Everything

Written by Barry Dysert (last updated January 11, 2021)

Everything is a must-have utility in my toolbox. Its goal is simple: instantly find any file on your hard drive. When it's first installed, Everything takes a few minutes to build an index of all your files. It then runs in the background to make sure its index is always up to date.

Now say that you have a lot of files scattered among several different directories. You may not be sure where a particular file is, but Everything can find it. Just launch it and begin typing the name of the file. Everything searches as you type, so in just a second or two your file will appear in its results window. You can then open it, copy it, delete it, etc. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. Searching for a file with Everything.

Another valuable use of this utility is if you know where a file is located, but you just don't want to take the time to launch Explorer and navigate to it. As before, simply launch Everything, start typing the file's name, and in no time your file will appear in the results window so that you can use it.

I use Everything every day and many times throughout the day. It's such a great timesaver I would be lost without it.

Everything is a free download with versions available for lots of different Windows versions. You can find it here:

http://www.voidtools.com/

 This tip (12938) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Barry Dysert

Barry has been a computer professional for over 35 years, working in different positions such as technical team leader, project manager, and software developer. He is currently a software engineer with an emphasis on developing custom applications under Microsoft Windows. When not working with Windows or writing Tips, Barry is an amateur writer. His first non-fiction book is titled "A Chronological Commentary of Revelation." ...

MORE FROM BARRY

Displaying the Command Prompt Window

You may have the need to perform repetitive operations or group several commands together to run as a batch. In such ...

Discover More

Configuring Windows to Do Backups on a Schedule

Performing regular backups of your system offers you peace of mind because you don't have to worry about data loss in the ...

Discover More

What is the Purpose of the System Event Log?

The System event log holds messages generated by device drivers. This tip explains more about it.

Discover More
More WindowsTips

AutoHotKeys

AutoHotKeys is a great multi-purpose utility that covers the spectrum from allowing you to define shortcut keys for ...

Discover More

Use Cmd to Find Your Computer Serial Number

You can access your computer's serial number without looking all over on the outside of the box. Use the Command prompt ...

Discover More

Quickly Format a USB Drive with File Explorer

USB flash drives are a very helpful addition to store and transfer data. Discover how to format a USB drive using File ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is three less than 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


Newest Tips