Windows – How to view the full path in search results

file managementwindows 7windows-explorerwindows-search

<begin rant>

I really hate the way Search Results works in Windows 7.

You get something like this:

Enter image description here

…and, wanting to see the full path (why doesn't it show you that automatically, either by making that column wide enough by default or by showing a tooltip of the path when you hover?), I click where I estimate the invisible vertical line is (which worked in previous versions of Windows – why did they fix something that wasn't broken?!?), and that causes the file to open (opening a new instance of Visual Studio, which I definitely did not want). Change for change's sake is a "female dog" (no offense, Lassie)!

Even if you right-click the item and select Properties → tab GeneralLocation only shows a truncated version of a long file path.

What were they thinking?!?

</rant over>

So how can I view the full path in these search results?

Best Answer

The sort of view you're using just seems like a waste of space to me. Why not switch to Details view instead? That's what I use and I just add a path column when required.

To add a path column:

  1. Right click the column header, select More...

    right-click context menu for folder detail column headers

  2. Scroll down and check path.

    more options for columns in folder detail

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