1, To search for a misplaced file, begin on the Start screen.
Click on the Search icon (little magnifying glass). Type the name of a document or photo you have on your computer. The search results panel appears.
To search using a touchscreen, swipe from the right edge to display the charms bar. Select the Search charm. Select in the search box to display the virtual keyboard.
2 If you don’t see the document or photo you want, narrow the list of items by opening the Everywhere drop-down menu and choosing Files.
Initially, the search panel shows settings, files, web images, and web videos in the search results.
3 To open a file found in Step 1 or 2, select that file. Hit Enter
Then, close the app that opens that file by using one of these methods:
Mouse: Move the mouse pointer to the top of the screen. When the pointer changes to a hand symbol, click and hold down the left mouse button. Drag the app down until part of the app is off the bottom of the screen. Then release the left mouse button to close the app and return to the Start screen.
Touchscreen: Swipe down from the top of the screen until part of the app is off the bottom of the screen. Then lift your finger to close the app and return to the Start screen.
Keyboard: Press Alt+F4.
Strictly speaking, if you find what you’re looking for, stop looking. (No extra charge for pearls of wisdom.) In this case, however, keep looking because doing so reveals important information about how files are organized and how you can take control of that organization.
ALTERNATIVE METHOD
4 On the Start screen, select the Desktop tile. On the desktop, select the File Explorer icon in the taskbar.
File Explorer opens. Note the ribbon, which is the toolbar at the top of the window.
On the ribbon, tools are grouped by tabs, which in File Explorer consist of File, Home, Share, and View, as well as other tabs that appear based on the selection. Tabs are further divided into sections, labeled below the related tools. (Note, for example, the Clipboard section on the Home tab.)
5 Click your mouse into the Search box, below the ribbon and to the right. Type the name or part-name of the item you are looking for.
As you type, File Explorer displays any matching files, highlighting the text that matches. The figure shows the results of a search on my computer using the search term sierra.
On a touchscreen, the virtual keyboard doesn’t appear on the desktop until you select the keyboard icon on the right side of the taskbar.
If the search results include too many files, making it hard to see the one you want, type more of the file name in the Search box. The number of matching files should decrease as you type more text in the box.
6 To change the focus of your search to another more specific folder, select the relevant folder in the Navigation pane.
The focus of a search — where File Explorer searches — determines what files and folders are found. Because File Explorer opens with the focus on your whole PC, your initial search looks for files and folders throughout your computer.
If you have an idea where the file might be, such as in the Pictures, or Music folder, then navigate to that folder and start your search from the same box in that folder. This will narrow down the results.
You can use Search Tools in the ribbon to refine a search, as needed. Start a search, and then select the Search tab. In the section labeled Refine, select Date Modified and then select a time period ranging from Today to Last Year. Select Kind to limit the search to specific types of files. You can even select by size and other properties.
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