6 ms·

I can't remember the last time I used Windows search because it's worse than useless - there have been multiple occasions in the past where it can't even find a

by ncann 5y ago

I can't remember the last time I used Windows search because it's worse than useless - there have been multiple occasions in the past where it can't even find a file in the current folder right in front of my eyes. Nowadays I just use Everything which I think is one of the best piece of software ever.

leoncaet 5y ago
I can't live without Everything!
RandyRanderson 5y ago
https://www.voidtools.com/ https://www.voidtools.com/
- KineticLensman 5y ago
  Concur - 'Everything' is one of the first tools I install on a fresh PC. Blazingly fast file-system search with many useful options
  - mszcz 5y ago
    Yep. One of very few pieces of software that when it runs I swear I can actually hear the zillions of transistors in the CPU doing their job. Unlike an Electron app that tasks 16 cores with endless fucking apologizing for their creator's love of layers upon fucking layers of abstraction... Sorry, my PC's acting slow today, I'm tired and had a glass of wine already :P
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
vbezhenar 5y ago
For me Windows Explorer search became useful when I learned about its syntax. I can't remember it exactly right now, but I think it's something like `name:*.jpg` for example (and worst thing is it's localized, so you have to use whatever Windows Language you use). This way it does not try to be smart and just searches for file names. I think that in default mode it searches inside an indexed files or something like that, which probably is useful for ordinary users trying to search inside theirs docs.
- Philip-J-Fry 5y ago
  Advanced Query Syntax https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/lwef/-search-2x-wds-aqsreference https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/lwef/-search-... Quite useful
  - ASalazarMX 5y ago
    One of the things I miss most from Windows is the CHM help system. Now selecting Help in the menu opens a web page in Edge regardless of your default browser, or in an awkward, sluggish help minibrowser app. The query syntax should be available offline right in the operating system, not in a web page.
tjoff 5y ago
Haven't used Everything but I am very happy with locate32 https://locate32.cogit.net/ https://locate32.cogit.net/
rkagerer 5y ago
FileLocator Pro is another nice one. It's handled my Ctrl+F hotkey ever since the early days of Win7. Doesn't index, but uses techniques that quickly scan the MFT.
edgeform 5y ago
FileLocator Pro for me (there's a free personal version). Been on that since Windows 7 quite frankly.
ergot_vacation 5y ago
Found Everything back in the Windows 7 days and have never used anything else. It still amazes me that a silly little freeware search outperforms what Windows has. Really goes to show Microsoft's utter contempt (or apathy) toward the user. Technically though, there is still a use for Windows search on the start menu: pulling up Windows components like the Control Panel or Disk Manger quickly.
- AshamedCaptain 5y ago
  > Technically though, there is still a use for Windows search on the start menu: pulling up Windows components like the Control Panel or Disk Manger quickly. And not even that since some times typing "Panel" will not find Control Panel or "Power" not find "Dell Power Manager". I am baffled as to what is the actual algorithm behind this "search". I am quite sure it is not an indexing problem as searching the same items by prefix usually works. And as usual when it fails to find what you were looking for, you are just one Enter key away from being sent to a browser and Bing. Way to raise your ratings...
  - nucleardog 5y ago
    And for extra fun, sometimes you'll start typing and get "Contro" in and it will pop up "Control Panel" at the top, but then by the time your fingers have caught up and stopped typing you've got "Control Pan" and you mash the enter key and... it suddenly replaced it with a bing search for "Control Pan". I actually generally enjoy Windows 10 as an OS, but I actively dislike the start menu search. It's worse than useless. I just went and punched "drive" in a few times. The first couple times it gave me "Computer Management" since it's related to drivers apparently. Then it decided to give me "Create and format hard partitions". Meanwhile, the several options that contain the literal "drive" in the name are all ignored as the "Best Match". I too am completely baffled by what sort of algorithm it's using to find and select the most relevant search results. I have PowerToys installed and have "PowerToys Run" bound to Win+R. I use that pretty much exclusively these days as an app launcher.
jandrese 5y ago
I also like how it can make a machine unusable for like an hour after an update while it rebuilds the indexes. I have some laptops where it will take upwards of 45 minutes to log in after a patch. Windows 10 really hates slow spinning HDDs, and these are machines with plenty of memory (8GB) to avoid paging.
brundolf 5y ago
An important thing that it took me a long time to realize is it doesn't search file names by default, only file contents. To search by name you have to use the 'name:' prefix. This is nonsense, but it's also easy to overcome once you know about it.
- ncann 5y ago
  Wow really? I never knew that. Who thought it would be a good idea to have the Explorer search NOT do filename search by default?
  - brundolf 5y ago
    It's probably how the first iteration worked before anybody knew what would and wouldn't be intuitive for this kind of utility, and they just haven't updated it since
    - yhoneycomb 5y ago
      Also when files were mostly just text, it would have made a lot of sense
      - wizzwizz4 5y ago
        No, this search was new in Vista (iirc).
        brundolf 5y ago
        Oh, well then there you go ;)
- ChrisArchitect 5y ago
  what? ridiculous, of course it searches filenames
- ethbr0 5y ago
  Honestly interested how this plays with Control Panel, various config screens / apps, etc. It seems the worst offender of "type in exactly what the link / window header is titled, does not show up in results." I haven't figured out if this stuff just isn't indexed, is de-ranked below everything else (my guess), or is using some weird non-user-visible tags that aren't named identically.
mcbishop 5y ago
fman is another rad File Explorer alternative.
windowclenaer 5y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_(software) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_(software) https://www.voidtools.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=590 https://www.voidtools.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=590 This is closed source software (Freeware) as far as I can tell. I realize you're already on MS Windows, but downloading a binary blob from some third party that's reading all files on your system seems a little too trusting.
- stronglikedan 5y ago
  Everything has become ubiquitous enough over the many years to be completely trustworthy for most Windows sysadmins. Additionally, I agree with OP that it's one of the best pieces of software ever.
- NicoJuicy 5y ago
  Voidtools is well known and really good. I've been using them for years now.
gentleman11 5y ago
Slightly off topic, but I ditched windows explorer for most things years ago. I’ve been using a neat indie app I found called fman. Not affiliated, just a fan https://fman.io/ https://fman.io/
- temp8964 5y ago
  I use Q-Dir, a quad-pane file explorer. http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/Q-Dir http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/Q-Dir
sys_64738 5y ago
Thanks. Hadn’t heard of this before.

