How to Search Vista for Parentheses in File Names

Modern computers have more storage capacity than ever before, and many computer users are storing more information than they ever have before on their PCs. This is a great convenience, but it can also lead to occasional difficulty in locating specific files among the hundreds or thousands of other files and folders. If you are a Windows Vista user, you can use the Windows Search utility. It is designed to use the processing power of the computer to quickly locate files for you, even those that have uncommon characters, such as parentheses, in the file names.

Instructions

1. Go to the Vista desktop and click on the Windows "Start" button.

2. Locate the "Start Search" text box that appears just above the "Start" button after you have clicked on it.

3. Type the following into the text box exactly as it appears to locate all files on your computer that have parentheses in the file name.

   name:~"*(?)*"

4. Replace the ? in the text provided in Step 4 with specific numbers or text to narrow your search further.

References

• Microsoft: Windows Search Tips and Tricks

Resources

• Microsoft: Windows Vista Help & How-To