Searching for a File
The hard drives being installed in new computers are absolutely huge. You can store thousands and thousands of files on a single drive. Even with the best file management system, however, locating a single file can sometimes be daunting. Learning how to use the tools that help you locate files is one of the most important skills you can master. Word has a nice collection of tools to help you locate files so you don't have to start another program to do a search.
Listing Files by Type
When you have many different types of files in a folder, limiting the number of files in the list can be a big help. One way to accomplish this is to display only a specific type of file in the list. For example, if you display only Word documents in the list, you can more easily find the file you are looking for.
By default, the file type is set to All Files (*.*), so you will see every file saved in that folder, whether or not you can work with that file in Word.
To display only a particular type of file, follow these steps:
1. Click the Files of type drop-down list arrow to display the list of file types.
2. Choose the type of file you want displayed in the list.
3. When you are ready to see all the files again, select All Files (*.*) from the Files of type drop-down list.
Searching by File
Say you can't remember the exact filename or exactly where your document is stored. You might remember a partial filename or maybe something about the contents. It could be a client's name, a project name, a technical term, or a phone number all you need is a single piece of information that can be found in the file. You can then take that information and use it to search for the file.
To search for files by content, do the following:
1. Click the File button on the toolbar and then choose Search to display the File Search dialog box.
2. Type the text you want to search for in the Search text text box.
3. Open the Search in list box and select the location that you want to search in.
4. Open the Results should be list box and choose the type of file you want to search.
5. Choose Search. Word searches for the files and displays a list of files that contain the search text in the window.