Solved Open dialog box settings? File Name field no longer filters contents

I can't be the only person who's noticed this difference, but I've searched everywhere and can't find anything on this... perhaps I'm just using the wrong words. Anyway...

Lets say I have a word document named "Messager Manual" that i want to open.

Windows 7 scenario: with Word 2007 open, I click the home button and click Open. I browse to the location of my documents, and I type "messager" into the File Name field. I'm met with an error window which says...


Windows XP scenario: with Word 2007, I click the home button and click Open. I browse to the location of my documents, and i type "messager" into the File Name field. The entire contents of the folder are searched and then filtered down to only contain all file names which contain what is placed in the File Name field.

Does anyone know why they changed this functionality and if there's a place to edit these settings?

I do realize that I could use the new file explorer to accomplish this, but it seems silly to me that they would add in this functionality in one area, only to remove it from another.

Thanks,

Chocko

This function did not change from Office 2007 to Office 2010 for XP, Vista and Win 7.
It is the same - it searches folder and gives files with such word in names.

I just double-checked with Office 2010 in Win 7, Office 2007 in XP and Office 2007 in Vista.

The above mentioned window appears only when you start typing part of a file name and click ENTER (which in this window is linked to button Open)

Screenshot from Win 7 attached.

Thanks for taking the time to check this out! The function actually has changed a little though. The biggest difference is that the new way no longer works with a term from the MIDDLE of a file name. If you were to type "2" in the file name field from your screenshot, it say that there are no files found. The new Win7 way only works if you already know the filename you want to open.

On my Windows XP environment i was talking about, you CAN press ENTER (open) with "2" in the filename field, and only TEST2.docx should show up.

Can you test this?

Our specific example is that we have a word document for every account we serve. Many of them are grouped into corporate accounts... so we'll have many many files starting with the same thing. We previously were able to type in "auction," hit enter, and it would bring up ALL file names which have "auction" in them...for example:

Auction Warehouse.docx
San Antonio Auto Auction.docx
Orlando AA (auction).docx

When i type "auction" in win7, only Auction Warehouse.docx would show up.

You are right! I have learned something new

I would take a guess that this is not Office feature, but Win Vista and 7 "sees" file names differently than XP.

Here is the solution for Vista and Win 7 (Office 2007-2010):
to search for

Auction Warehouse.docx
San Antonio Auto Auction.docx
Orlando AA (auction).docx

type *auction* and hit ENTER

in my case to get TEST2.docx
I would have to type *2* and hit ENTER

It is important to type * at the end of the word, even if file name ends with key word. This * is for file extension.

chockomonkey, if you could let us know whether the proposed trick solves your problem or not, so it would be possible to mark this thread as solved or look for another solution. Thank you

Neutron16 said:

chockomonkey, if you could let us know whether the proposed trick solves your problem or not, so it would be possible to mark this thread as solved or look for another solution. Thank you

Click to expand...

Indeed this is solved! Thanks again Neutron16 for your assistance.

In addition to your solution above, which totally works, i realized that Win7 also provides you with an active search input box in the top right-hand corner of the open window as well.

While it is a different way of approaching finding one's document, it's no less efficient, just different...teaching old dogs new tricks =P