by ncann 5y ago

leoncaet 5y ago

I can't live without Everything!

RandyRanderson 5y ago

https://www.voidtools.com/ https://www.voidtools.com/

KineticLensman 5y ago
Concur - 'Everything' is one of the first tools I install on a fresh PC. Blazingly fast file-system search with many useful options
- mszcz 5y ago
  Yep. One of very few pieces of software that when it runs I swear I can actually hear the zillions of transistors in the CPU doing their job. Unlike an Electron app that tasks 16 cores with endless fucking apologizing for their creator's love of layers upon fucking layers of abstraction... Sorry, my PC's acting slow today, I'm tired and had a glass of wine already :P
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

vbezhenar 5y ago

For me Windows Explorer search became useful when I learned about its syntax. I can't remember it exactly right now, but I think it's something like `name:*.jpg` for example (and worst thing is it's localized, so you have to use whatever Windows Language you use). This way it does not try to be smart and just searches for file names. I think that in default mode it searches inside an indexed files or something like that, which probably is useful for ordinary users trying to search inside theirs docs.

Philip-J-Fry 5y ago
Advanced Query Syntax https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/lwef/-search-2x-wds-aqsreference https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/lwef/-search-... Quite useful
- ASalazarMX 5y ago
  One of the things I miss most from Windows is the CHM help system. Now selecting Help in the menu opens a web page in Edge regardless of your default browser, or in an awkward, sluggish help minibrowser app. The query syntax should be available offline right in the operating system, not in a web page.

tjoff 5y ago

Haven't used Everything but I am very happy with locate32 https://locate32.cogit.net/ https://locate32.cogit.net/

rkagerer 5y ago

FileLocator Pro is another nice one. It's handled my Ctrl+F hotkey ever since the early days of Win7. Doesn't index, but uses techniques that quickly scan the MFT.

edgeform 5y ago

FileLocator Pro for me (there's a free personal version). Been on that since Windows 7 quite frankly.

ergot_vacation 5y ago

Found Everything back in the Windows 7 days and have never used anything else. It still amazes me that a silly little freeware search outperforms what Windows has. Really goes to show Microsoft's utter contempt (or apathy) toward the user. Technically though, there is still a use for Windows search on the start menu: pulling up Windows components like the Control Panel or Disk Manger quickly.

