Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional in 10 Minutes

By Dorothy Burke and Jane Calabria

• Table of Contents
  • Copyright
  • Tell Us What You Think!
  • About the Authors
  • Introduction
  • Conventions Used in This Book
  • Lesson 1. Navigating Windows 2000 Professional
  • Lesson 2. Working with a Window
  • Lesson 3. Using Menus
  • Lesson 4. Using Windows 2000 Professional Help
  • Lesson 5. Using Dialog Boxes
  • Lesson 6. Working with Multiple Windows and Applications
  • Lesson 7. Copying, Moving, and Linking Between Windows and Applications
  • Lesson 8. Using My Computer
  • Lesson 9. Managing Files with My Computer
    • Selecting Files and Folders
    • Moving Files and Folders
    • Copying Files and Folders
    • Deleting Files and Folders
    • Renaming Files and Folders
    • Using Windows Explorer
    • Creating Shortcuts
    • Searching for Files and Folders
  • Lesson 10. Using WordPad
  • Lesson 11. Understanding File Properties and the Recycle Bin
  • Lesson 12. Printing
  • Lesson 13. Using My Network Places
  • Lesson 14. Using the Control Panel
  • Lesson 15. Using Outlook Express Mail
  • Lesson 16. Sharing Workstations and Setting Passwords
  • Lesson 17. Using Internet Explorer 5
  • Lesson 18. Web Site and Document Searching
  • Lesson 19. Troubleshooting, Restarting, and Disaster Planning
  • Lesson 20. Customizing the Windows 2000 Environment

Searching for Files and Folders

What do you do if you aren't sure of a file name or the folder where it's stored? Windows 2000 Search Assistant can help you find those files or folders. You can open the Search Assistant from the My Computer window. You can also open the Search Assistant from the Start menu by clicking Start , Search , For Files or Folders. Using either method to activate your search results in the same Search Assistant window opening to help you in your search.

Because you are working in the My Computer Window, activate the search by clicking the Search icon on the My Computer Toolbar and follow these directions for searching:

1. After the Search Icon has been clicked, the Search Assistant appears, as shown in Figure 9.5.
   

   Figure 9.5 Search for files or folders with the Search Assistant. For help on searching, click the Help icon.

2. In the Search for files or folders named box, enter the file or folder name. You can enter part of the name, and the search will find files or folders containing the letters or numbers you supply. If you don't know the complete name, use an asterisk (*) to substitute for the beginning or end of the name (such as "*97" to find all file names that end in "97"); use a question mark (?) to substitute for a character you don't know.
3. Use the drop-down list in the Look in box to indicate which drive, network, or folder you wish to search.
4. Choose Search Options if you want to select files that were created on a specific date, choose Type for files that are of a specific type, such as a Word document or an Excel file. Choose Size if you want to look for files of a certain size and choose Advanced Options to specify more search criteria.
5. To search for a file containing specific text, type the text in the Containing text box.
6. Click Search Now to perform the search. Files or folders that meet your criteria appear in the Search Results window as shown in Figure 9.6.
   

   Figure 9.6 Files and folders meeting your search criteria appear in the Search Results pane. You can open files by double-clicking them.

When searching for files based upon dates, click Date in the Search Options section. The Date section expands (see Figure 9.7) enabling you to choose from the date files were created, last accessed, or modified.

Figure 9.7 Use specific dates to find files or set parameters for number of days or months as in files modified in the last two months.

In this lesson, you learned how to create, move, copy, and rename files. You also learned how to find files. In the next lesson, you will learn about using WordPad.

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