Where did my file go?

[W. eWatson]

I have a list of local phones to businesses, libraries, ... The list
fits on one page . Maybe txt. I'm pretty sure the file name has the word
phone in it. I haven't updated it for a few months. I believe the file
is in a docx file. I thought I would do it today, but the Orb search in
the lower left corner cannot find the file. I'm sure that Video or
Staples are in the file. If I type in Staples or staples, I do not get
anything. Other names in the file result in nothing.

I noticed that Recent Items (on Orb menu) produces a list of files, but
no suffixes. It seems to me that it used to have suffixes. Could my
problem have something to do with suffix associations? Perhaps suffixes
just do not apply to the list.

 

[Paul]

I have a list of local phones to businesses, libraries, ... The list
fits on one page . Maybe txt. I'm pretty sure the file name has the word
phone in it. I haven't updated it for a few months. I believe the file
is in a docx file. I thought I would do it today, but the Orb search in
the lower left corner cannot find the file. I'm sure that Video or
Staples are in the file. If I type in Staples or staples, I do not get
anything. Other names in the file result in nothing.

I noticed that Recent Items (on Orb menu) produces a list of files, but
no suffixes. It seems to me that it used to have suffixes. Could my
problem have something to do with suffix associations? Perhaps suffixes
just do not apply to the list.

While you can adjust your query...

http://www.howtogeek.com/73065/learn-the-advanced-search-operators-in-windows-7/

a question would be whether you've set up indexing in any
particular way, and whether that is preventing you from
finding the file.

Perhaps the partition with the phone numbers, isn't in the index ?

Or, when you went to Explorer, you weren't pointed at "Computer",
so all the partitions would be searched. If you're deep inside a
particular partition, it only looks "below" that point.
You may be limiting the search scope by accident.

For example, I'd go to my data partition TDATA:, then to my
Downloads folder, and then do a search, for something I thought
I downloaded. If I wasn't sure, I'd start at the "Computer"
level, so all indexed disks would be searched for content.

Paul

 

[Ed Cryer]

I have a list of local phones to businesses, libraries, ... The list
fits on one page . Maybe txt. I'm pretty sure the file name has the word
phone in it. I haven't updated it for a few months. I believe the file
is in a docx file. I thought I would do it today, but the Orb search in
the lower left corner cannot find the file. I'm sure that Video or
Staples are in the file. If I type in Staples or staples, I do not get
anything. Other names in the file result in nothing.

I noticed that Recent Items (on Orb menu) produces a list of files, but
no suffixes. It seems to me that it used to have suffixes. Could my
problem have something to do with suffix associations? Perhaps suffixes
just do not apply to the list.

Type ".txt" in the Orb search, hit "Show more results".
You'll have a long list of stuff.
Click on the Name column heading to sort them into alphabetical order.
Scan the list names, and keep thinking.

If that doesn't get it, sort them into size order. A text file filling
one page will be between 4 and 15 KB.

Ed

 

[W. eWatson]

While you can adjust your query...

http://www.howtogeek.com/73065/learn-the-advanced-search-operators-in-windows-7/ I'll look it over.


a question would be whether you've set up indexing in any
particular way, and whether that is preventing you from
finding the file.

I'm lightly familiar with indexing, but it would seem that whenever I
create, say, a txt or docx document, that it would be indexed. The phone
file was on old XP before bringing it to my desktop PC with win 7. I've
certainly changed it since then and had no trouble finding it.

Perhaps the partition with the phone numbers, isn't in the index ? See below.

Or, when you went to Explorer, you weren't pointed at "Computer",
so all the partitions would be searched. If you're deep inside a
particular partition, it only looks "below" that point.
You may be limiting the search scope by accident.

I'm not sure how I would point. Do you mean, for example, C: defines a
point, and \Robert\tmp defines yet another? Apparently, it does. I just
tried a search under \Robert\tmp and \Libraries\Documents for phone and
got two different results.

Still, if I use c:\ for phone, I get no folder by that name. Well, three
(highlighted in yellow), but they aren't the phone list I'm interested in.

OK, I just tried C: with sacramento, and got nothing.

I've had situations where I was searching, for example, blaster.doc
existed, but I couldn't find it with blas, Blas, or Bl* but could be
found with *aster. This is a fictitious example. Perhaps an index got
tangled?

