How to disable the "What do you want to search for" search dialog in explorer?

[Duncan Smith]

Is there are registry setting that will disable the "What do you want
to search for" and instead default to the "All files and folders" when
searching for files from Explorer?

Many thanks,

Duncan.

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Click "Change Preferences", "Change files and folders search behavior", and select the following checkbox:

"Advanced - includes options to manually enter search criteria. Recommended for advanced users only"

Click OK.

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows Shell/User]
Windows® Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


Is there are registry setting that will disable the "What do you want
to search for" and instead default to the "All files and folders" when
searching for files from Explorer?

Many thanks,

Duncan.

 

[Duncan Smith]

Click "Change Preferences", "Change files and folders search behavior", and select the following checkbox:

"Advanced - includes options to manually enter search criteria. Recommended for advanced users only"

Even better. Thanks!

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

You're welcome!

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows Shell/User]
Windows® Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com

Click "Change Preferences", "Change files and folders search behavior", and select the following checkbox:

"Advanced - includes options to manually enter search criteria. Recommended for advanced users only"

Even better. Thanks!

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

Click "Change Preferences", "Change files and folders search behavior", and select the following checkbox:

"Advanced - includes options to manually enter search criteria. Recommended for advanced users only"

Better yet, use TweakUI to select "old" search behavior for Windows
Explorer. Gets rid of the space wasted by the silly curved blue
border, etc. as well as beating the wretched dog to death

It's interesting - in XP, I found "enhancements' to search, Start Menu
etc. were subtractive in value and I'd go back to Win9x-era UI
instead, but with Vista, I see real value in the new UI changes.

The design intention of Vista UI went beyong beauty and "easy to use"
and also stressed functionality and efficiency. They delivered;
there's a lot less cutesy condescending dumbed-down drivel, and some
significant new depth and usability - especially with Search.

It's also telling that while Vista offers "legacy" UIs based on
Win2000/9x, the native XP UI is not retained as an option.

--------------- ---- --- -- - - - -

Saws are too hard to use.
Be easier to use!

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

beating the wretched dog to death

<LOL>

I use Classic search all the time, Chris.

Agree! But it's not a good decision to remove the "File Types" tab/functionality from Folder Options. They say that it's one of the least used features in XP, but it's not true.

Windows XP Theme! Yes. that's would be a great option to have!

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows Shell/User]
Windows® Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com

Click "Change Preferences", "Change files and folders search behavior", and select the following checkbox:

"Advanced - includes options to manually enter search criteria. Recommended for advanced users only"

Better yet, use TweakUI to select "old" search behavior for Windows
Explorer. Gets rid of the space wasted by the silly curved blue
border, etc. as well as beating the wretched dog to death

It's interesting - in XP, I found "enhancements' to search, Start Menu
etc. were subtractive in value and I'd go back to Win9x-era UI
instead, but with Vista, I see real value in the new UI changes.

The design intention of Vista UI went beyong beauty and "easy to use"
and also stressed functionality and efficiency. They delivered;
there's a lot less cutesy condescending dumbed-down drivel, and some
significant new depth and usability - especially with Search.

It's also telling that while Vista offers "legacy" UIs based on
Win2000/9x, the native XP UI is not retained as an option.

--------------- ---- --- -- - - - -

Saws are too hard to use.
Be easier to use!

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 10:23:20 +0530, "Ramesh, MS-MVP"

Agree! But it's not a good decision to remove the "File Types"
tab/functionality from Folder Options.

Yep, that was duuuuumb.

They say that it's one of the least used features in XP,
but it's not true.

I use it all the time; it's one of the best enhancements that Win95
brought to the party, and there are a lot of contenders for *that*
honour. Incidentally, it's interesting to see Win3.yuk's colored
window frames coming back to Vista; maybe it's just me, but I always
set the active frame color to match the title bar in 3.yuk.

The thing about non-default file type actions is that absolutely NO
app vendor wants it to be easier to use competing products.

So they all treated Win95, 98, ME and XP as if they were the Win3.yuk
"ook, see file, ugg, open with rock" stone age. As a system builder
and maintainer, I'd often create rt-click menus to IView, LView, Paint
Shop Pro etc. only to have some scummy app redefine .JPG et al as "My
Scummy Graphic App File" with just their lumbering pig as the single
"OPEN" action... <vo-mittt>

That rt-click menu is such a missed opportunity, especially now that
XP allows per-user overlay of HKCR. All it needed was a decent UI,
and with WinME, MS chickened out for the half-way Open With list
instead. That's a nice facility, BTW, and I like the way it "learns",
but not quite as nice as true rt-click non-default actions.

--------------- ---- --- -- - - - -

Saws are too hard to use.
Be easier to use!

