Does anybody know how to disable the web search capability of file explorer? Sometimes when I mistype something into the address bar of File Explorer, it will take whatever I typed in and search the term for bing (assuming whatever I typed isn't a path or a program).
Does anybody know how to disable this feature entirely, preferably through the registry?
Hi, looking at group policy (you may only have Home) this might be possible - however the wording is a little ambiguous given Cortana search and file explorer search. And whether it affects the address bar is another matter.
So just a first thought...
If you have Home you would need the registry equivalent.
If there is a tutorial on tenforums that addresses this, that would be quoted.
Unfortunately, this only affects the web search in the start menu; it doesn't affect the Windows File Explorer Address bar. I know this because I already have the setting disabled.
That's what I suspected.. the same question about the address bar has been asked over the years- the few instances I've found give no way to suppress it.
Hmm, does it do web search directly in Windows explorer or does it try to open the browser to complete the web search?
You can try it yourself- it opens a browser, having completed the http address in file explorer's address bar.
Some have looked at this as a form of autocomplete- I don't think it is.
Try typing
tenforums
there- assuming you have no such folder below where you are.
Even if it's not in the group policy editor, you can still use a registry key, which does work for start menu web searches (just not file explorer address pane):
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search]
"BingSearchEnabled"=dword:00000000
Turn On or Off Search online and include web results in Windows 10 | Windows 10 Tutorials
covers this.
Whilst the tutorial shows no exception, comments following it give one user's experience as finding it was not effective in 1803.
Why not just use the "Search Box". It only searches your file system starting from the directory that you have set ?
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