Windows 10 Search
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@Carnival-Boy said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
What's wrong with Windows search?
Don't know what @Dashrender is talking about, but I know that mine routinely can't find what I need. It skips obvious files and applications and does a Bing search half of the time instead. I've found it to be really problematic, especially on Windows 10.
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@Dashrender said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
Windows search has sucked since Windows Vista. I wonder if using this would just be better, though more challenging for users?
This doesn't do "opinionated" search like Windows Search does, and will never return web results that have nothing to do with their search, but the interface would not be much to their liking, I'm sure
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Exactly what Scott is talking about.
Ever since MS moved to a cached search engine (Vista) search results have been completely unreliable. I think they are better today (but still way short of perfect) in Windows 10 than in Windows 7 or 8(.1).
My boss used to call me in monthly - I can't find what I'm looking for in search, and 90% of the time it was just search being strange.
The old XP search was near perfect - sure it was slower, but who cares - it WORKED! it actually searched every file the user had access to on the system to find your request. and never included web searches... ug.
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I've no idea what you're talking about. I've never had an issue with the search in the standard File Explorer. It's always returned exactly what I'm looking for, and I haven't noticed it changing much over the years. I've never had it do a web search.
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If you're talking about a Windows search that is the generic search tool, that searches for applications, web apps etc etc, well, why would you use that to search for files in a specific directory. You wouldn't. You'd use File Explorer.
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@Carnival-Boy said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
I've no idea what you're talking about. I've never had an issue with the search in the standard File Explorer. It's always returned exactly what I'm looking for, and I haven't noticed it changing much over the years. I've never had it do a web search.
I'd say for me it fails around 50% of the time. I type in the name of the application I need to run and instead of finding it, it populated Bing information when clearly I can see the thing that I need to run right there on the desktop with the right name!
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@scottalanmiller said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@Carnival-Boy said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
I've no idea what you're talking about. I've never had an issue with the search in the standard File Explorer. It's always returned exactly what I'm looking for, and I haven't noticed it changing much over the years. I've never had it do a web search.
I'd say for me it fails around 50% of the time. I type in the name of the application I need to run and instead of finding it, it populated Bing information when clearly I can see the thing that I need to run right there on the desktop with the right name!
... Then why are you not clicking it on the desktop instead of searching for it?
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@Carnival-Boy said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
If you're talking about a Windows search that is the generic search tool, that searches for applications, web apps etc etc, well, why would you use that to search for files in a specific directory. You wouldn't. You'd use File Explorer.
The idea behind the Windows interface has been, for a long time that you hit the Windows Key and start searching. If I need to open another app to look for things that I want in the menu, Windows has crashed and burned for me.
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@dafyre said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@scottalanmiller said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@Carnival-Boy said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
I've no idea what you're talking about. I've never had an issue with the search in the standard File Explorer. It's always returned exactly what I'm looking for, and I haven't noticed it changing much over the years. I've never had it do a web search.
I'd say for me it fails around 50% of the time. I type in the name of the application I need to run and instead of finding it, it populated Bing information when clearly I can see the thing that I need to run right there on the desktop with the right name!
... Then why are you not clicking it on the desktop instead of searching for it?
Speed, I want to use the keyboard. That's the official Windows way. I don't move it from the desktop because Windows keeps failing to work as intended.
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Windows will also often bring up items from the Windows Store to try to get me to install things from there rather than the already installed application.
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@scottalanmiller said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@Carnival-Boy said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
If you're talking about a Windows search that is the generic search tool, that searches for applications, web apps etc etc, well, why would you use that to search for files in a specific directory. You wouldn't. You'd use File Explorer.
The idea behind the Windows interface has been, for a long time that you hit the Windows Key and start searching. If I need to open another app to look for things that I want in the menu, Windows has crashed and burned for me.
What? Are you talking about using the Search box on the taskbar? File Explorer is an "app" to manage files. That's the idea behind it. If you want to find a file in a specific directory, File Explorer is designed to do that.
Dashrender wonders if using a Powershell script is an easier way for users to search a directory for a file. Easier than just hitting Windows-E, browsing to the directory and typing the name of the file in the Search field in the top right of the Window?
Am I only the person on ML that uses File Explorer to search directories? Are you all using some other Windows search instead?
Not that I've ever really had problems using Windows search. I use it to open programs, or open Windows settings, and I'd say it works at least 99% of the time. I think it's awesome. I use it all the time. I never use it to search for files in a directory though.
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@Dashrender I agree with you.
Only solution I found was install Effective Search in all computers, free and works perfect.