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

I can start writing a program for that now, but I'm thinking MS would introduce the File Types UI in Vista SP1 (per chance)?

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows Shell/User]
Windows® Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com

Agree! But it's not a good decision to remove the "File Types"
tab/functionality from Folder Options.

Yep, that was duuuuumb.

They say that it's one of the least used features in XP,
but it's not true.

I use it all the time; it's one of the best enhancements that Win95
brought to the party, and there are a lot of contenders for *that*
honour. Incidentally, it's interesting to see Win3.yuk's colored
window frames coming back to Vista; maybe it's just me, but I always
set the active frame color to match the title bar in 3.yuk.

The thing about non-default file type actions is that absolutely NO
app vendor wants it to be easier to use competing products.

So they all treated Win95, 98, ME and XP as if they were the Win3.yuk
"ook, see file, ugg, open with rock" stone age. As a system builder
and maintainer, I'd often create rt-click menus to IView, LView, Paint
Shop Pro etc. only to have some scummy app redefine .JPG et al as "My
Scummy Graphic App File" with just their lumbering pig as the single
"OPEN" action... <vo-mittt>

That rt-click menu is such a missed opportunity, especially now that
XP allows per-user overlay of HKCR. All it needed was a decent UI,
and with WinME, MS chickened out for the half-way Open With list
instead. That's a nice facility, BTW, and I like the way it "learns",
but not quite as nice as true rt-click non-default actions.

--------------- ---- --- -- - - - -

Saws are too hard to use.
Be easier to use!

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

On Tue, 20 Feb 2007 09:47:37 +0530, "Ramesh, MS-MVP"

I can start writing a program for that now, but I'm thinking MS would
introduce the File Types UI in Vista SP1 (per chance)?

I don't think so - if anything, I think the UI'd been "depreciated" in
favor of the WinME-style simlified "Open With".

There are problems with the rt-click actions and UI that may have
encouraged this move, as well as the (IMO mistaken) idea that if you
have the quick "Open With" list, you don't need anything else.

Firstly, there's the mismatch between contexts where the action set as
default will take place (such as double-clicking or pressing Enter on
a file in Windows Explorer) and where the action called "open" will
take place (from CLI, using Start, and populating the old Win95 Open
With list). Unlike the other issues, this is deeper than UI.

Secondly, now that XP and later build HKCR as a mix of system-wide
HKLM and per-user HKCU settings, the old UI becomes ambiguous as to
where these changes will apply. My hunch is that the new Open With
list (if stored at all) will be per-user.

Thirdly, there are inheritence bugs that arise when action changes are
applied via the old UI. As these don't apply when settings are
effected via a .REG, this is prolly a UI issue. The most common
example is losing the Open and Explore actions for folders after
you've added a non-default action (e.g. to add a "Command Prompt
Here") to Drive and Directory (File Folder).

So I'd say it's worth doing, if you can avoid those bugs and clarify
the scope of the settings. An admin mode would be nice to apply these
on a checkbox basis across multiple user accounts, as well as the new
account template. Oh, to edit the new account template!

--------------- ---- --- -- - - - -

Saws are too hard to use.
Be easier to use!

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Thanks Chris. Yes, there are several complications, especially with the HKCU and HKLM stuff.

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows Shell/User]
Windows® Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com

I can start writing a program for that now, but I'm thinking MS would
introduce the File Types UI in Vista SP1 (per chance)?

I don't think so - if anything, I think the UI'd been "depreciated" in
favor of the WinME-style simlified "Open With".

There are problems with the rt-click actions and UI that may have
encouraged this move, as well as the (IMO mistaken) idea that if you
have the quick "Open With" list, you don't need anything else.

Firstly, there's the mismatch between contexts where the action set as
default will take place (such as double-clicking or pressing Enter on
a file in Windows Explorer) and where the action called "open" will
take place (from CLI, using Start, and populating the old Win95 Open
With list). Unlike the other issues, this is deeper than UI.

Secondly, now that XP and later build HKCR as a mix of system-wide
HKLM and per-user HKCU settings, the old UI becomes ambiguous as to
where these changes will apply. My hunch is that the new Open With
list (if stored at all) will be per-user.

Thirdly, there are inheritence bugs that arise when action changes are
applied via the old UI. As these don't apply when settings are
effected via a .REG, this is prolly a UI issue. The most common
example is losing the Open and Explore actions for folders after
you've added a non-default action (e.g. to add a "Command Prompt
Here") to Drive and Directory (File Folder).

So I'd say it's worth doing, if you can avoid those bugs and clarify
the scope of the settings. An admin mode would be nice to apply these
on a checkbox basis across multiple user accounts, as well as the new
account template. Oh, to edit the new account template!

--------------- ---- --- -- - - - -

Saws are too hard to use.
Be easier to use!