Searching in Everything

Use the search box at the top of the Everything window to search for files and folders.

Type in a partial filename.
Files and folders matching your search will be instantly displayed in the result list.

A simple search
Combine simple searches
Search drives and folders
Search options
Advanced Search
Search Modifiers
Search Functions
Finding duplicates
Filters
Bookmarks
Macros
Search History
Home search
Search settings
Regular Expressions
Examples
See also

A simple search

Type a partial word to instantly find files and folders with that word in the filename.

For example:
invoice = find files and folders with invoice in the filename



Use wildcards to find files with a matching extension.

For example:
*.pdf = find PDF files only



Include a backslash (\) to search the full path.

For example:
\downloads = find files and folders in a Downloads folder

Combine simple searches

Use a space to combine simple searches.

For example:
\downloads invoice *.pdf = find PDF files in a Downloads folder with invoice in the filename



Use a vertical bar (|) to search for either of the simple searches.

For example:
\downloads | \documents invoice *.pdf = find PDF files with invoice in the filename in either a Downloads or Documents folder



Use an exclamation mark (!) to exclude a simple search.

For example:
\documents !draft *.docx = find Microsoft Word files in a Documents folder without draft in the filename



Use the Advanced Search from the Search menu to help build more complex searches.



To view the search syntax in Everything:

• In Everything, from the Help menu, click Search Syntax.

See Search Syntax for more information.

Search drives and folders

To limit the results to a single drive, search for the drive letter followed by a colon (:)

For example:
d: = find files and folders on your D: drive



To search multiple drives at once, separate the drive letters with a vertical bar (|)

For example:
c: | e: = find files and folders on your C: or E: drives



To exclude a drive from your search, prefix the drive letter with an exclamation mark (!)

For example:
!e: = hide files and folders on your E: drive



To search inside a specific folder, search for the folder path with a trailing backslash (\)

For example:
C:\windows\media\ = find files and folders in C:\Windows\Media

A trailing backslash (\) specifies a folder.
Without the trailing backslash, the search can also match names that begin with the specified path.

For example:
C:\windows\media = can also match a file named C:\Windows\Media2



Use double quotes (") around paths that contain spaces.

For example:
"c:\program files\" = find files and folders in C:\Program Files

Without double quotes, the space separates the search into two simple searches:
C:\Program Files searches for C:\Program in the full path and Files in the name.

Search options

The Search menu contains options for controlling how Everything searches.

Enabled search options are shown on the right side of the status bar.
Double-click a search option in the status bar to disable it.

Match Case

Match uppercase and lowercase letters exactly.

Match Diacritics

Match accent marks exactly.

Match Whole Words

Match complete words instead of matching text within words.

Match Path

Match against the full path instead of just the name.

Match Prefix

Match only the beginning of words.

Match Suffix

Match only the end of words.

Ignore Punctuation

Ignore punctuation in filenames.

Ignore White-space

Ignore whitespaces in filenames.

Regular Expressions

Enable Regular Expressions for advanced pattern matching.

Everything

Audio

Compressed

Document

Executable

Folder

Image

Video

Search using the selected filter.
See Filters for more information.

Advanced Search

Use Advanced Search to build more complex searches without having to remember the search syntax.



To show the advanced search dialog:

• In Everything, from the Search menu, click Advanced Search.

Search Modifiers

Search modifiers change how your search behaves.
They temporarily override search options set under the Search menu.

For example:
case:README = finds files and folders with uppercase README in the filename without having to enable Match Case from the Search menu

For a complete list of modifiers, see Search Modifiers.

Search Functions

Search functions find files and folders by properties.

For example:
size:>100mb = instantly find files and folders larger than 100 MB
date-modified:today = instantly find files and folders modified today
*.docx content:vanilla = find Word documents containing vanilla

For a complete list of functions and syntax, see Search Functions.

Finding duplicates

Everything can quickly find files and folders with duplicate names, sizes, dates, and other properties.

To find duplicate results, right-click a column header and click Find <property> duplicates.

For example:
Right-click the Size column header and click Find Size duplicates.

See Finding Duplicates for more information.

Filters

Filters are saved searches that can be activated without changing the search in the search box.

Everything includes several default filters, such as Audio and Video.

Filters can be activated from the Search menu, filter bar, or filters sidebar.
The active filter is shown on the right side of the status bar.
Double-click the active filter in the status bar to disable it.



To edit an existing filter:

• In Everything, from the Search menu, click Organize filters....
• Select a filter.
• Click Edit.

To add an extension to an existing default filter:

• In Everything, from the Search menu, click Organize filters....
• Select a filter.
• Click Edit.
• Add the extension to the end of the semicolon (;) separated extension list in the filter search.
• Click OK.

To create a new filter:

• In Everything, from the Search menu, click Add to filters....
• Type in a Name.
• Set the filter Search.
• Click OK.

To show the filter bar:

• In Everything, from the View menu, click Filter bar.

To move the filter bar:

• Right-click the filter bar and click Move Filter Bar to Left/Right.

To show the filter sidebar:

• In Everything, from the View menu, click Filters.

