Say you're searching for a file, and you know it was last modified during a certain period of time. You can limit your searches to date ranges in Windows, but it's not immediately obvious.

Searching a specific appointment range in Windows 8 and 10 is harder than it needs to be. Back in the days of Windows XP, File Explorer presented a agenda selector front and center. Even in Windows Vista and Windows seven, that selector wasn't hard to get to. In Windows ten, you have to bound through a hoop or 2 showtime.

How to Search a Engagement Range with the Keyboard

Offset of all, if you like using the keyboard, y'all can easily select a date range by typing it in the search box in whatever folder, just similar in previous versions of Windows. Just utilize the following syntax:

modified:ii/1/2016 .. 2/20/2016

The key is the ii periods between the dates, which tells the search engine to use it equally a range. You lot could too use "Datecreated:" or just "appointment:" instead of "modified:" if y'all wanted to.

RELATED: Use Advanced Query Syntax to Find Everything

And if yous're a real keyboard junkie, know that Windows uses the Avant-garde Query Syntax for search commands. This means you can search using Boolean operators, file properties, kinds of files, and a lot more than. In fact, when you select options using the File Explorer UI, Windows is really but inputting those text searches for you.

How to Select a Date Range with the Mouse

Speaking of the File Explorer UI, it is still possible to search for a range of dates using just your mouse. This is where those hoops come in. In the File Explorer ribbon, switch to the Search tab and click the Date Modified button. You'll come across a list of predefined options like Today, Last Calendar week, Concluding Calendar month, and then on. Option any of them. The text search box changes to reflect your choice and Windows performs the search.

To choose a more specific engagement range follow those steps, then click anywhere on the text in that box after the colon (so, for example, on "this calendar week") and a calendar volition pop up. Click any date to search for files modified on that twenty-four hour period.

To search a range of dates, you take a few options:

  • Click a appointment and drag your mouse to select the range. This is the easiest selection if your range falls within a month.
  • Click 1 appointment and and then Shift-click another date. This makes it easier to select a range that spans multiple months.
  • Click the name of the month at the acme of the calendar to select the whole calendar month. When yous do that, the calendar zooms out to show you the whole year. You tin can select the whole year as a range and the view will keep zooming out until you can select an unabridged decade.

Don't forget, once y'all've selected your date range, you can likewise add other parameters like file name or file type to your search. And if yous think information technology's a search yous're likely to perform again, go ahead and save it by clicking the Salvage Search push. Adjacent fourth dimension, your search volition be just one click away.

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