How to Search for All Pictures on a Computer in Windows 7

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Microsoft Windows includes a powerful search tool -- Windows Search -- that can help you find anything on your computer, including pictures. Windows Search accepts various parameters so that you can customize your search and find only files of a specific type.

Step 1

Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

Click the Start button and then click Computer to launch Windows Explorer. Although you can search using the Search box in the Start menu, Windows Explorer supports the selection of specific folders and drives for your search, to narrow results.

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Step 2

Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

Select the partition or folder to search in from the left pane. To search the entire hard drive, select Computer. Type kind: (including the colon) into the Search box and then click Picture to search for all pictures on your PC. The images are displayed in the right pane.

Step 3

Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

Limit the number of search results and eliminate many of the images that came with the operating system or various applications by specifying the minimum and maximum file sizes.

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Type size:>xMB size:<yMB after the kind:=picture parameter and replace x and y with the minimum and maximum file size, respectively.

Step 4

Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

If you know approximately when the pictures were taken or downloaded, you can search by date. Type datetaken: after the kind:=picture parameter, and select a date or choose one of the other options -- Earlier This Year or Earlier This Month, for example.

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