Set "Search Hidden Files and Folders" As Default in Windows XP
~~Vic
Ferri, WinTips and Tricks
Normally, in Windows XP Pro, if you use the Search and set the Advanced
Options to search for hidden files and folders, Windows will remember the
setting and keep it as your default until you change it again. However, this
may not always work. If you find that XP does not remember your search
preferences, here is a simple reg edit that will allow you to set your
preferences to default.
1. Click Start>Run and type regedit.
This will open up the Registry Editor.2. Use the plus signs to make your
way to this key
(keys are those yellow folder looking icons in the left pane):
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Explorer
3. Double click the Explorer key and look in the right hand pane for the
following values:
- CaseSensitive
- IncludeSubFolders
- SearchHidden
- SearchSlowFiles
- SearchSystemDirs
The above values are the advanced search options you set when you click
"More Advanced Options" in Windows XP Search (Start>Search>For Files Or
Folders>All Files and Folders>More Advanced Options) The options represented
by the values are obvious by their names except maybe for "SearchSlowFiles"
which represents the "Search tape backup" option.
You will notice that each value has a setting of 0 or 1.
1 selects the option, 0 deselects it.
To make any value the default, simply double click it and enter a value of
1.
Therefore, to make Search for Hidden files and folders the default, you
would set a value of 1 to SearchHidden and SearchSystemDirs. You'll probably
also want to make IncludeSubFolders the default if you find Windows doesn't
remember that option either.
If the above values do not exist, you may try creating them.
To create any value, right click an empty area in the right hand pane,
choose New>DWORD Value and name it with the value you wish to add. Then
double click your new value and enter 1 as the Data Value.
Reboot or log off and log in again for the changes to take effect.
If you find that the default values you set do not stick - that Windows
reverts back to the preset values each time you reboot - then here's a
workaround to ensure the values do stick. Create a reg file with the values
set to your preferences and place it in your Start Up folder. This way, each
time you reboot the search values will be reset to your preferences.To help make it easier for the novice, here is a reg file you can create by
copying and pasting the following lines into a new Notepad document and
saving it with a .reg extension, i.e.: search.reg
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Explorer]
"SearchSystemDirs"=dword:00000001
"SearchHidden"=dword:00000001
"IncludeSubFolders"=dword:00000001
"CaseSensitive"=dword:00000000
"SearchSlowFiles"=dword:00000000
Notice that to set your preferred values, all you need to do is change the
last digit of the dword entry to 1 or 0.
Again, 1 to enable, 0 to disable. Example dword:00000001 enables.
dword:00000000 disables.
Once you have the settings set to what you want, then save the file to a reg
file and place it in your Startup Folder.
The above sample reg code, if you notice, is set to search system and hidden
folders including subfolders.
Case sensitive and search tape drives are deselected.
<<<back to contents
Vic
Ferri owns the very popular
WinTips
and Tricks and
Registry Answers. Subscribe to either and receive free Windows and
Registry Tips. He is also in charge of the
Printing
Tips pages at Linda's Computer Stop. Vic has also created a
program which allows you to Lock & Hide desktop folders in Windows 9X/ME.
Read more and get the free demo
here. And, he now offers a service to
convert PowerPoint presentations to .exe files which can be viewed on
computers which do not have PowerPoint installed.
,
