Homedex

Guide · Windows 11 & 10

Can't find a file you saved? 7 ways to find it on Windows

Updated

Short answer

First check Home (Quick access) in File Explorer for recent files, then your Downloads folder sorted by date. Next, search with a date filter like datemodified:today. If you remember what the file looked like or said rather than its name, an app that searches by kind, date and text inside images, such as Homedex, finds it faster.

Searching for “password” finds a screenshot, with the matching text found inside the image highlighted

Seven places and tricks

  1. 1
    Recent files

    File Explorer's Home page (Quick access on Windows 10) lists files you opened or saved recently.

  2. 2
    Downloads, newest first

    Open Downloads and sort by Date modified. Browser downloads land here unless you chose otherwise.

  3. 3
    The app's recent list

    Most apps (Word, Photoshop, Notepad) show recently used files under File → Open → Recent.

  4. 4
    Search by date

    In File Explorer, open This PC and search datemodified:today or datemodified:this week.

  5. 5
    Search by kind

    Add kind:picture, kind:video or kind:document to narrow the results, e.g. kind:document datemodified:yesterday.

  6. 6
    Check OneDrive

    If Desktop and Documents are backed up to OneDrive, your file may be under the OneDrive folder, or online only.

  7. 7
    Check the Recycle Bin

    If it was deleted, right-click it in the Recycle Bin and choose Restore.

When you remember what it was, not what it was called

Windows search works on names and dates. Homedex also understands descriptions: “pdfs from last week”, “screenshots with invoice”, “videos from my iphone in august”. It searches the text inside images too, and groups downloads by the website they came from.

Questions

Where do files save by default on Windows 11?
Documents for most apps, Downloads for browsers, and Pictures\Screenshots for screenshots taken with Win+PrtScn. With OneDrive backup on, these folders live inside your OneDrive folder.
How do I search for files modified today?
In File Explorer's search box type datemodified:today. You can also use yesterday, this week, last week, this month or a date range.

Every file you own, easy to find.

Homedex is a visual file browser for Windows. Big previews, plain-English search, text inside screenshots, duplicate cleanup — all on your device.

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