Tek-Tips is the largest IT community on the Internet today!
Members share and learn making Tek-Tips Forums the best source of peer-reviewed technical information on the Internet!
-
Congratulations Rhinorhino on being selected by the Tek-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!
Can't right click and search in Vista....
- Thread starter eyetry
- Start date
Is this something that System Restore might fix for you?
I am not 100% sure of what you are describing, what are you right-clicking on exactly? Are you saying that the Search Box in the top right of an Explorer window is missing?
Problems with right-clicking involving Context Menu items are often fixed via the use of this utility.
ShellExView v1.41 - Shell Extensions Manager
Is your problem (or my problem) something that could be explained better by use of a linked to screenshot? If it helps, these sites can assist you in getting a screenshot linked to and viewed here.
I am not 100% sure of what you are describing, what are you right-clicking on exactly? Are you saying that the Search Box in the top right of an Explorer window is missing?
Problems with right-clicking involving Context Menu items are often fixed via the use of this utility.
ShellExView v1.41 - Shell Extensions Manager
Is your problem (or my problem) something that could be explained better by use of a linked to screenshot? If it helps, these sites can assist you in getting a screenshot linked to and viewed here.
- Thread starter
- #3
Sorry nothing here helped restore the great search that was present in XP and earlier versions of Vista. Can't find anything in Vista or W7 without writing code in a search window. Shouldn't have to download non-MS applications for this. The search function was one of the best tools in older versions of the OS. Very frustrating for me. Every time I try to search for something I consider blowing Vista and 7 away and installing XP.
I'm probably unique in that indexing simply slows down my machine. I was able to find what I wanted much faster before. The new search rarely finds what I want even after going in and changing settings.
The old search just worked....
OK, done venting for now.....
PS: Still think Windows is the easiest OS. Just loosing touch.
I'm probably unique in that indexing simply slows down my machine. I was able to find what I wanted much faster before. The new search rarely finds what I want even after going in and changing settings.
The old search just worked....
OK, done venting for now.....
PS: Still think Windows is the easiest OS. Just loosing touch.
What settings for Search do you have in Control Panel/ Folder Options/ Search? You could try restoring search defaults via that.
If you look at Indexing Options there is a choice via that to delete and rebuild the index.
If you are searching for hidden and system files then showing those files via Folder Options/ View may be necessary.
For machine wide searching you might have to look at extending your Indexing Options to cover all the folders otherwise searching may be slow.
This is from Windows 7 Help and Support.
"If you can't find a file, you can expand your search to include different locations. For example, if you're searching for a file in the Documents library, but you're not sure where the file is stored, you can search across all of your libraries or your entire computer. Here's how:
Click the Start button , and then click Documents.
In the search box at the top of the open window, start typing.
Scroll to the bottom of the list of search results. Under Search again in, do one of the following:
Click Libraries to search across every library.
Click Computer to search across your entire computer. (This way you can search for files that aren't indexed, such as system or program files, but remember that the search will be slower.)
Click Custom to search specific locations.
Click Internet to search online using your default web browser and your default search provider."
This might or might be useful.
Tips for finding files
Windows Search.
If you look at Indexing Options there is a choice via that to delete and rebuild the index.
If you are searching for hidden and system files then showing those files via Folder Options/ View may be necessary.
For machine wide searching you might have to look at extending your Indexing Options to cover all the folders otherwise searching may be slow.
This is from Windows 7 Help and Support.
"If you can't find a file, you can expand your search to include different locations. For example, if you're searching for a file in the Documents library, but you're not sure where the file is stored, you can search across all of your libraries or your entire computer. Here's how:
Click the Start button , and then click Documents.
In the search box at the top of the open window, start typing.
Scroll to the bottom of the list of search results. Under Search again in, do one of the following:
Click Libraries to search across every library.
Click Computer to search across your entire computer. (This way you can search for files that aren't indexed, such as system or program files, but remember that the search will be slower.)
