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I was wondering if there's a method to tweak the Windows 10 Search (the feature that pops by hitting the Windows logo key) to display more refined, customized results.

Basically, I'm not satisfied with file and folder search and launch capabilities: I want them to be closer to those of a launcher software like Launchy, Listary or Alfred, while retaining the Windows 10 Search's convenient features like applications launching and control panel indexing.

I would like to address the following issues:

  1. Whenever I search for a file or folder, only some will appear directly and elegantly in the taskbar search results, usually under the "Best Match" header. On the other hand, if I search for a file or folder on a separate hard drive I have installed, no results are shown in the taskbar results, and I have to click the "My stuff" button. Then, after another search, the results appear. I ALWAYS find what I want, but what I'm not happy about is that I have to sift through additional clicks and windows to get there. How do I configure certain directories and files to appear directly under "Best Match"?

  2. Some file types are not displayed in results, even though other files or folders nested under the same directory do appear. I would like to control that, if possible.

  3. Is there any way to modify the order in which results are displayed? For example, I want "Best Match" to be always at the top, followed by "Apps", then by "Folders" or files, and lastly, "Store" and "Web" results.

Cortana is off (Search behavior was similar when it was on), but Web results are enabled.

Thanks.

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  • "I have an entire drive with lots of different files that is constantly omitted from the results" - Sounds like you have this problem. I honestly don't have any of the problems you describe on my Windows 10 machine. "Is there any way to modify the order in which results are displayed?" - Yes; Third-party software.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Oct 30, 2015 at 17:57
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    I would appreciate if you could give examples to such third-party software.
    – voronoi
    Commented Oct 30, 2015 at 22:41
  • My suggestion would be to use the software the best fits your needs.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Oct 31, 2015 at 0:05

1 Answer 1

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Things will only appear in search results if they're included in the search index (there are a lot of things that are excluded by default).

Search for and open "Indexing Options" to change what Windows Search indexes for searches. That will help with 1 and 2 from your question:

  1. You can add your missing drive as an "Included Location" by clicking the "Modify" button and checking the box next to your drive.

  2. You can change the file types that are indexed by clicking the "Advanced" button and then the "File Types" tab.

For #3, I don't think it's possible. I looked around but couldn't find any settings for changing the order of the search results. If anyone finds one, comment and I'll edit this answer.

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  • Thanks for the reply, however, I would like to rephrase myself and stress that the indexing is just fine - If I press on "My stuff", I'll eventually find every file I desire, but that's exactly the point: I don't want to go to "My stuff" to accomplish this, I want to have control on what files and directories appear directly in the taskbar, under "Best match", which elegantly opens every file or folder with one click.
    – voronoi
    Commented Nov 1, 2015 at 20:00
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    I see. It sounds like you're actually asking this question.
    – LevenTech
    Commented Nov 1, 2015 at 20:36
  • Yep, that is more or less my intention. So I guess there's no feasible solution to this currently?
    – voronoi
    Commented Nov 3, 2015 at 17:39
  • Anyone? Is this really an unsolvable issue right now?
    – voronoi
    Commented Nov 7, 2015 at 7:09

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