Search system folders: If selected, searches “system folders” outside of My
Documents, including the folders where Windows XP stores its own files.
o Search hidden files and folders: If selected, files and folders that are normally
hidden from view are included in the search. Any file or folder can be hidden or
unhidden by right-clicking its icon, choosing Properties, and then selecting or
clearing the Hidden option on the General tab.
Case sensitive: If selected, only files that match the exact upper/lowercase letters
in whatever word or phrase you’re searching for are included in the results of the
search.
Search tape backup: If you use a tape backup device to make backups of your
files, choosing this option enables you to search the tape backups.
In most cases, it won’t be necessary to provide anything other than part of the file name, or perhaps
something about the contents of the file. So don’t let all the searching options throw you for a loop. As
an example, suppose that after clicking the Start button and choosing Search, I choose Pictures, Music,
or Video from the Search Explorer bar. Then I choose Music and Sound, and enter Hendrix as all or
part of the file name, as in Figure 2-28.
Figure 2-28: About to search for Music and Sound files containing Hendrix
After I click the Search button and wait for a few seconds, the right pane shows a bunch of files. Even
though the name Hendrix doesn’t appear in each file’s specific file name, Search was clever enough to
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include files that have Hendrix in the artist’s name, as in Figure 2-29. (There I’m in Details view and
have chosen to include Artist in that view via Choose Details, as described earlier.)
Figure 2-29: The results of a search for music and sound files that have Hendrix in the file name include files
that have Hendrix in the artist’s name.
The Search bar remains open after the search is complete. Therefore, if you don’t find what you’re
looking for on the first search (or end up with too many items), you can choose an option under No,
Refine this Search, and then take another shot at it. When you’re happy with the results of the search,
choose Yes, Finished Searching to bring back the normal Explorer bar.
Keep in mind that even though the title of the Explorer window reads Search Results when the search is
complete, you are still in Windows Explorer. And hence, you use all the techniques described earlier in
this chapter to view and arrange the icons to your liking. Likewise, you can open any icon by clicking, or
double-clicking it.
Tip In some cases, you might want to see the contents of the entire folder in which a
found file is located. To do that, right-click any icon in the right pane and choose
Open Containing Folder.