 

[Paul]

On 6/20/2013 1:26 PM, Paul wrote:

I'm not sure how I would point. Do you mean, for example, C: defines a
point, and \Robert\tmp defines yet another? Apparently, it does. I just
tried a search under \Robert\tmp and \Libraries\Documents for phone and
got two different results.

When you click the Computer entry, the partitions will all be included
in your search. In this example, I see four partitions, and they should
all be evaluated for whatever you're searching for.

http://www.techrena.net/images/bced81cce947_11037/computer_windows_7_explorer_thumb.png

It's better if you use the Indexing Options control panel, to index all the partitions,
if you expect to find things by content. It will take quite a while for
the indexing to actually take place. If I request the index to be
built from scratch, it takes 3 hours to index maybe 30GB worth of files
on C:. If you have huge file collections, then it's going to scale from
there.

http://0.tqn.com/d/pcsupport/1/0/X/B/-/-/indexing-options-windows-7.jpg

Paul

 

[W. eWatson]

When you click the Computer entry, the partitions will all be included
in your search. In this example, I see four partitions, and they should
all be evaluated for whatever you're searching for.

http://www.techrena.net/images/bced81cce947_11037/computer_windows_7_explorer_thumb.png


It's better if you use the Indexing Options control panel, to index all
the partitions,

Didn't know it existed. I'm looking at the dialog now, and see three items:
Internet Explorer History
Start Menu
Users

It shows 50,349 items indexed. If I select Modify, it shows five check
boxes under in the frame Change selected locations. Only Internet
Explorer History has a check. In the frame below the three above are shown.

In the Indexing Options window there is a "how does indexing affect
searches? Interesting.

Advanced is too advanced for me.

if you expect to find things by content. It will take quite a while for
the indexing to actually take place. If I request the index to be
built from scratch, it takes 3 hours to index maybe 30GB worth of files
on C:. If you have huge file collections, then it's going to scale from
there.

When I do a simple search, say for Sacramento, it seldom takes more than
7 or so seconds. Mostly found w/i 2-3 seconds.

Well, somewhere out there is the file I'm looking for. I have a print
out of the file, and a scanner that will convert a scanned image to a
txt file. I guess I'll give it a whirl.

Ah, I just tried the Indexing Options "Troubleshoot search and indexing"
Let's see what that brings.

Well trouble shooting did nothing, but maybe the Win 7 Forum can.

 

[Paul]

Didn't know it existed. I'm looking at the dialog now, and see three items:
Internet Explorer History
Start Menu
Users

It shows 50,349 items indexed. If I select Modify, it shows five check
boxes under in the frame Change selected locations. Only Internet
Explorer History has a check. In the frame below the three above are shown.

In the Indexing Options window there is a "how does indexing affect
searches? Interesting.

Advanced is too advanced for me.


When I do a simple search, say for Sacramento, it seldom takes more than
7 or so seconds. Mostly found w/i 2-3 seconds.

Well, somewhere out there is the file I'm looking for. I have a print
out of the file, and a scanner that will convert a scanned image to a
txt file. I guess I'll give it a whirl.

Ah, I just tried the Indexing Options "Troubleshoot search and indexing"
Let's see what that brings.

Well trouble shooting did nothing, but maybe the Win 7 Forum can.

This thread is eleven pages long, which should tell you the
customers aren't very happy with the built-in search. The search
works... but you can't really be sure what it has included in its
search. Mine right now says "Acer (C excluding "Data"" but I have
no idea what Data directory they might be referring to. I think that
setting, was as much as I could coax it to index on C:.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...5e-7df7-4427-8a2e-82b801a4a746?page=~pagenum~

Paul

 

[Dave]

Type ".txt" in the Orb search, hit "Show more results".
You'll have a long list of stuff.
Click on the Name column heading to sort them into alphabetical order.
Scan the list names, and keep thinking.

If that doesn't get it, sort them into size order. A text file filling
one page will be between 4 and 15 KB.

Ed

I know what indexing is, but have no idea if it's turned on or how to
check.
Get the free utility agent ransack. That will do a filename search, can
search by content and best of all supports regular expressions for both.

 

[Ed Cryer]

I know what indexing is, but have no idea if it's turned on or how to
check.
Get the free utility agent ransack. That will do a filename search, can
search by content and best of all supports regular expressions for both.

I tried it a few days ago. Not a patch on the Windows Search.

Ed