How can I search for content in a document?

How can I search for content in a document?

In Windows, files can be searched not only by their name, but also by their content – e.g. using Windows Explorer. So if you are looking for a Word document whose name has slipped your mind, proceed as follows:

1. Open the Windows Explorer.
2. Navigate to the folder in which you want to search.
3. In the search field at the top right, enter a keyword that appears in the content of the document.
4. Click Enter – Windows will now show results containing this term.
5. For more precise queries, you can use search operators or filters according to properties such as file type or modification date.

This works particularly well with Word or text files, but also with PDFs or PowerPoint files, depending on the indexing. However, specialized enterprise search solutions offer significantly better search options. For example, more data sources (network hard disks, databases, intranets & websites, etc.) can be searched. The content search is also more intelligent with such company-internal search engines and works using AI to find the desired documents based on their content.

What are enterprise search solutions?

Enterprise Search stands for professional search engines that search large volumes of company data quickly and precisely. They make it possible to find documents, emails, databases and websites simultaneously – based on their content, not just the file name.

Why are special search engines important for companies?

Company-internal search engines save time, reduce duplication of work and help to quickly access knowledge within the company – especially with large amounts of data.

What are full-text search engines?

Full-text search engines allow you to search within the content of a document – not just in the title or metadata. Unlike a simple file search in Windows, these tools also recognize synonyms, related terms or typing errors. They are particularly suitable for companies that have to manage many documents and want to find content efficiently.

How does Enterprise Search work?

A powerful enterprise search tool like searchit makes data findable in several steps:

• Crawling: Files and content in the data storage sources (e.g. network hard disks) are recorded. This enables automatic searching of files, websites, databases, cloud storage and other storage sources.
• Indexing: The content is prepared and made searchable. This means structuring the data found so that it can be quickly retrieved later.
• Understanding content: Modern enterprise search solutions recognize topics, categories and correlations.
• Search query: Users enter a search term or phrase to find documents.
• Ranking: The displayed results can be sorted according to relevance, frequency, topicality or user behavior.

Enterprise search and AI

Modern enterprise search software relies on artificial intelligence to make search results more intelligent. Here are some features:

• Semantic search: Understands the context behind the user’s query and the document content. This allows more relevant documents to be displayed.
• Synonym recognition: Also finds related terms such as “contract” when “agreement” is entered, or “information technology” when “IT” is entered.
• Fuzzy Search: Automatically recognizes typos or similar spellings.
• Topic recognition: Groups documents according to content categories using AI – for example, documents can be filtered by the user according to automatically recognized topics.
• Generative AI / Chatbot: Provides direct answers instead of just a list of files and therefore offers a more interactive search experience.

Tips: What is the best way to use search engines?

To ensure that your search is successful, please note the following tips:

• Use precise keywords from the content, not just the title or file name.
• Use filters according to file type (e.g. *.docx or *.pdf).
• Click on advanced search options to search for properties such as creation date.
• Combine terms: e.g. contract AND 2024.
• Use professional tools for extensive databases.
• Examples of search syntax can be found in the searchit Helpcenter.

List of the best enterprise search providers

If you regularly have to search through a large number of files and documents, a professional tool is worthwhile. Here is our top selection:

1. searchit – Powerful enterprise search platform with AI-powered search.
2. Microsoft Search – Integrated in Microsoft 365, ideal for Word, Excel and Teams documents.
3. Elasticsearch – open source, very flexible, particularly popular with tech teams.
4. Lucidworks Fusion – For companies with high data volumes and analysis requirements.

Whether on network hard disks, websites or databases in the company – if you know how to search for content in a document with an enterprise search engine, you will save time and increase your productivity. Use the right tools, formulate your queries clearly and use modern search technology – then you will find exactly the document you need.