Tips for using the "Find" feature in Windows...

Using the "Find" Utility...

This question was answered on November 3, 2000. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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Windows based systems can use the "Find" utility to locate any file by pressing the Windows key and F at the same time or click on Start/Find/Files or Folders.

- In the "Named" field, type the name of the file you'd like to find.

- In the "Look In" field, select "My Computer"

- Hit "Find now"

This will bring up a list of all the files on your computer containing the same text.

Tips to finding files that you can't remember the name of:

If you know that it was a file of a certain type, such as a Word document, then type the file extension in the Named field.

Example: *.doc

This search parameter tells your computer to find every file that has the "doc" extension.

If you know that the file started with the word "summary" but you can't remember the exact file name or extension, then type the following in the Named field: summary*.*.

If you think the file started with summary, but you are not sure, try using sum*.*.

If you know that the above file was definently a Word document then use sum*.doc.

Once you get a list of files from any search condition, you can sort it in a number of ways that may help you figure out which file you really wanted

By single clicking on "Name" header bar above the list of the files that appear from your search request, you will sort the files alphabetically (A-Z) Click again and the sort order reverses (Z-A)

By single clicking on the "Size" header, your files will be sorted by file size (smallest to largest) Click again and and the largest files will appear at the top.

By single clicking on the "Type" header, your files will be sorted by the type (determined by the file extension) in alphabetical order.

By single clicking on the "Modified" header, you will sort the files by the date in which they were created (newest to oldest) Click again and the oldest files will appear at the top of the list This tip can be helpful because you may remember the date that you created the file but not the exact name!

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Posted by Ken Colburn of Data Doctors on November 3, 2000

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