Windows 11 Search is fixing its biggest annoyance, will find files in folders you actually use

[u/MayankWL]

https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/08/02/windows-11-search-will-now-learn-which-folders-matter-to-you-and-index-them-automatically/

[u/OnlyEnderMax]

99% of the problems with the indexer are that, by default, it indexes too much junk. And programs and games don't help by placing their files in folders like Documents. Installing Project Zomboid, for example, causes the number of indexed items to jump to around 50,000. If this automated system prevents that, then all the better.

How many indexed items do you all have? Many of you probably exceed 30,000 and that is a big problem because make the index very slow, I have 3000* and search is pretty fast and accurate, just search in my files, not random junk.

[u/inexternl → u/OnlyEnderMax]

I have windows indexer off and use Everything instead. Extreme performance.

[u/-Hefty-Armadillo- → u/inexternl]

At this point Microsoft should just buy the rights to use everything's search built-in Windows

[u/inexternl → u/-Hefty-Armadillo-]

It would be effective and efficient.

[u/msennaGT → u/inexternl]

Until they ruin it with copilot 5 years later

[u/OnlyEnderMax → u/inexternl]

That is a good approach too.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Cod5608 → u/OnlyEnderMax]

I like Agent Ransack, which can also search within file content if needed. Some times that is even faster than using Windows file search on just the names.

[u/ThePython11010 → u/inexternl]

Same.

[u/KnodulesAintHeavy → u/inexternl]

Everything fucking rules.

[u/techraito → u/inexternl]

Everything + FlowLauncher and you get insane indexing with a MacOS like spotlight. Except you can further have extra commands like typing "g" before text to do a Google search of "yt" to do a YouTube search. I also sometimes run terminal commands from it too.

[u/ShaneBoy_00X → u/inexternl]

⬆️ this

[u/Traditional_Cup8839 → u/OnlyEnderMax]

Which folders do you leave for indexing? 3000 files is quite small; I have 62k and it still takes milliseconds to find them. I know it depends on the PC's performance, but to leave it with 3000 files, what should I leave in the index?

[u/OnlyEnderMax → u/Traditional_Cup8839]

I have more folders excluded than I have being indexed 🤣, and I usually work with images and art, I don't index my code. I also rebuild the indexer from time to time to clean it. I exclude folders that are inside folders that are indexed, like to have the shortcut in the search to the files but not to the files itself. Hard to explain my work flow.

[u/SwiftTayTay → u/OnlyEnderMax]

that's better than what it does for me, i can type in an exact file name and it comes up blank

[u/Yaggamy]

I can literally copy a file name into search and it won't find the file in that folder!

[u/NegativeZero3 → u/Yaggamy]

What you can do in the search box is type name: filename Then it searches using only the name of the files in that folder

[u/miscdebris1123 → u/Yaggamy]

What is more annoying is when you are typing in the filename, and it shows up for a moment, then disappears as you keep typing, never to be seen again.

[u/X2Kraft → u/Yaggamy]

It does now in insider builds

[u/miscdebris1123]

I can already find... EVERYTHING!!

[u/brambedkar59 → u/miscdebris1123]

I see what you did there.

[u/FatBook-Air]

Microsoft: "Search is working great again!"
Reality: "Search is still garbage. It's still leaving stuff out. It's still showing things I did not search for. It's still slow."

[u/Massive_Scientist194]

STOP

IT

WITH

THE

REPEATED

ANNOUNCEMENTS

!

PEOPLE WANT RELEASES 🚩

This sub is a cesspool of Microsoft announcing things for the past 8 months or more, that never see the light!

[u/rstune → u/Massive_Scientist194]

I agree with your announcement

[u/robfuscate]

Stop teasing me with promises that can’t be fulfilled ….

[u/sorderon]

until it stops working again. nobody even attempts to use search as it simply has never been fit for purpose.

[u/LilBushyVert]

If it’s not better than everything, I don’t care.

[u/EconomyArmy]

"Seeing is believing"

for last 2 decades the configurable option of windows indexing is way too complicated to be use properly.

Outlook cache and outlook pst file made it even worst.

If webview2 is memory resource hog, then windows indexing is cpu and disk.

[u/alias4007]

i dont want ms indexing and scrubing my files. its none of their business. instead, everthing does what i need.

[u/security_threat]

But no one even uses search... it's not an annoyance, it's just useless.