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@Carnival-Boy said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
I never use it to search for files in a directory though.
Why not?
In XP (and prehaps even in 9x) the normal way to search for files was click on the Start Button, click search, then type in what you were searching for (which back then was solely files - and me personally was never an application).
In Vista that search box on the Start Menu started failing me.
As for using File Explorer, no, I've never launched Explorer to go and find files - I suppose I'll add it to the teachable moments the next time this happens.
But - as Scott says - that's a failing of Windows, because they took something that worked great (Start Menu > Search, type in desired search) and replaced it with something that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. It's madness. It would be one thing if they took file searching away completely, and forced us to learn a new place to go and do file searches from, but for end users/home users to just know is ridiculous, but still not as ridiculous as the fact that it does work half the time.
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@Carnival-Boy said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@scottalanmiller said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@Carnival-Boy said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
If you're talking about a Windows search that is the generic search tool, that searches for applications, web apps etc etc, well, why would you use that to search for files in a specific directory. You wouldn't. You'd use File Explorer.
The idea behind the Windows interface has been, for a long time that you hit the Windows Key and start searching. If I need to open another app to look for things that I want in the menu, Windows has crashed and burned for me.
What? Are you talking about using the Search box on the taskbar? File Explorer is an "app" to manage files. That's the idea behind it. If you want to find a file in a specific directory, File Explorer is designed to do that.
Yes, I'm talking about the search functionality as it was sold to us when Windows 8 pushed for the "you should always be doing it this way" paradigm... which worked back then but now seems to do something totally different.
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@Dashrender said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@Carnival-Boy said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
I never use it to search for files in a directory though.
Why not?
In XP (and prehaps even in 9x) the normal way to search for files was click on the Start Button, click search, then type in what you were searching for (which back then was solely files - and me personally was never an application).
Not only that, but Microsoft made a huge deal that this was how you were "supposed" to do things and that the graphical menu was just a kludge. Like it or not, it's Microsoft's promoted mechanism and process.
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@scottalanmiller said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@Dashrender said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@Carnival-Boy said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
I never use it to search for files in a directory though.
Why not?
In XP (and prehaps even in 9x) the normal way to search for files was click on the Start Button, click search, then type in what you were searching for (which back then was solely files - and me personally was never an application).
Not only that, but Microsoft made a huge deal that this was how you were "supposed" to do things and that the graphical menu was just a kludge. Like it or not, it's Microsoft's promoted mechanism and process.
I agree - the search box in the Star Bar (the Cortana Box) is how MS wants all searches down now. No matter what you are looking for, that is what they expect you, the normal user, to use. More advanced users can do whatever they like... but normals are expected to use Cortana.
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@Dashrender said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@scottalanmiller said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@Dashrender said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@Carnival-Boy said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
I never use it to search for files in a directory though.
Why not?
In XP (and prehaps even in 9x) the normal way to search for files was click on the Start Button, click search, then type in what you were searching for (which back then was solely files - and me personally was never an application).
Not only that, but Microsoft made a huge deal that this was how you were "supposed" to do things and that the graphical menu was just a kludge. Like it or not, it's Microsoft's promoted mechanism and process.
I agree - the search box in the Star Bar (the Cortana Box) is how MS wants all searches down now. No matter what you are looking for, that is what they expect you, the normal user, to use. More advanced users can do whatever they like... but normals are expected to use Cortana.
I'm so glad that most Linux desktops retain the full working "Windows interface" even if Windows has broken it
My Ubuntu desktop works exactly as Microsoft said it should. -
@scottalanmiller said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
which worked back then but now seems to do something totally different.
Different how? If you don't want web results, you can turn that off permanently in settings. And I turn it off, because why would you ever want to use Bing for anything?
If you only want to search for files, you can click the File icon at the top. I'm not sure how that is different from the file search in previous Windows versions?
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Huh, @scottalanmiller and @Dashrender's experiences are completely different from mine. Windows search, for me, works at least 90% of the time maybe more. I've become so used to the vastly improved search in Windows 8 and 10 that going back to a Windows 7 machine is painful and slow.
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@Carnival-Boy said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@scottalanmiller said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
which worked back then but now seems to do something totally different.
Different how? If you don't want web results, you can turn that off permanently in settings. And I turn it off, because why would you ever want to use Bing for anything?
If you only want to search for files, you can click the File icon at the top. I'm not sure how that is different from the file search in previous Windows versions?
Well it used to, by default, do one thing that MS promoted hard. Now it does something else (and that thing is nearly useless) but nothing useful came along to replace it from what I can tell.
