This will show all the files that have “copy” in their name either at the start, middle, or end. The search syntax will look something like this:įor example, to find files with the word “copy” in their name, you should type “ *copy*“. To use the wildcard syntax, you add “ *” to either side or both sides of a search term. The wildcard syntax forces File Explorer to ignore everything and show the results that only contain the search term. When you don’t know the exact file name, you can use the wildcard syntax (*) to find and filter files in the File Explorer. To search the entire hard disk, open the File Explorer, click on “This PC” on the sidebar and then search. Go to the folder where you want to search and use the commands as shown. Use Boolean operators to mix & match commands.File search syntax to filter folders only.

Find files created on, after, or before a date.

File Explorer Search Syntax & Commandsīelow are some of the most useful file explore search commands, their syntax, and how to use them. In this quick and simple Windows 10 guide, let me share with you the most useful File Explorer search syntax commands that will improve that File Explorer search experience.

Using the File Explorer search commands, you can narrow down the search results and filter out unnecessary results. However, what if you don’t know the actual file name? What if you want to filter files by size or find large files? What if you want to find specific file types or files created on, before, or after a certain date? In those cases, you use the File Explorer Search Syntax. This is how a vast majority of us search in File Explorer.

Windows explorer find files by date