File Explorer search by filename does not work when attempting to paste a file

Question

File Explorer search by filename does not work when attempting to paste a file

Артур Гроховский 10

In build 28120.3181, a useful feature has disappeared: searching for a file by name in File Explorer when selecting a file to insert into an online message (for example, on social media).

In other words, searching by filename works when opening File Explorer directly, but the search function no longer works when attempting to open a file to insert it into a post.

It worked correctly in previous builds.

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Answer 1

Lychee-Ng 29,315 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Thanks for reporting this, Артур Гроховский.

Since the behavior seems to start after updating to build 28120.3181, it is reasonable to suspect that this may be a regression. Not to mention, Microsoft is also testing changes to Windows Search in this build, which makes your experience more relevant:

User's image

However, I haven't seen any mentions of this exact behavior yet. Given that you might be the first to notice this, consider reporting it through Feedback Hub (pressing Win + F) > Report a problem. Describe the issue, the details of what you are experiencing, and attach screenshots if possible.

Is the search field completely missing?
Is the search field there, but the search does not run?
Does the search run, but the file you are looking for does not appear?
Or do results appear, but they are incorrect or unrelated to the filename/search string you entered?

Microsoft Q&A is just a user-to-user support forum, so we cannot directly forward the report from here to the internal Windows team. However, keeping this post here can still be helpful, as other Insiders who notice the same behavior can confirm it and share what they are experiencing as well.

Артур Гроховский 10 Reputation points

2026-10-13T13:51:23.97+00:00
Hi, Lychee-Ng

Thank you for your answer.

"Does the search run, but the file you are looking for does not appear?"
Yes, exactly.

I have sent the report through the Feedback Hub as usually.
Lychee-Ng 29,315 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-13T14:04:53.3133333+00:00
Yeah, I hope it gets noticed soon. In the meantime, as a quick check, you can also try resetting the Windows Search index to see if it makes a difference:

Press Win + R > type control /name Microsoft.IndexingOptions > press Enter.

Select Advanced > under Troubleshooting, select Rebuild > click OK

Let Windows rebuild the index then restart the PC.

Test the file-selection search again.

Logically though, based on the article above, there seems to be some changes to Windows Search. I think this could be an unwanted result of that. Let's wait and see if other users see the same thing!