How to Search for Text in Files on Windows

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

This wikiHow teaches you how to search for specific text inside any document on your Windows PC.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

This opens the Windows Search box.
A list of matching results will appear.

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It should be the first result in the list (and it may be the only result).
It’s the button at the bottom of the window. Depending on your settings, you may also be asked to confirm the action or enter your administrator password.
It’s near the top of the window. A list of file types on your computer will appear.
It’s the second radio button beneath the list of file types.
Windows will now begin to index the text within your documents instead of just their titles. Now that you’ve made this change, you can search for a file by typing some of the words it contains.
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Press ⊞ Win+S. This opens the search box. Now you’ll try searching for a file based on some of its text.
- You can also search using the File Explorer (which you can launch by pressing ⊞ Win+E). Just type your search criteria into the search bar at the top-right corner of the window.
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Type your search criteria and press ↵ Enter. Windows will return a list of files that contain the text you entered.
- This tool will only return exact matches. Make sure all spaces and symbols are in the correct places, and that you’ve made no spelling mistakes.
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Double-click the file to open it. The file should open in its default application, such as Microsoft Word or Notepad.
- See this method to learn how to search the currently-open document for a string of text.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

This method should work for the majority of text/word processing applications, including Microsoft Word and Notepad.
This opens the Find or Find and Replace dialog.
Be specific—this tool will only return exact matches. Make sure all spaces and symbols are in the correct places, and that you’ve made no spelling mistakes.
The application should now display the text you searched for highlighted in a different color. If no matching text is found, you'll see a message that says something like “The search item was not found.”