This article explains how to search for specific content within files rather than just the title on Windows systems. You can perform this step as often as needed using the search bar of the folder to search. If you need to, you can also enable content search within files for all searches you perform.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Using a Folder Search Bar
Step 1. Go to the directory you want to search
To search for specific content within the files stored in a folder, the first step is to access the folder.
For example, if you need to search for a file stored in the "Documents" folder, you will need to open a "File Explorer" window and access the "Documents" directory
Step 2. Select the search bar
It is located in the upper right corner of the "File Explorer" window relative to the folder in question.
Step 3. Enter the keyword to search within the files in the folder
Type the command content: into the search bar. In this way, the text that you insert after the indicated parameter will be used as a criterion to search within the files stored in the directory.
Step 4. Enter the content to search for
Immediately after the special "content:" parameter, type the keyword or phrase you want to use to search within the files.
For example, if you are looking for a specific file that contains the phrase "An elephant never forgets" you will need to use the following content search string: an elephant never forgets
Step 5. Review your results
Each file that appeared in the results list has been indexed by content, which means that the file you are looking for should be at the top of the list, as long as the search string is entered correctly.
You can reduce the search field and the list of results you will get by using a longer or more precise search string that is contained in the file you are looking for
Method 2 of 3: Enable Content Search for All Files on Disk
Step 1. Access the "Start" menu by clicking the icon
It features the Windows logo and is located in the lower left corner of the desktop. Alternatively, press the ⊞ Win key on your keyboard. The Windows "Start" menu will appear.
Step 2. Type in keywords change the file and folder search options within the "Start" menu
The search bar is located at the bottom of the "Start" menu. This will perform a search on the computer of the program that manages the search options of the "File Explorer" window.
Step 3. Select the Change File and Folder Search Options icon
It should have appeared at the top of the "Start" menu.
Instead of the indicated icon, you may find the wording Files and folders. If this is your case, select the latter.
Step 4. Select the "Always search for file names and contents" checkbox
It is located within the "When Searching Unindexed Locations" pane.
- If the option indicated is already selected, it means that the search for content within files is already active on your computer.
- In order to select the indicated check button, you may need to first access the "Search" tab of the "File Explorer Options" window.
Step 5. Press the Apply buttons successively And OK.
They are both located in the lower right part of the window. The new settings will be saved and applied and the dialog will close. From now on Windows will always perform all searches based on both the title and the content of the files.
Method 3 of 3: Enable Content Search for Specific Files
Step 1. Access the "Start" menu by clicking the icon
It features the Windows logo and is located in the lower left corner of the desktop. Alternatively, press the ⊞ Win key on your keyboard. The Windows "Start" menu will appear.
Step 2. Type the indexing options keywords into the "Start" menu search bar
Step 3. Click the Indexing Options icon
It should have appeared at the top of the "Start" menu. The dialog box of the same name will be displayed.
Step 4. Press the Advanced button
It is located at the bottom of the window. A pop-up window will appear.
Step 5. Go to the File Types tab
It is visible in the upper part of the window under consideration.
Step 6. Select the type of file you need to index
Scroll through the list corresponding to all known file extensions at the top of the window that appears until you find the type of file to use, then select the corresponding check button.
Step 7. Select the "Index File Properties and Contents" option
It is located in the "File Indexing Mode" box at the bottom of the window.
Step 8. Press the OK button
It is located at the bottom of the "Advanced Options" window. In this way the new settings will be saved and the window in question will be closed. At this point you should be able to search based on the name and content of the file type you have chosen to use.
Advice
- After updating the Windows indexing options you will have to wait some time for the results of the changes to be visible. This happens because the operating system will have to build the index of contents for the new files added. Restarting your computer may help speed up the process.
- If you wish, you can add specific folders to the list of those already indexed using the "Indexing Options" dialog.
