Documents in Taskbar Search results open in Explorer

yatiya · 06 Oct 2017

Hello again

I'm having a weird problem. Suddenly, whenever I search for a document of any kind (xls, docx, pdf, doesn't matter), using the Taskbar Search, the document will open in File Explorer when i click it, rather than the program that's supposed to open it.

For example, I'll search for "Invoice", and it will bring up all the files (no problem with actual search), but they won't have the Excel icon next to them, rather they have a Blue monitor icon, and when I click one, Explorer opens.

I've checked file associations, and they are fine. Also, if I click a file in File Explorer itself, the correct program opens.

Thanks for the help!

dalchina · 06 Oct 2017

Suddenly

- so does using a system restore point help?

yatiya · 06 Oct 2017

dalchina said:

- so does using a system restore point help?

Well this is embarrassing. I don't have any!!😭

dalchina · 06 Oct 2017

There won't be any unless you've enabled it...

Try creating a new user just for test purposes, and see what happens.
If the same, it's probably a Windows (general) issue; if not, it's related to the particular user profile/what's running.

Do you know what the last change was you made before this started happening?

yatiya · 07 Oct 2017

OK, so I kinda solved the problem. I rebuilt the Windows Index.

But, this left me with another problem! Seems Windows was relying on an old index. Now, I moved my User folder locations from the default, to a secondary drive (followed the right procedure by going to folder properties, location, move).

However, now those folders aren't being indexed! If I open Indexing options, modify, and click users, navigate to my profile, Documents, Pictures, Videos, Downloads, Music aren't listed (those are the folders I relocated).

Any thoughts?

PS The file behaviour in Search is now sorted - correct program opens for each type (but obviously only files that are in locations other than the one above show up in search)

dalchina · 07 Oct 2017

It's true that occasionally the index may be corrupted or that indexing gets stuck trying index a damaged file.
You perhaps need to ask yourself why the index hadn't been updated, although that may be historic. It could be worth running chkdsk
- admin command prompt, chkdsk C: /F
for C: e.g.

Had you relocated user folders before or after you noticed the problem you initially reported?

I've relocated my Desktop (so if any maintenance work is needed on my OS, that isn't affected).
(I've not relocated others, like Documents, because they get filled with folders created by installed programs, so I have my own folders on another drive for Photos, Documents etc - as the only user I'm not bothered about ownership issues. That also means the data is divorced from the OS).

If I type
%userprofiles%/desktop
in explorer, my desktop on E: displayed, as it should be.Now I also have that included in Indexing Options.
Try adding your new locations in Indexing Options and let the indexing occur (you can watch the number of indexed items increase).

(Looking in my original Desktop folder I find a file created by running SFC /SCANNOW created much more recently than the change in desktop location- which suggests that function at least has the location hard coded and does not respect the change - something to beware of).

yatiya · 07 Oct 2017

So my secondary drive isn't even showing in the indexing options. I suspect it has something to do with corrupt permissions.
Any idea how i can reset those to default? I think it's because i reinstalled windows.

dalchina · 07 Oct 2017

Can you view folders on that drive in file explorer?

I think what I'd suggest is to back up that drive's contents, then restore your user folder to default (see relevant tutorials), reformat it and restore data.

That would be the absolute safest option.

Then see if it can be seen in indexing options.

yatiya · 07 Oct 2017

Dalchina, thanks for all your help.
I ended up doing my second clean install of win 10 in 2 days! No idea what went wrong with the first one, but besides this issue it was also giving me problems with not showing images on the lock and log in screen (exhausted trying all the fixes on the net!)
This install seems to have everything working fine.
Fyi: I see on this install how the index is supposed to behave. Once you redirect the user folders, they appear independently in the Index, not under Users.

bro67 · 07 Oct 2017

yatiya said:

Well this is embarrassing. I don't have any!!

Skip the whole restore point, since it is pointless and will not resolve how you are searching. When you do a search, you have to tell it like speaking to a teenager. If you want "Invoices" and looking for a keyword, you have to place those keywords into the property for the file. If you are looking for a filename, you have to enter the search as: invoice*.* That will search for the word "invoice and then search for any files with anything after and file extensions. You are doing a Boolean Search and have to use Wildcards if you want to find a group of files. There are way better programs out there that keep track of files that you keep in a folder or subfolders, along with you need to start using keywords inside of files.