Sometimes searching for files on Windows 10 becomes difficult for users who are used to using File Explorer when they only remember a little bit of file information. In such cases, using Command Prompt will help you easily find the file you want. Moreover, Command Prompt also allows you to directly open files from the folder containing them.
How to find and open files using Command Prompt
Before searching and opening files using Command Promt, you must first open Command Prompt. There are several ways to open Command Prompt that you can use:
cmd, click the first search result to open Command Prompt . You can also right-click then select Run as administrator to open Command Prompt with admin rights
cmdor cmd.exeand press Enter or click OK
In the Command Prompt window that just opened, you type in , replacing search term with the name of the file you want to find. In the example below, Quantrimang tries to search for files/folders named "funvideo".dir "\*search term* /s
After you press Enter for about 1 to 2 seconds, the search results will be displayed. All files/folders with names related to funvideo will be listed.
Now let's explain a little about the components in the above statement:
diris a command used to display files in the current directory but can also access data anywhere on the computer.\searches in the root drive of the current device./sdir command prompt search in all subdrives*is used by command line applications as a wildcard. It signals that the search command will search all file names that contain your search keyword.*to the end of the name, like this business*will search all files with the search keyword at the beginning of the name*at the beginning, your search will only include results with the keyword after it. For example *.jpg.*at both the beginning and the end of your search term, you will cover all cases. Whether or not the keyword you entered is the actual name of the file, the file will still be listed in the search results.If you save the file in drive D: you will not be able to find it if you perform a search command in drive C:. Therefore, you need to change the directory according to the steps below.
First, type cd..and press Enter to tell Command Prompt that you need to change the drive. Next, to change to drive D, you need to type d:and press Enter . From now on, all commands will be executed on drive D.
Now, you can search for the file you need by executing the command again dir "\search term*" /s. Note the use of the * symbol to search more effectively. If you enter it incorrectly, you will receive a "no label" error message like the example below. Quantrimang's advice is to always use two symbols * at the beginning and end of the search keyword.
Once you find the file, you can open it immediately using Command Prompt with the default software.
First, you need to change the path to the folder containing the file. You can do this by using the command cdfollowed by the path to the folder containing the file. The best way to avoid errors is to copy the folder path listed in the search results.
Enter the file name with the full extension inside quotation marks ".."and press Enter. The file will be opened in the default software. You can open additional files if they are in the same folder as the original file.
After finishing, if you need to open other files, you can use the command cd..with the path to move to the new folder.
Good luck and please refer to other great tips on Quantrimang:
Error code 0xc0000098 in Windows causes a blue screen error on startup. The ACPI.sys driver is often to blame, especially on unsupported versions of Windows 11 like 23H2 or 22H2 or Windows 10.
In some cases, sometimes you start your computer in Safe Mode and the computer freezes. So how to fix the error in this case, please refer to the article below of WebTech360.
Snipping Tool is a powerful photo and video capture tool on Windows. However, this tool sometimes has some errors, such as constantly displaying on the screen.
Every network has a router to access the Internet, but not everyone knows how to make the router work better. In this article, we will introduce some router tips to help speed up the wireless connection in the network.
If the results seem slower than expected, don't be too quick to blame your ISP - mistakes when performing the test can skew your numbers.
In the article below, we will introduce and guide you to learn about the concept of QoS - Quality of Service on router devices.
Windows has a built-in Credential Manager, but it's not what you think it is—and certainly not a replacement for a password manager.
Microsoft charges for its official codecs and doesn't include them in Windows 10. However, you can get them for free without pulling out your credit card and spending $0.99.
While having trouble accessing files and folders can be frustrating, don't panic—with a few simple tweaks, you can regain access to your system.
After creating a USB boot to install Windows, users should check the USB boot's performance to see if it was created successfully or not.
Although Windows Storage Sense efficiently deletes temporary files, some types of data are permanent and continue to accumulate.
You can turn off Windows 11 background apps to optimize performance, save battery and reduce RAM consumption.
When a computer, mobile device, or printer tries to connect to a Microsoft Windows computer over a network, for example, the error message network path was not found — Error 0x80070035 may appear.
We can block Internet access for any application or software on the computer, while other programs can still access the network. The following article will guide readers on how to disable Internet access for software and applications on Windows.
Instead of paying $30 for a year of security updates, keep Windows 10 safe until 2030 with this simple solution.