Filters can also be assigned macros that are treated as the filter search text when used in the search box.

Bookmarks

Bookmarks save the current search.

Opening a bookmark replaces the text in the search box and restores the saved settings.
Bookmarks can be opened from the Bookmarks menu or Bookmarks sidebar.

Unlike filters, bookmarks replace the current search in the search box.
Bookmarks can also save the active filter, shown columns, sort order, view settings, and index settings.



To create a new bookmark from the current search:

• In Everything, from the Bookmarks menu, click Add to bookmarks....
• Type in a Name.
• Click OK.

To organize bookmarks:

• In Everything, from the Bookmarks menu, click Organize bookmarks....

To show the bookmarks sidebar:

• In Everything, from the View menu, click Bookmarks.

Bookmarks can also be assigned macros that are treated as the bookmark search text when used in the search box.

Macros

Macros are custom keywords followed by a colon (:) that are treated as the saved filter or bookmark search text.

For example, the default Audio filter uses the audio macro.
Searching for audio: in the search box is treated as the full search text from the Audio filter.



Macros make it easy to combine filters.
For example:
audio: | video: = find files matching either the Audio or Video filter.



To create a custom Bookmark macro:

• In Everything, from the Bookmarks menu, click Add to bookmarks....
• Type in a Name.
• Set a keyword for the Macro (for example: mymacro).
• Click OK.

Using mymacro: in the search box is treated as the search text defined in the bookmark.
Any search options, columns, or view settings saved in the bookmark are temporarily applied while mymacro: is in the search box.



Default filter macros for searching by file type:

• audio: = music and audio files
• doc: = documents, PDFs, and text files
• exe: = programs and installers
• image: = photos and graphics
• video: = movies and video clips
• zip: = ZIP files and archives

Search History

Everything remembers your previous searches, previous session, recently closed tabs, and recently closed windows.

A search is added to the history when an action is performed on a result.



Recent searches can be accessed from the drop-down box to the right of the search box.

To find an older search:

• In Everything, from the History menu, click Find Search History.

To restore a previous session:

• In Everything, from the History menu, click Restore Previous Session.

To restore a previously closed tab:

• In Everything, from the History menu, under the Recently Closed Tabs submenu, click your tab.

To restore a previously closed window:

• In Everything, from the History menu, under the Recently Closed Windows submenu, click your window.

See Search History for more information.

Home search

The home search is the default search when you first open an Everything search window or tab.

The home search can also save the active filter, shown columns, sort order, view settings, and index settings.



To restore the home search:

• In Everything, from the History menu, click Home.

To change the home search settings:

• In Everything, from the Tools menu, click Options.
• Click the Home tab.
• Set the desired search options, search, filter, columns, sort order, view settings, and index settings.
• Click OK.

Search settings

Configure search as you type, search box focus and selection, matching whole filename when using wildcards, and other search settings.

To manage your search settings:

• In Everything, from the Tools menu, click Options.
• Click the Search tab on the left.

See Options for more information.

Regular Expressions

Regular expressions are a powerful way to search for patterns in filenames.

Everything uses Perl Compatible Regular Expressions (PCRE).

When regular expressions are enabled in the Search menu, the normal Everything search syntax is disabled.
Search operators, wildcards, macros, modifiers, and functions are not supported.



To use regular expressions for part of a search, add the regex: modifier before your search.
Standard Everything search syntax still works everywhere else.

For example:
*.jpg regex:^IMG_\d+ = find JPG files starting with IMG_ followed by one or more digits
*.txt regex:^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2} = find TXT files starting with a date in YYYY-MM-DD format



Enclose the pattern in double quotes (") when using spaces with the regex: search modifier.

For example:
regex:" - \d\d - " = find filenames containing two digits enclosed by spaces and a hyphen



To view the regular expression syntax in Everything:

• In Everything, from the Help menu, click Regular Expression Syntax.

Regular expression syntax:

a|b	Matches a or b
gr(a|e)y	Matches gray or grey
.	Matches any single character
[abc]	Matches a single character a, b or c
[^abc]	Matches any single character except a, b or c
[a-z]	Matches a single character in the range a to z
[a-zA-Z]	Matches a single character in the range a to z or A to Z
^	Matches the start of the filename
$	Matches the end of the filename
*	Matches the preceding element zero or more times
?	Matches the preceding element zero or one times
+	Matches the preceding element one or more times
{x}	Matches the preceding element x times
{x,}	Matches the preceding element x or more times
{x,y}	Matches the preceding element between x and y times
( )	Defines a marked subexpression and captures the text it matches
\	Escapes a special character

Examples

The following examples demonstrate different ways to search in Everything, from simple searches to more advanced searches.



Simple boolean searches:



Simple wildcard searches:



Search drives and folders:



File and folder searches:



Size searches:



Date modified searches:



Duration searches:



Limit the search to a single folder:



Advanced file and folder searches:



Advanced regex filename searches:



Advanced file content searches:

See also

• Search Syntax
• Search Modifiers
• Search Functions
• Search command line options
• Search settings
• Search keyboard shortcuts