file extensionfile searchsearchwindows 7windows-search
I cannot for the life of me figure out a way to have Windows 7 Explorer search for files with no extension. In XP it was nice and simple: just search for files named *. but in 7, that does not work and returns all files, as does ext:..
Searching has become extremely burdensome in Windows 7. Does anyone know how to perform this previously simple task?
It seems there is a problem with Windows Search reading the format of the file, even when set in plain text. It is a known problem and has even been brought up here on Superuser!
My best recommendation for now is to use a program that can search the contents of files. It may not be as fast as having them indexed, but hopefully it can get the job done for you.
Four great tools I recommend:
Agent Ransack (freeware):
NirSoft SearchMyFiles (freeware and portable):
Portable File Seeker (freeware):
Doh, I stumbled upon the answer after consulting the Advanced Query Syntax reference again. Searching for filename:.#* gives me the XP search behavior.
Best Answer
According to MSDN, the nothing character is
[]. So press F3 and enterext:[].