What do you do if you don't remember the name of a missing file? Let's say you've created a PowerPoint show for parents of new students at your school. Now, a new student has enrolled, but you can't find the file and you've forgotten its name. You can use the wildcard and correct extension to conduct your search:
Go to Start>Search>All Files and Folders. In the blank beneath All or part of the file name, type *.ppt, and then click Search.

The asterisk (*) in *.ppt indicates that any combination of letters, numbers, and/or punctuation can appear before the period in the file you're looking for.

Note: You also can use an asterisk to fill in the blanks if you remember part of a file name, but not all of it. For example, if you know the Word document was called "Smith� something," because you always put your last name first in the file names of the worksheets you create, type Smith*.doc to find all the Word documents that start with the word Smith.

The .ppt specifies a search for PowerPoint files. So, *.ppt requests a search for all PowerPoint files.

The .ppt in the missing file name above is called an extension. All files have extensions indicating the program they were created in. Some commonly used programs and their file extensions are:

• .doc (Microsoft Word)
• .xls (Microsoft Excel)
• .txt (text file)
• .ppt (Microsoft PowerPoint)
• .wpd (Word Perfect)
• .cwk (ClarisWorks)
• .ins (Inspiration)

Next: More tips and tricks!