Your guide Mark Wyciślik-Wilson says… “Windows 10’s search tool can help you track down files, photos, emails and more – here’s how to get the best results”
At a glance
Skill level…
Anyone can do it
Straightforward Tricky in parts
Suitable for…
Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 7
Unless you are very organised, you have almost certainly mislaid the occasional file on your computer. Anyone who has spent time hunting through folders for a document will find things are a great deal easier if you turn to Windows’ search tool, which is highly configurable. Searching in Windows is actually very flexible, and you can save yourself a great deal of time and effort if you tailor the tool to suit your needs. You can even search the web with the very same tool. Here we take a look at the search options that are available to you, revealing the secrets that will help you to get the most from this handy feature of Windows 10. When we’re through, you’ll be able to perform advanced searches, and find what you’re looking for faster than ever before.
Jargon buster!
File Indexing
To help speed up searches, Windows indexes files so it has key information stored in a database that can be very quickly queried.
SafeSearch
A search filtering option that can be used to hide adult content from online results in Windows 10’s search tool.
Search box
An optional toolbar in Windows’ taskbar, providing easy access to a search option without the need to specifically call it up.
Step-by-step All about Windows 10 searching
1 Access search options
Assuming you have upgraded your computer to at least Windows 10 May 2019 Update – and by now you really should have done so – you will find that within Settings there is a section for configuring Search options. Click the Start button followed by Settings, and then click the Search icon to start choosing the options you would like to put in place for your searches.
2 SafeSearch
Windows 10’s search tool can be used to search the web as a well as local files, and this means there is potential to be exposed to content you may not want to see. You can stop adult content from being previewed by enabling SafeSearch. If you opt for Moderate filtering, Windows will filter videos and pictures. If you choose the Strict setting, text will also be subject to filtering.
3 Additional search settings
While you are in that section of search settings, scroll down a little further. By enabling the Microsoft Account setting, the search tool can look for content in your Outlook emails and OneDrive documents. It’s also a good idea to enable My Device History and
