search for just folders in windows explorer

Is there a way to search in windows explorer for just folders?

I know folders get sorted to the top, but I'm always looking for that extra option.


Solution 1:

In the Windows Explorer search pane make sure that More Advanced Options is expanded (not all versions of Windows require you to explicitly expand this).

Find the drop down marked Type Of File (it's normally the first advanced option), and choose Folder.

Your search results will now only include folders.

Edit: If you've got the dog "helping" you search, then you're in the basic search dialog and the above instructions might be wrong. The Type of File option likely exists here (you'll just have to look for it), but you're probably best of switching to "classic" search anyway.

Solution 2:

Some of the items on this page work in Windows 7, even though they are marked as "deprecated". So to search for folders X:

X kind:folder 

You'll notice that when you type kind: into the Windows 7 search box in windws explorer (the one at the right hand side, not the "address bar") you will see a list of the various "kinds"

And say you wanted to search for folders which started with a "." (dotfiles / dotfolders) (like those pesky .svn folders):

kind:folder filename:.svn

Solution 3:

In Windows 7 (might be the same in vista), add the following to the search:

type:"file folder"

eg: searchterm type:"file folder"

Solution 4:

To expand on Eppz's suggestion, to search for a folder called "tem*" (I've included a wildcard just as an example) somewhere on the C: partition use:

dir /s /d c:\tem*

JR