Perhaps one of the most frustrating aspects of using Windows 11 is it's perpetually confused native search feature. It is truly one of the features that makes one consider a full OS swap, and many UI designers are of the opinion that it's a masterclass in bad user experience.

The more deeply you look into it, the more problematic it seems. Functionally, the search feature fails three of the most crucial aspects of UX design as highlighted by the Nielsen Norman Group. It increases memory load, its search functionality has a higher cost than navigation, and is generally bad for users who are not accustomed to its quirks. Thankfully, Windows overcomes this by being extremely customizable, and I've found that Everything by voidtools to be one of the best alternatives out there.

Everything saves me a lot of time

Reducing micro friction helps me tap into the 'flow state'

When you first launch Everything, you'll notice that the interface isn't all that different from Windows 10 File Explorer. Make no mistake here, as this layout is intentional, primarily because it is what most users are already familiar with. The key differentiator is the search bar that you'll find on the top.

The reason why the search bar outclasses Windows' native search function is because it's more far-reaching in terms of what it indexes. Whenever you begin a search, everything, from your boot drive to the USB stick that's plugged into your PC can be indexed, and the results will display exactly what you're looking for. Unlike Windows Search, this interface will not bother to fetch web search results or applications on the Microsoft Store that share a similar name with the item you're looking for, perhaps because the app and the developers have no desire to sell you a solution. While this basic functionality alone makes it better than the native feature that comes with your OS, there are a few other things I like Everything for.

I can look for specific file types

You can include .jpg, .pdf, .dll or any other extension as a parameter

Sometimes it happens that you're looking for a file, but you have a folders, applications, and sometimes entire directories sharing the same with it. I've faced this problem when searching for .DLL files while modding specific games, and when it comes to modifications, you have to be precise about which file you're changing, or you risk running into some nasty errors.

There's no comparably convenient feature that Windows (or, as a matter of fact, other major operating systems like macOS) currently has natively that allows you to filter your search results this way, and that's why I find myself using the filters feature on Everything often.

It gets better with power tools

You can make it more usable through PowerToys

A very common gripe that I used to have with third-party alternatives that solve the problems Windows created (or couldn't address) was the fact that they weren't as accessible as the native features. Windows Search can be summoned with a cursor scroll down to your taskbar, but to use Everything you'd be launching an application to find the file you're looking for, which makes it a little redundant and induces some of the friction it was meant to eliminate.

That's why I decided to use PowerToys to map a custom shortcut to launch the application. For example, my custom command to launch the utility is Windows + Alt + S, which instantly brings me to the UI. In the context of the time cost, it only saves me a second, but considering how often I find myself looking for image files scattered across my desktop, it would be safe to assume that I have saved at least a few hours through this.

It's deceptively simple to map a shortcut, too. You can do this in a few simple steps.

1. Download and launch Microsoft PowerToys.
2. Go into Keyboard Manager.
3. Scroll down and select Remap a Shortcut.
4. Select the program and simply designate a key combination that you desire.

Everything is better than Windows Search

At this point, the jokes and puns at the expense of Windows' native features write themselves, and they are generally funny because they have some truth to them. If you gave Everything a go and didn't quite like the feel of it, there are other alternatives that you can look into, such as Fluent Search, which looks and feels like the macOS Spotlight Search feature (albeit with much greater customizability and usability) or you can use WizTree for its extensive scanning capabilities to hunt down ghost files hogging up your storage. As always, it comes down to your preferences and your choice of interface, but you can't really go very wrong with any of the alternatives listed here.