Windows 10 Search
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@Carnival-Boy said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
Do you have problems finding files with Windows search?
yes. As stated above, Windows Cortana search will often not give me the files I'm looking for. Granted I'm normally searching a network drive, not my local computer.
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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?
Are you kidding? I WISH searching was as good before as it is now in Windows 10.
I keep a lot of my stuff in txt files for reference later. Lets say I forget how to use the command Get-NetAdapter or disabling VMQ command... I'll hit my windows key on my keyboard, and just type Get-Netadapter or VMQ, then click the little "document" icon at the top, and it searches documents and within the documents themselves. I don't' have any documents with that in the title, but it's in the content, and brings them right up so fast.
The above is just one example, but in general it's insanely better now. I'm not just saying that, that has actually been my experience over all. Maybe you keep things in weird places on your PC so when you search, it isn't looking there... search scope issues. Or maybe you aren't searching so it searches within files. I don't know, but my experience has been different.
On network drives, if on your file server you have the new search indexing features enabled (forget what it's called off the top of my head), it searches fast on those too. Very noticeably faster than on legacy file servers and those that don't support it.
Also, on Win10... you can turn off Bing searching. I have it all done via Group Policy and am not bothered with online searching at all. But even on my home PC, if I search for something on my computer, it does find it if I tell it where to look.
Try this...
- Hit the windows key on your keyboard
- Type: "documents: <keyword>"
Does that make a difference?
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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 I have to ask, why do you still have that turned on?
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@Tim_G 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 I have to ask, why do you still have that turned on?
Should I have to configure basic use of the menu? I don't use Windows often, on any other OS it "just works." I was following MS' stated convention. It's important to know if their "as designed" system works or not. Or what it does.
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The experiences of Windows 10 across users is so radically different it's amazing it's even the same OS.
I haven't had any major issues with 1607 (that I know of) But you can read all over the interwebs about how horrible it is.
I'm glad it's working great for those that it is.
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@Dashrender said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
The experiences of Windows 10 across users is so radically different it's amazing it's even the same OS.
I haven't had any major issues with 1607 (that I know of) But you can read all over the interwebs about how horrible it is.
I'm glad it's working great for those that it is.
It's true. It seems that everyone is seeing something different.
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@scottalanmiller said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@Tim_G 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 I have to ask, why do you still have that turned on?
Should I have to configure basic use of the menu? I don't use Windows often, on any other OS it "just works." I was following MS' stated convention. It's important to know if their "as designed" system works or not. Or what it does.
How often does it drop to bing search? I think I've only had it happen once, annoying sure but not something that bothers me overly much.
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@scottalanmiller said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@Tim_G 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 I have to ask, why do you still have that turned on?
Should I have to configure basic use of the menu? I don't use Windows often, on any other OS it "just works." I was following MS' stated convention. It's important to know if their "as designed" system works or not. Or what it does.
That's a good point. It 'should' "just work". Like everything in IT, right? As advertised.
Haha... I know what you mean though, and I do agree. But no, you shouldn't have to configure anything. I haven't configured anything on my personal PC, and searching is 100% for me. If I search for an App I have installed, it comes up. It may also show Bing crap down below, but if the app is installed, I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't show up. That's never been the case for me.
Same with files, if I search for a file, and click the document icon at the top of start, it finds it.
I suppose it shouldn't be the way it is for you, and I can't imagine why it's like that for you. I guess you'd have to take a video of what you are searching for. Show in the video where it is, then show you searching for it. I'm curious to see an example.
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To continue using @Tim_G's example of
GetNetAdapterVmq, @scottalanmiller, search does work perfectly as designed because they designed it with a damned button for finding files only.
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@JaredBusch Here's a real example, both ways for my example (excluding the bing results, because it's turned off via GPO):
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Hit start/windows key --> typed 'get-net':
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Same as above, but this time I clicked the "Find results in documents" button:
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FFS - the default search should show every damned thing under the sun then, and those buttons should only be needed to narrow things down.
But that is not what has been happening for Scott or I.
I can only hope things will get better, I already admit they are better than the Win7/8/8.1 days.
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@Dashrender said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
FFS - the default search should show every damned thing under the sun then, and those buttons should only be needed to narrow things down.
But that is not what has been happening for Scott or I.
I can only hope things will get better, I already admit they are better than the Win7/8/8.1 days.
Check your indexing settings. Windows does not index everything by default.
My Windows 10 machine did not find my documents initially because I changed the default location and did not add it to the indexed location list.
So problem caused by user. -
@Dashrender but when I want to find something, I don't want to wait for the computer to search under every damn thing under the sun to find it. I don't have time to wait for that.
The stuff in my example, it finds it instantly... I don't have to wait for my computer to search my Windows drivers folder to find a text file i'm looking for.
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@Dashrender said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
FFS - the default search should show every damned thing under the sun then, and those buttons should only be needed to narrow things down.
But that is not what has been happening for Scott or I.
I can only hope things will get better, I already admit they are better than the Win7/8/8.1 days.
Mine changes. It lists things when I first install them, then later they stop showing up, even though they haven't been modified.
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@scottalanmiller said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@Dashrender said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
FFS - the default search should show every damned thing under the sun then, and those buttons should only be needed to narrow things down.
But that is not what has been happening for Scott or I.
I can only hope things will get better, I already admit they are better than the Win7/8/8.1 days.
Mine changes. It lists things when I first install them, then later they stop showing up, even though they haven't been modified.
Same here. Who knows.. now maybe it's fixed.. in the last week I haven't had any search issues, but I definitely did in the past, the recent past.
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I think I've searched this week, but I'm not sure when. Maybe it has been two weeks. The Windows laptop has been off for a while, maybe ten days?
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@scottalanmiller said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@Dashrender said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
The experiences of Windows 10 across users is so radically different it's amazing it's even the same OS.
I haven't had any major issues with 1607 (that I know of) But you can read all over the interwebs about how horrible it is.
I'm glad it's working great for those that it is.
It's true. It seems that everyone is seeing something different.
You and @Dashrender. That's two people, not everyone.
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@Carnival-Boy said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@scottalanmiller said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@Dashrender said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
The experiences of Windows 10 across users is so radically different it's amazing it's even the same OS.
I haven't had any major issues with 1607 (that I know of) But you can read all over the interwebs about how horrible it is.
I'm glad it's working great for those that it is.
It's true. It seems that everyone is seeing something different.
You and @Dashrender. That's two people, not everyone.
You see something different from each of us, that's more.
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@Tim_G sees that you need to modify search options to make it work. You see that you need to use a different tool entirely. We see different results. What two people do you see seeing the same thing, is really the question? From our small sampling here, the only consistency seems to be in the differences.
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@scottalanmiller said in Windows: Finding Files with PowerShell:
@Tim_G sees that you need to modify search options to make it work.
No he doesn't. He writes "I haven't configured anything on my personal PC, and searching is 100% for me"
You see that you need to use a different tool entirely.
No I don't. I don't need to use a different tool. I prefer File Explorer. But the Windows search works perfectly and as designed for me.