Click Custom to search specific locations.
Click Internet to search online using your default web browser and your default search provider."
This might or might be useful.
Tips for finding files
Windows Search.
- Thread starter
- #5
The settings are 'always search name and contents', 'include subfolders...', 'find partial matches', 'don't use the index when search the file system', 'include system directories' and 'include compressed...'
I have also turn off indexing and deselected all file extentions, which windows apparently resets periodically.
As I said. From my experience indexing slows down the machine to build and I can find what I want more reliably and faster using the advanced search. In my line of work there are days I have to search tens of thousands of files multiple times all over our network. We get files from all over the world using all sorts of file extensions containing data who's format doesn't neccesarily relate to what an average person might think. Files may be gigabytes in size.
The problem is:
I can find the advanced search panel via the 'start' button. It is no longer available from the Explorer window. No more right click search on a folder/path and getting an advanced search panel. One must always start a search the hard way.
I have the same problem with Windows 7 searches. I have asked Win 7 lovers in my office to find a file on their machines and residing on the network.... their love affair turn quickly to disappointment. Windows Vista and Windows 7 have ALOT going for them but the lack of a functional search really kills the OSs from a functional perspective.
I have also turn off indexing and deselected all file extentions, which windows apparently resets periodically.
As I said. From my experience indexing slows down the machine to build and I can find what I want more reliably and faster using the advanced search. In my line of work there are days I have to search tens of thousands of files multiple times all over our network. We get files from all over the world using all sorts of file extensions containing data who's format doesn't neccesarily relate to what an average person might think. Files may be gigabytes in size.
The problem is:
I can find the advanced search panel via the 'start' button. It is no longer available from the Explorer window. No more right click search on a folder/path and getting an advanced search panel. One must always start a search the hard way.
I have the same problem with Windows 7 searches. I have asked Win 7 lovers in my office to find a file on their machines and residing on the network.... their love affair turn quickly to disappointment. Windows Vista and Windows 7 have ALOT going for them but the lack of a functional search really kills the OSs from a functional perspective.
In Vista if you look at the Taskbar and Start Menu properties where you Customize the links on the Start Menu, what have you got in there for Search? There are a couple of available settings in there to play with.
If you look at Organize/ Layout, and tick Search Pane, does that make Advance Search easier to find?
If you highlight a folder and press F3 does that show you an Advanced Search option?
When searching my small Network from Windows 7 I didn't play about with my current settings to make it include the various Network locations (which seemed possible via a Custom search), I just searched my machine and then a Networked machine as two separate searches. For me this was successful.
I am no great lover of Windows Search, and do use other search programs too.
If you look at Organize/ Layout, and tick Search Pane, does that make Advance Search easier to find?
If you highlight a folder and press F3 does that show you an Advanced Search option?
When searching my small Network from Windows 7 I didn't play about with my current settings to make it include the various Network locations (which seemed possible via a Custom search), I just searched my machine and then a Networked machine as two separate searches. For me this was successful.
I am no great lover of Windows Search, and do use other search programs too.
- Thread starter
- #7
Its by far one of the worst features on windows 7. Vista used to have the option I'm looking for but a patch probably changed it. I can't just reimage the vista machine because its my wifes and the risk of her loasing something in the process would freak her out and I'm not fighting that battle.
The sad thing is that the fastest machines in my house are my work machine, a W7 machine I built and made available to the kids (teens) and a W7 laptop. My kids don't to use the machines with W7. They use their old XP machines that have slow internet connects, small drives and little memory by today's standards. Plus, their machines are locked out of some sites, have logging software etc (all of which they know about). The W7s don't.
The sad thing is that the fastest machines in my house are my work machine, a W7 machine I built and made available to the kids (teens) and a W7 laptop. My kids don't to use the machines with W7. They use their old XP machines that have slow internet connects, small drives and little memory by today's standards. Plus, their machines are locked out of some sites, have logging software etc (all of which they know about). The W7s don't.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked
- Question