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Find Your Files Faster with Windows 7

Posted in Gadgets | January 18th, 2010

Windows 7 uses Windows Desktop Search 4.0 that is built to find your files. The Windows Search applying Advanced Query Search AQS can narrow your searches using a variety of keywords, or search parameters, which can restrict your query to specific locations, specific file types or properties within those types, or specific “file kinds.” File kinds are displayed at the top of the Windows Search Explorer, accessible by pressing the Windows Logo key + F.

Here is a  overview of syntax that can be used with Windows Search 4.0, Windows Vista, or Windows Desktop Search 3.01 for Windows XP, including the properties that can be added to your search terms to narrow and refine your results.

Wildcards

You can use the familiar ? and * wildcard characters in queries.

Wildcard Example Description
? M?crosoft Matches one arbitrary character.
* M*soft, Micro* Matches any number of characters.

Search syntax

Property Example Function
author:name author:patrick Finds items with patrick in the author property.
author:(name) author:(patrick hines) Finds items with patrick in the Author property.
author:(name OR name) author:(patrick OR bob) Finds items with patrick or bob in the Author property.
author:name name author:patrick bob Finds items with patrick in the Author property and bob anywhere in the document.
from:name from:patrick Finds items with patrick in either fromName OR fromAddress, since “from” is a property name for both fromName and fromAddress.
before:date before:10/9/2007 Finds items whose PrimaryDate field contains a date before 10/9/2007.
after:date after:10/9/2007 Finds items whose PrimaryDate field contains a date after 10/9/2007.
has:attachment report has:attachment Finds items containing the word report that have attachments. Same as hasattachment:true
is:attachment report is:attachment Finds items that have attachments containing the word report. Same as isattachment:true

Numbers and ranges

To specify a date range, type the property followed by two dates. For example, type from:david sent:11/05/06..11/05/07. Windows Search recognizes all Windows date formats and also recognizes the following values:

  • Relative dates: Today, tomorrow, yesterday
  • Multi-word relative dates: week, next month, last week, past month, or coming year. The values can also be entered contracted, as follows: thisweek, nextmonth, lastweek, pastmonth, comingyear.
  • Days: Sunday, Monday … Saturday
  • Months: January, February … December

Size and date ranges

Syntax Results
size:>50KB <70KB Searches for files with a value in the Size between50 KB and 70 KB, excluding the end values.
size:>=50KB <=70KB Searches for files with a value in the Size property between 50 KB and 70 KB, including the end values.
size:50KB..70KB Same as size:>=50KB <=70KB
date:>2/7/05<2/10/05 Searches for a date in the Date property between the values 2/7/05 and 2/10/05, excluding the end dates.
date:>=2/7/05<=2/10/05 Searches for a date in the Date property between the values 2/7/05 and 2/10/05, including the end dates.
date:2/7/05 .. 2/10/05 Same as date:>=2/7/05<=2/10/05

Note: on Windows Vista and higher, search syntax supports dates in the user’s current calendar. A query can use any of the formats defined in their Regional Options.

Common file properties

The terms listed in the preceding table can be used with any of the following file properties. For example, to find e-mail from “patrick” that was sent in 2008, your query would look like this: kind:email author:patrick after:12/31/2007.

To restrict by file type Use Example
Communications communications kind:communications
Contacts contacts
person		 kind:person
kind:contacts
E-mail email kind:email
Instant Messenger conversations im kind:im
Meetings meetings kind:meetings
Tasks tasks kind:tasks
Notes notes kind:notes
Documents docs kind:docs
Music music
song		 kind:music
kind:song
Pictures pics
pictures		 kind:pics
kind:pictures
Videos videos kind:videos
Folders folders kind:folders
Folder name foldername foldername:mydocs
Programs programs kind:programs
Recorded TV tv kind:tv
Link link kind:link
Journal entry journal kind:journal

Properties for file type: All

Property Use Example
Title title, subject, about title:manager
Status status status:active
Date date date:lastweek
Date modified datemodified, modified modified:lastweek
Importance importance, priority importance:high
Size size size:>50MB
Deleted deleted,isdeleted isdeleted:true
Is attachment isattachment isattachment:false
To to, toname to:johnsmith
Cc cc, ccname cc:david
Company company company:adventure-works
Category category category:business
Keywords keywords keywords:sports
Album album album:greatest
File name filename, file filename:2006hits
Genre genre genre:jazz
Author author, by author:david
Folder folder, under, path folder:adminstration
Ext ext, fileext ext:.rtf
Tags tag, keyword tag:personal
Type type type:image
Comments comments comments:excellent
Last saved by lastsavedby lastsavedby:josh
Document manager documentmanager documentmanager:jonas
Revision number revisionnumber revisionnumber:4a
Date last printed datelastprinted datelastprinted:yesterday
Slide count slides slides:>20

Properties for file type: Music

Property Use Example
Bit rate bitrate bitrate:>150kbps
Artist artist, by artist:U2
Year year year:1977..1987
Album album album:”greatest hits”
Genre genre genre:rock
Lyrics lyrics lyrics:”happy birthday to you”
Track #, track track:12
Year year year:>1980<1990

Properties for file type: Picture

Property Use Example
Camera make cameramake cameramake:nikon
Camera model cameramodel cameramodel:eclipse
Dimensions dimensions dimensions:8×10
Orientation orientation orientation:landscape
Date taken taken
datetaken		 taken:last
datetaken:6/12/2006
Width width width:33
Height height height:66
Flash mode flashmode flashmode:no flash

Properties for file type: Recorded TV

Property Use Example
Broadcast date broadcastdate broadcastdate:2005
Channel number channel channel:7
Closed captioning closedcaptioning closedcaptioning:true
Date released datereleased datereleased:2007
Episode name episodename episodename:zeppo

Properties for file type: Video

Property Use Example
Name name
subject		 name:vacation
subject:hawaii
Ext Ext
filext		 ext:wma
filext:wma

Download it for Windows Vista and Windows XP

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/desktopsearch/choose/windowssearch4.mspx?tab=Install%20It

Additional Resources

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb266512(VS.85).aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/desktopsearch/technicalresources/advquery.mspx

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