Basic search
1. Click the search field in the toolbar or press Ctrl+F (or F3).
2. Type part of the file name. Files matching your text appear as you type.
3. Use wildcards to be more flexible: * matches any string, ? matches a single character. For example, report*.pdf.
Tip: Click the search icon to view your previously searched strings and re-run one.
Recursive & scoped search
By default search also looks inside subfolders (recursive search). You can toggle recursive search on or off in the search bar.
1. Open a search as above.
2. Toggle recursive search on or off to include or exclude subfolders.
3. Choose the search scope: the current folder, a library, or all local drives (available from the Home view).
Tip: Search uses the Windows indexer when available and falls back to a deep scan, so results are both fast and complete.
Advanced query syntax
You can use Windows Advanced Query Syntax (AQS) for precise searches. Queries that start with $ or contain a colon are treated as AQS:
- System.FileName:*report* — files whose name contains “report”.
- kind:picture — all image files.
- System.Size:>1MB — files larger than 1 MB.
- System.DateModified:>2024/01/01 — files modified after a date.
Tip: Combine several properties with AND, OR, and NOT to build powerful queries.
Search by file tag
If you use file tags, you can search by tag directly:
- tag:blue — everything tagged “blue”.
- tag:"work file" — use quotes for tags with spaces.
- Combine tags with AND, OR, and NOT, or list several comma-separated tags.
Selection & the command palette
When you want to act on matching files, use the selection tools:
- Select all (Ctrl+A), Invert selection, and Clear selection.
- Use Select… (advanced selection dialog) to select all files matching a filter.
Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the command palette — type any action name to run it instantly without hunting through menus.