University of Kwazulu-Natal

I Use These 5 Free Tools To Search Files On Windows 11 And They Are A

Bonisiwe Shabane
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i use these 5 free tools to search files on windows 11 and they are a

Finding files swiftly and efficiently is essential for productivity, but Windows Search doesn't always cut it. Thankfully, there’s a variety of third-party tools that outperform Windows Search in speed, features, and user experience. Here are the tools I use to supercharge my file searches on Windows 11. Windows search can be a drag. For a better search experience, check out Everything from Voidtools. Everything by Voidtools is the gold standard for fast and efficient file searches.

This lightweight tool indexes your files in seconds, creating a searchable database of everything stored on your computer. With its real-time updates, you won’t need to wait for indexing to complete whenever files are added, removed, or renamed. The best part is that you can use it whether you’re a beginner or an advanced user, thanks to its minimalist interface. However, if you’re a power user, Everything offers advanced search syntax, enabling targeted queries based on file types, sizes, and modification dates. Moreover, unlike Windows Search, the tool utilizes minimal system resources, ensuring it won’t slow down your system while performing a simple search. If you’re a developer, you probably use VS Code every day.

Microsoft’s code editor is powerful on its own and packed with tools for most coding needs. But you don’t have to live with what the open-source tool brings out of the box. VS Code has a massive library of extensions that can expand its capabilities and boost your productivity. Not every extension will suit everyone, but there are a few that can make a real difference, at least they have for me. Home automation is fun, but writing individual automations can get tedious pretty quickly. If you've spent any amount of time automating your home, you know things can get pretty messy.

Between YAML files, making sure you've got indentations just right, and a vast collection of scripts that only you can decipher, working with Home Assistant is basically a full-time hobby. Now, look. Home Assistant is powerful, but writing automations can often feel like programming, and not everyone is up to it, or wants to learn. That's where HASSL comes in. This self-hosted tool takes the hassle out of writing automations by letting you describe them in plain English, then automatically generating complete Home Assistant packages for you. It's simple, fast, and surprisingly elegant.

Dabbling in self-hosting, it's inevitable that you've heard of or come across MinIO. The software has traditionally been the go-to solution for anyone setting up self-hosted, S3-compatible object storage, whether for a web server or for backups. It's been a fast, open-source, and simple solution to integrate with popular backup and file management tools. But every good thing comes to an end, and the developer's recent changes have raised significant concern in the open-source community. Effectively, a recent update has stripped the community edition of a significant amount of utility, including essential admin functions. Predictably, the developers are pointing towards the commercial version as the solution.

While that might work for larger teams, this bait and switch has home labbers, small teams, and independent developers worried. Suffice it to say, if you are still running MinIO today, it's worth looking at alternatives. AI has had a huge impact on the world of technology, and video games were not spared. Developers, both triple-A and independent, began experimenting with what AI could do to make their jobs easier. Coding with AI was a given, but what about generating textures and assets? How about using AI to deliver voice lines, especially if the dialogue is procedurally generated?

In fact, why not put AI in the game as an NPC and let it react to the player? Battlefield 6 just dropped, and gamers are no doubt updating their graphics card drivers to get the best performance. While I also update my graphics drivers every few months, I can’t recall the last time I did the same for any other hardware in my PC. When I saw a discussion on Reddit about whether using a third-party driver update software is a good idea, I figured it was still apt to reiterate the long-standing rule to never use them. I am an avid computer user and my PC is always crammed with files and data. Though I keep all my files well-ordered and organized and I count on the improved Windows Search, I sometimes still look for more features, speed, and accuracy.

I know it is very annoying when we find that Windows Search is not working and we miss some important files or documents in our computer system. What annoys me the most is that I know I saved it, but I can’t locate it even after searching for it in all the expected folders. Fortunately, there are a handful of free desktop search utilities to make it easier for us. Since it is a very common issue with computer users, I would like to discuss a few desktop search utilities. I am using Search Everything as my Windows search utility but there are a few more desktop search utilities that I would like to mention here in my post. Desktop search tools are available in both free and paid versions with a variety of shapes and sizes.

