Can't search for text within document

shuckslbj · Nov 12, 2010

Not long ago, I was able to open up Documents, type a word in the search bar, and any document containing that word within the text would come up. Recently it only brings up documents with said word in the title. It'll bring up Notepad (.txt, I think) files containing the word within, but not Wordpad, which I use almost exclusively. I've tried changing settings and everything I could think of. I could open every single one and click the binoculars that let me search within the opened doc, but I got a job...

Any solutions?

Thanks so much!

James

Lottiemansion · Nov 12, 2010

Hi,

Please check your search setting in explore (I assume that's the search engine)? If not what software are you opening to search with?

In explorer initiate a search & then stop it. Click Search options & check your settings there: -

This should search for document with that word in the title & text.

Lorien · Nov 12, 2010

If the current problem involves recent documents (maybe even a few weeks old depending on the index settings), it may be that the index has not caught up with reality yet and so the files containing those words are not being included in the search. To remedy this, it sometimes helps to periodically rebuild the search index. Here's the procedure: Rebuilding the Search Index in Windows Vista - How-To Geek. While in the Indexing Options configuration section, make sure that the index includes all the files types you want to search in Documents and of course that Documents is an indexed location (if you recently upgraded to Office 2007 or 2010, then the index may include doc but not include docx (for example)). Be sure to check and fix this if necessary before you rebuild.

Here's some good information about Vista Search that may help you learn more about how it works: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/desktopsearch/technicalresources/documentation.mspx. Here's a FAQ on how Indexing affects searches in Vista (and how to control it): http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/Improve-Windows-searches-using-the-index-frequently-asked-questions. Here's a good article on how to deal with search settings (with links to other search-related topics which may be of great help - especially in constructing advanced search queries): http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/75447-search-options.html. If you go through these three articles (and the links they offer) you will very soon be an expert on Vista searching (and it won't take that long either).

Otherwise, what Lottie posted should do the trick (if the index is current and the file type and file location are included in the index).

I hope this helps. If the problem persists, post back and we'll see if we can come up with any other options to try.

Good luck!

Can't search for text within document

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