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In Windows Explorer, I would like to search for all files in a specific folder and its subfolders with the file extension .doc. To do that, I tried to enter .doc in the search bar on the top right of the window. That gave me as a result all the files containing doc, not necessarily with that file extension, including folders named "doc".

In Windows XP, there was if I remember correctly something to only search for one file type, but I can't find anything like that in Windows 7.

How to only search for files with a specific file extension and not other files which contain that extension in their name?

1 Answers1

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Windows Vista and higher support the Advanced Query Syntax (AQS). To search for files with a particular file extension (.doc), you'd type:

ext:.doc

or simply:

*.doc

(the 1st one is better - it's well worth learning AQS)

To find exact matches, enclose the extension in double quotes:

ext: ".cs"

AQS References

Advanced Query Syntax (Windows)

Mastering Windows Search using Advanced Query Syntax | Ars Technica

Exploring Vista's Advanced Search

How to Search for Files Created Between Two Dates in Windows

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