There are many third-party tools that claim to be better and faster than the Windows search tool. These tools are more functional than Windows’ built-in search tool. I have listed some Windows Search Alternative Tools for Windows 11/10: Everything is a free Windows desktop search utility that helps to locate files and folders in your computer system. It is a fast tool and works like no other search tools. You can start using ‘Everything’ right after downloading it on your system.

Although it won’t search the contents of your stored files, its accuracy and speed are pretty impressive. Void, the developer of ‘Everything’, recently released the new and updated beta version of the tool for the latest Windows versions. I am using this tool for a long and haven’t found any downsides to Everything. It uses less than 1MB of my hard drive space and is always up to date. Explore powerful search tools that organize chaos, find duplicates, and speed up your task with real-time results and essential features A free file search tool is exactly what it sounds like—freeware that searches files on your computer.

It's true that there's already a built-in way to find files in Windows, but many of the tools in this list have dozens more features. If you've always been great at naming and organizing the hundreds or thousands (or more) files on your computer, you might not need one of the programs. On the other hand, if you have files all over the place, across several hard drives, a search tool is a must. Lightweight; ideal for old, slow computers (and new ones). Tons of settings that can be overwhelming to consider. Computers have become a core part of our modern-day lives.

All the files you need for both your personal and work life are stored away in their digital archives. But as these files pile up, it may be too much for the default Windows Search function to locate what you need. This can be frustrating and may affect your productivity. If your PC is loaded with files and folders and Windows Search isn’t enough to find what you’re looking for, it is best to use third-party search tools. Below are some of the best desktop search tools for Windows 11 that will make your life easier. Everything is one of the most popular desktop search tools that allow users to locate files and folders by their names instantly.

The program is easy to install and does not hog storage resources. It also has a straightforward user interface. So, even if you’re not too technical, you won’t get annoyed using it. In addition, it features quick file indexing and searching, making searching tons of files as simple as it’s supposed to be. It also doesn’t use much of your computer’s RAM when it runs a search, so no need to worry about slowing down your computer. Lastly, you can share files with others effortlessly while getting real-time updates.

Related: How to Fix Outlook Search When It's Not Working Are you tired of slow Windows 11 search? Check out these alternatives to the default Windows Search experience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Windows 11 includes a search feature that should be enough for most users, but it often struggles with speed, particularly in non-indexed locations or when handling a large number of files.

The search home also feels cluttered with advertisements and lacks polish, which is surprising given it comes from the world's largest software company. If you want something faster, lighter, or more customizable, several third-party tools can deliver a significantly better search experience. Popular options include Command Palette from PowerToys, Fluent Search, Everything, Listary, Flow Launcher, and RayCast. In this guide, I'll highlight six tools you can use to replace the Search functionality on Windows 11. Are you looking for some Windows 11 or 10 advanced file search rather than just using the built-in one? Then, there are some of the best file search tools to get a list of all files available under your Windows My computer drives.

Most of the time, when we have to search files in Windows 11 or 10 or earlier versions such as Windows 8 or 7, what do we do? Yes, we open My Computer and use the top right-side search box to find most PC files. Indeed, the features of Windows’ built-in search tool are reasonable and work very well. Yet, in case your Windows 11 or 10 search is not working, or you want some advanced options, some good freeware programs are available to download online. They are not only lightweight, but some offer a portable version, which omits the need for installation. We can use them to find various files based on their format, extension, and more…

Note: We have personally used all the listed tools to search files on Windows 11, 10 or 7 as efficiently as possible. It is a light tool, just 3.35 MB, with a minimal design and easy-to-handle interface. The tool’s concept is unique: We don’t have to open it every time we search for something. Type the folder or file name, and Listary will automatically catch that and give you the result. You can see Listary’s work in the video below. The feature that lets users instantly search files using Listarty is known as Disk Search, which allows users to type on Windows Explorer directly.

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