The Basic File Search Task Pane

The Basic File Search task pane enables you to locate files stored on your computer or company network without leaving the Office application that is currently open . To use the Search task pane, follow these steps:

1. From an Office application window, select the File menu and then select Search to open the Search task pane (see Figure 3.4).

   Figure 3.4. Use the Search task pane to locate files on your computer or network.

   

2. Type the keyword or keywords that you want to use for the search into the Search text box.

3. To specify the locations that should be searched, click the Selected Locations drop-down box. You can expand any of the locations listed, such as My Computer, by clicking the plus ( + ) symbol to the left of the location. This enables you to view folders and subfolders at that location. Use the check boxes to the left of each location to specify whether that location should be searched.

4. To specify the types of files that are located during the search, click the Selected File Types drop-down list. Select or deselect the check boxes for particular Office applications (such as Word or Excel) to specify the types of files that should be included in the search.

5. When you are ready to run the search, click the Go button.

The files that meet your search criteria appear in the Search task pane. To open one of the files (in the application that it was created in), click the filename.

Run an Advanced Search You can also click the Advanced Search link in the Search task pane to run an advanced search. The Advanced Search task pane enables you to create a search that uses conditional statements and allows you to search by file type, the date that the file was last modified, and a number of other parameters.