained in folders by default, but if we confirm the folder where the file is located, we can choose not to include subdirectories in the search to speed up the search. In contrast, choosing an exact match of the keyword may be more effective and can also effectively filter search results. Because if the keywords are partially matched, many files containing part of the keywords may be searched, and these files are often not what we want.
The modification method is very simple. Enter "Folder Options" in the search box of the system's start menu. After confirmation, the "Folder Options" settings window will open (as shown in Figure 4), and then select in the "Search method" column. Uncheck "Include subfolders in search results when searching folders" and "Find partial matches".
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Narrow down search results
After our search is completed, there may be a situation where there are many search results, and we need to further filter among the many search results. If this is the case, it is actually equivalent to lengthening the search time. So at this time we can enter "modification" or "modification time" in the search box, so that the search results can be filtered twice according to the time range, thereby effectively improving the search efficiency. This is also a new feature in Win 7 search. (As shown in Figure 5).
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Tips to speed up your search
Manually add new file types
When you need to search for uncommon file types that are not recognized by the index, you can also add in the advanced indexing options so that you can search the system by that file type. In the "Indexing Options" window, click "Advanced→File Types→Add New Extension to List", manually type the file extension, then click "Add", and then click "Index for attributes only" or "Index for attributes and File contents are indexed" and the setting is complete.
Search using wildcards
Wildcards refer to special characters used to replace one or more unknown characters. Commonly used wildcards include the following two types:
Asterisk (*): can represent any string in the file.
Question mark (?): Can represent a character in the file.
For example, to search all JPG files, just enter "*.jpg" in the search bar.
Use natural language search
Sometimes, the files we may want to search require multiple filtering conditions. In this case, we can use the natural language search function to complete the filtering at once. For example, if you want to search for DOC or XLS format files on your computer, just enter "*.doc or *. xls" in the search bar, and all DOC and XLS format files will be searched.
The following are some commonly used relational operators:
AND: The search content must contain all keywords connected by AND.
OR: The search content contains any keyword connected by OR.
NOT: The search content cannot contain the specified keyword.
Tip: To use the natural language search function, you must first check "Use natural language search" in the "Search method" in "Folder Options" and confirm it.
Save search results
Searching is a time-consuming process, especially when the search conditions are complex. Therefore, sometimes it is a good choice to save the search results, which can save a lot of time and energy. Right-click on the search results and select "Save Search", or directly click the "Save Search" button on the toolbar.
Save time and turn on the preview function
When the searcher lists all files that match your requirements, you can use the preview feature to preview their contents without opening the file, which can save you a lot of time. To turn on the preview feature, just click the "Show Preview Pane" button below the search bar.
Search Questions Q&A
Why is the file still not found despite being indexed?
This may be caused by the security settings of the folder. The folders and their contents that are to be indexed must be configured with "system" permissions. Most files already have this permission, but in some cases a folder may lack "system" permission. Permissions for a file or folder can be modified in the "Security" tab in the folder's "Properties".
How do I get the search box back if it disappears?
By default, clicking the search box in the Win 7 start menu can search for files or directly execute system components. However, some friends reported that after installing certain software and restarting the system, the search box in the start menu disappeared!
Don't worry, go to the Control Panel, double-click "Programs and Features" (select "Small Icons" or "Large Icons" for viewing mode to display it), in the window that opens, click "Turn Windows features on or off" in the upper left corner, Then check "Windows Search" in the "Windows Features" dialog box that opens. After confirmation, the system will display the "Changing Features" window, and then a dialog box will pop up. Click the "Restart Now" button, and the system will start "Configuring Windows Features" and then restart. Before entering the system, it will also first After "Configuring Windows Functions" and entering the system, the search box that disappeared came back!
Can I index the entire computer?
This should not be done as it will make the index too large or make everyday searches slower if system file locations are included (such as the Program Files folder). For best results, it is recommended to only add frequently searched folders.
I'm using a public computer, can I disable search history?
Yes, if you are using Win 7 Home Edition or above, you can use the system's Group Policy function to achieve this; if you are using Win 7 Home Edition, or are not familiar enough with Group Policy, you can also use Windows 7 Optimization Master Wait for third-party optimization software to disable this feature.
To use the Group Policy function, you can click "User Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Windows Explorer" after opening the Group Policy Management window, and then find "Close recent searches in the Windows Explorer search box" in the right pane "Display of Entries" item, double-click to open the "Properties" window and change the status to "Enabled".
Tip: After turning off the search history, the corresponding search suggestions will not be displayed when searching. If you need to clear the history in the address bar, just right-click the address bar with the address bar as a button, and click on the pop-up Just select "Delete History" from the shortcut menu.
Comment: Although Win 7’s search performs well, its default settings may not be suitable for every user. Therefore, through personalized settings, we can make Win 7’s search more in line with our own habits. For example, narrowing the search scope and not searching subdirectories can effectively improve the search speed; customizing the index directory can make the search more in line with your own usage habits, and can also effectively improve search efficiency and search speed. In addition, using some tricks, such as combining wildcards and multi-condition searches, can speed up the search speed of Win 7.