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HOW TO USE WINDOWS XP: USING THE SEARCH TOOL

Windows XP Professional comes with a powerful search tool that you can use to find files and folders that are saved on your computer or on your network drives. Windows XP Search is highly flexible, giving you many options to help you quickly find what you need. The more you can limit your search (the more specific you get) the faster your search will be.

You can use Windows XP Search to find:

• Pictures, Music, and Video: multimedia files.
• Documents: word processing, spreadsheet, text, etc. files.
• All Files and Folders: everything on removable media, your hard drive, and Novell network drive(s).
• Computers or People: computers that are part of your network group or people in your Outlook address book.
• Information in Help and Support Center: Microsoft's help documentation for Windows XP Professional.

This example shows you how to search for a file or folder.

1. Click the Start button then click Search.

2. The Search window will open. On the left of the Search window is the Search Companion.

3. In the Search Companion, click All Files or Folders.

4. You have several options under All Files or Folders. You can search for files or folders by the file name (or part of the file name), a word or phrase in the file, the drive where the file is saved, or any combination of the three.

5. By default, Search Companion will look through your hard drive. If you want to search a different drive, click the down arrow below Look in. This will bring up a list of the drives, folders, and disks you can search. Click on the drive, folder, or disk you wish to search.

6. To search for files made or modified on a certain date or during a certain period of time, click the arrow next to When Was It Modified? This will bring up a list of options. If you know the date, you can click Specify Dates then type in the date in the spaces provided.

7. If you know the approximate size of the file, click the arrow next to What Size is It?

8. If you want to refine your search, click the arrow next to More Advanced Options.

9. If you know what kind of file you are looking for, click the down arrow under Type of File. A long list of file types will appear. (You might have to scroll through the list to find the file type you are looking for.) Click the file type.

10. Click the Search button. You will see a summary of your search criteria as Windows looks for your file.

11. When Windows finishes your search, you will see all of the files that meet your search criteria on the right side of the Search window.