Windows Explorer is not one of the most sophisticated file explorers available for the Windows operating system. It is however the default file explorer for the Windows operating system and many Windows users use it despite its obvious shortcomings. What many users do not know is that Windows Explorer has some aces up its sleeve that can aid the user when working with Windows Explorer.
One of these aces is the following tip. Most users who are searching for a specific file in Windows Explorer are doing it manually. They browse the folders and files until they find the file they are looking for. And since the files are usually sorted alphabetically it is usually not a problem to locate it.
Problems appear if the files are not sorted alphabetically or if there are many files with a similar naming pattern. Windows Explorer thankfully offers a way to quickly jump to files. This can be done if the file name is known to the user. All the user needs to do is to quickly enter the first chars of the filename in the active Windows Explorer window.
This will automatically select the first file matching the pattern. Multiple chars have to be entered in rapid succession so that Windows Explorer recognizes them as part of the same pattern.
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only seems to work for the current directory…. by that time, it is just as easy to locate it manually than by position the cursosor in the address field. manual searches at this point allow for lack of knowledge of the precise spelling.
doesn’t seem to be working for me at all, on Win XP SP3
It is working fine on my XP SP3 system. Is the explorer window active? Do you have any third party plugins or similar installed?
1. Open Windows Explorer.
2. Go to a folder with a ton of files in it.
3. Click on the first file.
4. Quickly type the first few characters of the filename you are looking for.
Windows Explorer (actually any Windows app with a list, including most web pages) will skip down to the first file matching what you typed.
Yes this only works on the current folder in Windows Explorer.
Good tip.