File explorer search - moved files still visible


  1. Posts : 14
    Win10
       #1

    File explorer search - moved files still visible


    Win 10

    I'm in file explorer and go to a directory that has several subdirectories. I want to see a list of all text documents in this directory hierarchy, so in the search bar, I type:
    .txt
    After a few seconds, the list of text documents comes up. One by one, I drag them to where they're supposed to be (outside of this directory, but on the same drive). They *do* move and are no longer in their original directories, but the file stays on the search list that I brought up. I don't know why, and it seems that as I move them, they should disappear from that list. I'm hoping there's an option I can change to correct this.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 16,970
    Windows 10 Home x64 Version 22H2 Build 19045.4170
       #2

    Right-click in a blank area of the search results and select Refresh.
    If that does not work then you could rebuild the search index but that's time-consuming.
    Rebuild Search Index - TenForumsTutorials


    Best of luck,
    Denis
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 14
    Win10
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Thanks, but that's not what I'm looking for. Let's say there are 20 files that show up. It took a while for the search to find them all. When I see each one, I know where it should go and I move it there. Now I can look at the list again and decide what I want to move next. Having to re-search after every move seems absurd. This didn't happen in Win7.

    Will rebuilding the index (regardless of the time involved) solve this problem forever, or would I have to do this every time?
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 43,114
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #4

    Hi, if I search for a file in the folder I have open, with the search result in one f. explorer window, and then drag it to another f. explorer window (move), it takes a second or so for the first window to refresh.

    However, if I have file explorer open at, say, My PC and search for a file in, say, Documents simply by file name, and then move that file to a non-indexed external drive X, then, oddly, the file is still shown in the original file explorer window, but if I examine its properties, it is now shown in X.

    Watching Indexing Options during this, the number of indexed items drops almost immediately the item is moved - i.e. rebuilding the index will not help you if that's what happens in your case.

    I think you will find this refresh problem (which in the case I've described is NOT a matter of refresh) is one that has plagued a good many, and to be honest, I don't recall seeing any one simple solution. That's not to say there isn't one.

    Question: search aside, if you move a file from a list (not search results) shown in file explorer, does the list refresh quickly?
    Last edited by dalchina; 14 Mar 2023 at 08:24.
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 14
    Win10
    Thread Starter
       #5

    dalchina said:
    Hi, if I search for a file, with the search result in one f. explorer window, and then drag it to another f. explorer window (move), it takes a second or so for the first window to refresh.
    I tried both ways and the problem exists on both. I tried waiting 15 seconds and it never disappears from the search list.

    dalchina said:
    Question: search aside, if you move a file from a list (not search results) shown in file explorer, does the list refresh quickly?
    Just moving files from one directory to another (no search) works fine. It immediately disappears from the source directory.

    Thanks for your reply
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 43,114
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #6

    Thanks, please see modified reply above where I've described an experiment I've just tried.
      My Computers


 

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