Difference between kind and type in windows search : Windows Search, kind and type

In Windows Search, kind and type are two different properties used to categorize and filter files. Here’s how they differ:

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1. Kind (Broad Category)

• Refers to a general classification of files based on their purpose or content.
• Helps in searching for files by category, regardless of their specific file format.

Examples:

Search Query	Result (Files Found)
kind:document	.docx, .pdf, .txt, .pptx, .xlsx
kind:music	.mp3, .wav, .flac, .aac
kind:video	.mp4, .avi, .mkv, .mov
kind:image	.jpg, .png, .gif, .bmp
kind:email	Outlook emails (.msg, .eml)

✅ Use Case: If you want to find any kind of document, you can just search kind:document instead of remembering all possible file extensions.

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2. Type (Specific File Format)

• Refers to the exact file format or extension of a file.
• Helps in searching for specific file types rather than broad categories.

Examples:

Search Query	Result (Files Found)
type:pdf	Only .pdf files
type:docx	Only Word documents
type:mp3	Only .mp3 audio files
type:xlsx	Only Excel spreadsheets
type:jpg	Only .jpg image files

✅ Use Case: If you specifically need only PDF files, you can use type:pdf instead of kind:document, which would show all types of documents.

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Key Differences in Windows Search

Feature	Kind	Type
Definition	Broad category of files	Specific file format
Example Query	kind:music	type:mp3
Search Scope	Finds all related file types	Finds only one specific format
Use Case	Searching for a general category of files	Searching for an exact file type

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Final Example: Combining Both

You can combine kind and type for better search results.

🔹 Find all Word documents:
👉 kind:document type:docx

🔹 Find all images, but only PNG files:
👉 kind:image type:png

🔹 Find all videos, but only MP4 files:
👉 kind:video type:mp4

 

Some advanced Windows Search tips and tricks to help you find files more efficiently:

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1. Basic Search Operators

Operator	Function	Example
" (Quotes)	Exact phrase search	"project report" (Finds files with this exact phrase)
OR	Find either one or another	report OR summary (Finds files with either word)
NOT	Exclude specific words	invoice NOT 2023 (Finds invoices but excludes 2023 ones)
* (Asterisk)	Wildcard for unknown characters	report*.docx (Finds all files starting with "report")
?	Wildcard for a single unknown character	f?le.txt (Finds file.txt, f1le.txt, etc.)

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2. Search by File Properties

Windows lets you search using specific properties like size, date modified, and author.

Property	Example Query	Result
Date modified	datemodified:>01/01/2024	Finds files modified after Jan 1, 2024
Size	size:>10MB	Finds files larger than 10MB
Author	author:John	Finds files created by John
Title	title:budget	Finds files with "budget" in their title
Folder Path	folder:C:\Projects	Searches only in C:\Projects

✅ Example: datemodified:lastweek kind:document
(Finds all documents modified last week)

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3. Searching by File Extension

Use ext: to find specific file types.

Query	Finds
ext:pdf	All PDF files
ext:jpg OR ext:png	All JPG and PNG images
ext:mp4 kind:video	Only MP4 videos
ext:zip size:>50MB	ZIP files larger than 50MB

✅ Example: kind:document ext:docx OR ext:pdf
(Finds all Word and PDF documents)

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4. Advanced Date and Time Search

Use specific date filters:

Query	Finds
datemodified:today	Files modified today
datemodified:thisweek	Files modified this week
datemodified:lastmonth	Files modified last month
datecreated:>01/01/2023	Files created after Jan 1, 2023

✅ Example: datemodified:>01/01/2024 kind:spreadsheet
(Finds all spreadsheets modified after Jan 1, 2024)

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5. Searching for Emails & Contacts (Outlook)

If you're using Outlook and have indexed emails, you can search:

Query	Finds
kind:email	All emails
kind:email from:john	Emails from John
kind:email subject:meeting	Emails with "meeting" in the subject
kind:contact	All saved contacts

✅ Example: kind:email from:manager subject:report
(Finds all emails from Manager with "report" in the subject)

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6. Combining Multiple Filters

You can mix multiple search filters for precision.

🔹 Find Word and PDF files modified in the last month:
👉 kind:document (ext:docx OR ext:pdf) datemodified:lastmonth

🔹 Find images larger than 5MB taken this year:
👉 kind:picture size:>5MB datecreated:2024

🔹 Find emails from a specific sender with an attachment:
👉 kind:email from:John has:attachment

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7. Using File Explorer's Search Tools

When searching in File Explorer, you can refine your search using the Search Tools tab:

• Date modified → Filter by date
• Size → Small, Medium, Large, Huge
• Kind → Document, Picture, Music, Video
• Other properties → Tags, Authors, etc.

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8. Using Search Indexing for Faster Results

Windows Search Indexing improves speed by pre-scanning files. To manage it:

1. Open Control Panel → Search for Indexing Options.
2. Click Modify and choose which folders to index.
3. Ensure important folders (e.g., Documents, Desktop) are indexed.
4. Click Advanced → Rebuild index (if search is slow).

✅ Tip: If you frequently search emails, add your Outlook PST file to the index.

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Final Thoughts

• Use kind: for broad categories.
• Use ext: for specific file extensions.
• Combine size:, datecreated:, and author: for better filtering.
• Enable Search Indexing for faster results.