One of the most important improvements that Microsoft has brought to Windows 10 (especially after updating to the 1903 version) is the search for files, rather inefficient in previous versions of Windows and rather problematic in the first versions of Windows 10.
The file and program search interface, in fact, improves in Windows 10 from the 1903 version of May 2019, not only because it can be customized and extended to search in all folders on the computer, but also because it is separated from the assistant vowel Cortana, which was instead incorporated into the search function of previous versions.
To begin with, in Windows 10 you can search for files and programs not only by pressing the icon or the search bar in the taskbar, but also simply by writing in the Start menu . In practice, just press the Windows Start button and then start writing to see the search appear.
The search changes in Windows 10 compared to previous versions, with the May 2019 update, showing a window that no longer includes the options to activate Cortana, but that allows you to search the main paths, including also apps, settings, documents the web and specific folders. By pressing the button with three dots on the right you can also ask to include the files saved in OneDrive. The new Windows 10 search window connects closely with the Activity history.
Here you can find an options tab called Search in Windows, where you can choose to search all over your PC. Under the word Find my files you can then switch from the Classic option to the Advanced option to make sure that when you search for something from the application bar or from the Start menu, you are not only checking the folders of Documents, Images, Videos, Music, Downloads and Desktop, but just all the folders on your computer . To avoid, however, that the search is also made in the folders with the system files inside, it is possible to put exceptions by pressing on the + under the writing Excluded Folders, where some folders such as C: \ Windows and C: \ Program Files should already be added .
At the bottom of this same screen of options you can open the indexing options, which opens the old window of exclusion of folders from indexing and searching for Windows, where it is possible to be more capillary, exclude specific folders, file types and where you can enable encryption on indexing. Keep in mind that indexing, the first time, can slow down computer performance a lot; after it is finished, however, you can make quick searches.
By pressing on Edit it is possible to customize the search for files by excluding folders from the index, which however has the consequence that within those excluded folders the search will be very slow.
In the end the paths that should be indexed should be only those where important personal files are stored, precisely: Documents, Photos, Music, Videos, Downloads, the Start Menu, the desktop; therefore the classic search settings can be maintained without suffering from limitations and only in special cases should it be possible to activate the advanced search on PC.
In Advanced, on the other hand, you can go to the File types tab, you can deselect all types of files that you do not want to include in the search. Unfortunately they are all selected by default and deselecting them one by one becomes a really long job that I personally avoided doing. In the same screen, however, you can select the option to also search within the files, useful for using the search in the content of documents and text files . Also useful is the option to enable encryption on indexing. Before finishing the configuration, in the Advanced options, press the key to create a new index .
Returning to the Search settings, you can click on Permissions and History to activate the safe mode that excludes results for adults (as long as the search on the internet is not deactivated). Here you can also disable your search history and view it online on the Bing website.
Unfortunately, however, while the search from the Start menu is practically immediate, what you can do from the folders is still a bit slow. The advice to install an external program to search for files faster on your computer, still remains in Windows 10 even after the improvement obtained with the 1903 version.
All you need is to install the application from the Microsoft Store and run it to immediately see information that can be useful to solve search indexing problems on Windows 10. The options displayed on the sidebar allow you to restart or restore the search service, report a bug, find out if a particular file is indexed and check the list of included and excluded paths. The performance tab allows you to see if the search is fast enough.
The file and program search interface, in fact, improves in Windows 10 from the 1903 version of May 2019, not only because it can be customized and extended to search in all folders on the computer, but also because it is separated from the assistant vowel Cortana, which was instead incorporated into the search function of previous versions.
To begin with, in Windows 10 you can search for files and programs not only by pressing the icon or the search bar in the taskbar, but also simply by writing in the Start menu . In practice, just press the Windows Start button and then start writing to see the search appear.
The search changes in Windows 10 compared to previous versions, with the May 2019 update, showing a window that no longer includes the options to activate Cortana, but that allows you to search the main paths, including also apps, settings, documents the web and specific folders. By pressing the button with three dots on the right you can also ask to include the files saved in OneDrive. The new Windows 10 search window connects closely with the Activity history.
Settings to customize the Search
Secondly, you can configure the Windows 10 search options by opening, from the Start menu, Settings> Search .Here you can find an options tab called Search in Windows, where you can choose to search all over your PC. Under the word Find my files you can then switch from the Classic option to the Advanced option to make sure that when you search for something from the application bar or from the Start menu, you are not only checking the folders of Documents, Images, Videos, Music, Downloads and Desktop, but just all the folders on your computer . To avoid, however, that the search is also made in the folders with the system files inside, it is possible to put exceptions by pressing on the + under the writing Excluded Folders, where some folders such as C: \ Windows and C: \ Program Files should already be added .
At the bottom of this same screen of options you can open the indexing options, which opens the old window of exclusion of folders from indexing and searching for Windows, where it is possible to be more capillary, exclude specific folders, file types and where you can enable encryption on indexing. Keep in mind that indexing, the first time, can slow down computer performance a lot; after it is finished, however, you can make quick searches.
Indexing options
The indexing options window has two important buttons: Edit and Advanced.By pressing on Edit it is possible to customize the search for files by excluding folders from the index, which however has the consequence that within those excluded folders the search will be very slow.
In the end the paths that should be indexed should be only those where important personal files are stored, precisely: Documents, Photos, Music, Videos, Downloads, the Start Menu, the desktop; therefore the classic search settings can be maintained without suffering from limitations and only in special cases should it be possible to activate the advanced search on PC.
In Advanced, on the other hand, you can go to the File types tab, you can deselect all types of files that you do not want to include in the search. Unfortunately they are all selected by default and deselecting them one by one becomes a really long job that I personally avoided doing. In the same screen, however, you can select the option to also search within the files, useful for using the search in the content of documents and text files . Also useful is the option to enable encryption on indexing. Before finishing the configuration, in the Advanced options, press the key to create a new index .
Returning to the Search settings, you can click on Permissions and History to activate the safe mode that excludes results for adults (as long as the search on the internet is not deactivated). Here you can also disable your search history and view it online on the Bing website.
Search the folders in File Explorer
It should also be noted that searching for files in Windows 10 can also be done from the top folder bar, writing in the box at the top right. In this case, when doing a search, you can press at the top on the word Search to set each type of filter, search by last modification, by type, by size, review recent searches and then also set the search paths including also the compressed folders.Unfortunately, however, while the search from the Start menu is practically immediate, what you can do from the folders is still a bit slow. The advice to install an external program to search for files faster on your computer, still remains in Windows 10 even after the improvement obtained with the 1903 version.
For the search it doesn't work
In the event that searching for files in Windows 10 has problems, is slow or not working, Microsoft has released a tool to find the cause and correct the error. This is the Indexer Diagnostics application.All you need is to install the application from the Microsoft Store and run it to immediately see information that can be useful to solve search indexing problems on Windows 10. The options displayed on the sidebar allow you to restart or restore the search service, report a bug, find out if a particular file is indexed and check the list of included and excluded paths. The performance tab allows you to see if the search is fast enough.
