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Explore the features: Search Folders

Search Folders

This feature is included in the following editions of Windows Vista:

Included in

Home Basic

Included in

Home Premium

Included in

Business

Included in

Ultimate


A Search Folder is simply a search that you save. Opening a Search Folder runs your saved search, displaying up-to-date results as it finds them.

For example, you could design a search for all documents that are authored by John and that contain the word "project." You'd save this search, titled "Author John/Keyword Project," as a Search Folder. When you open this Search Folder, the search runs and you see the results right away. As you add more files to your computer that are authored by John and contain the word "project," those files will appear in the Search Folder alongside other matching files, no matter where you physically saved them on your PC.

In addition, Windows Vista still has traditional, location-based folders. Folders are useful because they foster easy migration from one computer to another, and because your existing programs would break without them. In Windows Vista, you'll still save content in folders, but you can use tools such as Instant Search and enhanced column header controls to navigate them.

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