Windows 7: Where is "Advanced Search" in Explorer?

After installing Win 7, I open Explorer but there is no Advanced Search options that I can find.

I have docs written in late 08 but cannot recall which folder [and I have many folders!]

I wanted to search all of C drive by *.doc and then enter a date range like every other version of Windows.

That feature is either gone, or I can't find it.

many thanks

In the upper right corner of Windows Explorer there should be a search box. Simply clicking inside that box produces a drop-down with advanced search options as links at the bottom of the drop-down:



edit: You can add multiple filter criteria by clicking each separate filter criterion and providing the value desired.

Sorry for the extra post but I thought it more illustrative if I included a shot of what your filter criteria might look like for the search example you gave:

Wow, thanks for the illustration because MS took an ultra simple advanced search device and morphed it into a kludge. One of the search options is "a long time ago"

???? what the....?

It does show a calendar so after many clicks and lots of practice, I finally found "every file" made in the time frame I indicated, not just *.doc files. I got pictures, Excel, etc etc. I have yet to master this important ap, as I keep important files in various folders, then years later, forget which folder.

One interesting sidebar, which makes this thread very helpful to me! I asked for a search in the last two months of 2008, and WOW! I found my income tax filing and financial information that I had purposely put into a "hidden folder" program from ZDNet. It worked fine for years in XP and Vista--those files were truly hidden.

I really don't care for my kids and grandkids [I am 70] to have full access to my financial information so I used a hidden folder program.

BUT---Windows 7 displayed every one of those hidden files and I could open them!

So, back to ZDnet for a truly "hide folder" program that works with Win 7.

[any suggestions?]

Do you happen to have "view hidden files" enabled?

Regarding your "hidden" files, two recommendations:

1) Take a look at the search indexing options to exclude specific folders, if these "hidden" folders are appearing in the folder structure of the index.

Click the START orb and then type "Indexing Options" at the search bar there. Double-click or hit enter on the returned result to launch the Indexing Options:



Once that windows opens, play around with the MODIFY button on your listed folders to see if your "hidden" folders are children of the folders listed. If so, you can specifically exclude them.

You can also exclude specific file extensions if your financial statements are in a format not used by other programs (*.doc or *.xls, for example).


2) (and more importantly) Consider encrypting your financial data instead of using ZDNet's quasi-hidden file app (I am not familiar with it but it seems it really is not hiding your files).

If you don't have Windows 7 Ultimate, you can use this free, open source utility called TrueCrypt, found at Truecrypt.org

This utility works well under Windows 7 and provides military-grade encryption to the masses. Easily installed, you simply create either a "File" container (a file to act as the encrypted repository for your files you desire to encrypt) or a partition container (an entire hard drive partition).

Once you create the container you mount it using the TrueCrypt interface whenever you must use the protected files. Mounting the container prompts you for a password that you assigned when you created the container, and then you interact with the encrypted files as you would any other drive on your computer (meaning that applications will see them as they would any file).

When done with the files, you unmount the encrypted container and the files REALLY disappear. Of course, this is only as good as your password selection, so don't be choosing your wife's maiden name as a pwd.

If you decide to follow this suggestion and need help getting started with TrueCrypt the software includes an excellent, screen-by-screen tutorial for getting up and running. However if that doesn't answer your questions post back here and I will be happy to assist.

Thank you, Peter for the link! I will work with that during college football games on Saturday.

Actually, the ZDnet thing worked fine for years in XP and Vista. I would create a dummy file. "bobbob.doc" and hide it within the program.

I then tried every Explorer and seach device I could find, and even some system explorer apps from third parties.

None could find that file.

Alas, Win 7 delves right into that folder.

thanks again, Truecrypt looks good.

bob