Searching Windows by File Type

I'm unsure what you are asking. Are you trying to sort or search for files with a specific type? If you are trying to search for a specific type (Like .JPEG ), why do you not wish to search by the extension?

Search, not sort; and searching by the extension in some cases will not get all of the files of the type (e.g., .JPEG misses the "JPEG Images" that are .JPG ), and in other cases will get too many files (e.g., .md in the Explorer search box will get not only "Markdown files", but "Access database files" ( .mdb )).

For the case of .JPG and .JPEG , since they are both technically .JPEG files. You can search using explorer by typing type:=.JPEG in the search box and it should find all .JPEG files, regardless of their extension

Sorry, I mistyped. Give type:.jpeg a try. I just tested it now and it returned both .jpg and .jpeg files.

2 Answers 2

A few things about Windows and the search function in the File Explorer:

1. Windows doesn't know about mime-types such as "JPEG Image" or "Markdown file" (or their respective (sub-/super-)types
2. The search is very powerful, if used correctly.

To answer your question:

To search for a specific extension (file type in Windows) use the search query:

• Search for all .md files and only those files (should be markdown files): type:".md" (remember the quotation marks, if you want an exact match)
• Search for all images: kind:=image (yes, you can search for this)
• You can combine all filters and search terms how you like it.

+1. Although you can search for some files regardless of the sub types. Not sure about all types, but some allow you to. Such as .JPEG , which will find all of the sub types such as .JPE .JPG .JFIF if you search with type:.jpeg Also, it does not seem quotations are required, but return the same result.

@CheesusCrust the quotation marks are required when searching for an exact match. Otherwise .mdb files (like the OP stated) are found.

Ah, I see. I thought the OP meant to find more rather than less. Whoops! Thanks for sharing the link too.

type:".md" did not work (false negatives - no matches) when I tried it on Windows 10 (in a folder with 11 .md files).

@GiantTree, as Peter Mortensen explains, type:".md" is not correct. It should be type:=".md" with an =. I'd suggest testing it, and then please update your answer.

To search in Windows using the "type:" syntax, you want to do

type:~ Note the tilde.

For example I wanted to find Word Documents, where if you're looking in explorer browser, the "Type" column will identify as "Microsoft Word Document", I used:

type:~"Microsoft Word Document"

The results returnd only Word Docs and even highlighted the text in the "Type" column.

I had tried repeatedly with type: and type:= to no avail, only the tilde ~ worked.

Hope this helps someone.