How to find a file when you only remember part of its name

It happens to everyone. You saved a file weeks ago, you remember it had "budget" in the name, and now it is nowhere to be seen. The good news is that you do not need the whole name. A few letters is often enough.

This guide shows you how to search for a file by part of its name on Windows and on a Mac. Then it shows how to skip the guessing and just describe the file to Key.

Before you start: three quick tricks

• Type the piece you are sure of. One distinctive word beats a long guess. "Invoice" is better than "invoice_final_v2".
• Do not worry about capital letters. "March" and "march" find the same files.
• Know roughly where it might be. Searching one folder (like Downloads) is quicker and gives fewer wrong answers than searching the whole computer.

On Windows: search from the taskbar

This is the fastest way to start, and it needs no special knowledge.

1. Select the Search icon (or search box) on the taskbar.
2. Type the part of the name you remember, for example budget.
3. Look at the results. Microsoft says they come from across your PC and OneDrive.
4. To hide apps and web results, select the Documents tab so only documents show.
5. Select the file to open it.

If the file is not a document (a picture, for example), look through the other tabs at the top of the search window as well.

On Windows: search inside File Explorer

File Explorer lets you choose where to look, which makes the results much tidier.

1. Open File Explorer from the taskbar. You can also press Windows + E.
2. Pick where to search. Microsoft suggests Home for a quick look across your PC and the cloud, a folder such as Downloads when you know roughly where the file is, and This PC for a slow but more thorough search.
3. Click the search box at the top right.
4. Type part of the name and press Enter.
5. Wait a moment. A search of This PC can take longer than a single folder.

Use wildcards when you remember only the pieces

A wildcard is a stand-in symbol. In the File Explorer search box, two are commonly used:

• * stands for any run of letters, or none at all.
• ? stands for exactly one character.

Some examples:

• budget* finds names that start with "budget".
• *report* finds names with "report" anywhere in them.
• *.pdf finds every PDF.
• invoice*.pdf finds PDFs whose names start with "invoice".
• photo?.jpg finds photo1.jpg, photo2.jpg and so on.

Wildcards are handy when you remember the start of a name and the file type but not the middle.

On a Mac: search with Spotlight

Spotlight is the quickest search on a Mac. Apple describes it like this.

1. Press Command + Space.
2. Start typing the part of the name you remember. Results appear as you type, with the best match at the top.
3. Use the arrow keys to move down the list.
4. Press Return to open the one you want.

Not sure it is the right file? Select a result and press the Space bar to preview it. To see where the file lives without opening it, select the result and hold Command. That shows its location in the Finder.

On a Mac: search in a Finder window

Use Finder when you want to look in a certain folder, or when Spotlight shows too many things.

1. Open a Finder window and go to the folder you want to search, such as Documents or Downloads.
2. Click the search box at the top right of the window and type the part of the name.
3. Press Return.
4. Choose whether to search This Mac or only the current folder, using the options just under the toolbar.

Finder also lets you narrow results by criteria. After you search, you can choose a criterion such as Name and set it to contains, so only files with your letters in the name are shown. This is useful when your search word also appears inside many documents, and you only care about the file name.

If you still cannot find it

• Try a shorter piece. Maybe it is "Jan" and not "January".
• Try another spelling. Look for "colour" as well as "color", or "recieve" as well as "receive".
• Search by type. On Windows, add *.docx or *.pdf. On a Mac, use the Kind criterion in Finder.
• Check the Recycle Bin or Trash. You may have removed it by accident.
• Think about when you saved it. Sorting a folder by date can bring a recent file straight to the top.

If your Downloads folder is the usual hiding place, our guide How to clean up your Downloads folder without losing anything can help you keep it tidy.

Or just describe the file to Key

Searching by name only works if the name is what you remember. Often it is not. You remember that it was the electricity bill, or that it came in March. That is where Key helps.

Key is a free assistant for Windows and Mac. You can speak to it or type to it, and the microphone and the chat give the same result. It finds files by what is inside them, not just by the name, and it reads the document to be sure it found the right one. If two things match, it asks which one you meant.

You do not need wildcards or the right folder. Half a sentence is enough, and it tells you what it did when it is finished.

KeyChat

Find the electricity bill from March, I think the file name had something like bill in it

looked for files with bill in the nameread the likely matches to check the monthopened the March electricity bill

I found the electricity bill from March and opened it for you.

Checked: the document I opened is dated March and is from your electricity company.

Other things you can say in the same way: "Find my March bill", "Open the March invoice" or "Where did that download go?"

You can watch Key work. While it is busy it shows a small panel so you can see what it is doing, and you can stop it at any point. If you want to know more about how it searches, read How to find a file by what is inside it, on Windows and Mac.

Which way should you use?

• You remember a few letters of the name: the taskbar search on Windows or Spotlight on a Mac is quick.
• You remember the start and the type: use a wildcard such as invoice*.pdf in File Explorer.
• You remember what it was about, not what it was called: ask Key.

Whichever you pick, you do not have to remember the whole name. A small piece, a good search box and a little patience will usually get you there.

Key is free to download, with every feature included and no card needed. It runs on Windows 10 and 11, and on Macs with macOS 11 Big Sur or newer. Curious what else it does? Have a look at A free AI desktop assistant for your PC that does the job, not just the talking.

Related guide: Mac storage full? What is safe to delete and how to empty the Trash

Related guide: How to change your screen brightness on Windows 11 and Mac

Related guide: How to find a file by the date you last worked on it