AshamedCaptain 5y ago
> Technically though, there is still a use for Windows search on the start menu: pulling up Windows components like the Control Panel or Disk Manger quickly. And not even that since some times typing "Panel" will not find Control Panel or "Power" not find "Dell Power Manager". I am baffled as to what is the actual algorithm behind this "search". I am quite sure it is not an indexing problem as searching the same items by prefix usually works. And as usual when it fails to find what you were looking for, you are just one Enter key away from being sent to a browser and Bing. Way to raise your ratings...
- nucleardog 5y ago
  And for extra fun, sometimes you'll start typing and get "Contro" in and it will pop up "Control Panel" at the top, but then by the time your fingers have caught up and stopped typing you've got "Control Pan" and you mash the enter key and... it suddenly replaced it with a bing search for "Control Pan". I actually generally enjoy Windows 10 as an OS, but I actively dislike the start menu search. It's worse than useless. I just went and punched "drive" in a few times. The first couple times it gave me "Computer Management" since it's related to drivers apparently. Then it decided to give me "Create and format hard partitions". Meanwhile, the several options that contain the literal "drive" in the name are all ignored as the "Best Match". I too am completely baffled by what sort of algorithm it's using to find and select the most relevant search results. I have PowerToys installed and have "PowerToys Run" bound to Win+R. I use that pretty much exclusively these days as an app launcher.

jandrese 5y ago

I also like how it can make a machine unusable for like an hour after an update while it rebuilds the indexes. I have some laptops where it will take upwards of 45 minutes to log in after a patch. Windows 10 really hates slow spinning HDDs, and these are machines with plenty of memory (8GB) to avoid paging.

brundolf 5y ago

An important thing that it took me a long time to realize is it doesn't search file names by default, only file contents. To search by name you have to use the 'name:' prefix. This is nonsense, but it's also easy to overcome once you know about it.

ncann 5y ago
Wow really? I never knew that. Who thought it would be a good idea to have the Explorer search NOT do filename search by default?
- brundolf 5y ago
  It's probably how the first iteration worked before anybody knew what would and wouldn't be intuitive for this kind of utility, and they just haven't updated it since
  - yhoneycomb 5y ago
    Also when files were mostly just text, it would have made a lot of sense
    - wizzwizz4 5y ago
      No, this search was new in Vista (iirc).
      - brundolf 5y ago
        Oh, well then there you go ;)
ChrisArchitect 5y ago
what? ridiculous, of course it searches filenames
ethbr0 5y ago
Honestly interested how this plays with Control Panel, various config screens / apps, etc. It seems the worst offender of "type in exactly what the link / window header is titled, does not show up in results." I haven't figured out if this stuff just isn't indexed, is de-ranked below everything else (my guess), or is using some weird non-user-visible tags that aren't named identically.

mcbishop 5y ago

fman is another rad File Explorer alternative.

windowclenaer 5y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_(software) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_(software) https://www.voidtools.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=590 https://www.voidtools.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=590 This is closed source software (Freeware) as far as I can tell. I realize you're already on MS Windows, but downloading a binary blob from some third party that's reading all files on your system seems a little too trusting.

stronglikedan 5y ago
Everything has become ubiquitous enough over the many years to be completely trustworthy for most Windows sysadmins. Additionally, I agree with OP that it's one of the best pieces of software ever.
NicoJuicy 5y ago
Voidtools is well known and really good. I've been using them for years now.

gentleman11 5y ago

Slightly off topic, but I ditched windows explorer for most things years ago. I’ve been using a neat indie app I found called fman. Not affiliated, just a fan https://fman.io/ https://fman.io/

temp8964 5y ago
I use Q-Dir, a quad-pane file explorer. http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/Q-Dir http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/Q-Dir

sys_64738 5y ago

Thanks. Hadn’t heard of this before.