S-IT FileFinder

Overview

S-IT FileFinder helps you find files on your local PC – even if all you remember is a fragment of the name, a rough date or the file type. The search runs directly on the file system, without an index service, and covers either all selected drives at once or one specific folder. Result lists can be sorted, saved and loaded again later, and selected files can be copied, moved or sent to the Recycle Bin straight from the tool.

User interface NEW

On the left is the dark sidebar, which you use to switch between the areas of the program. To its right is the light content area with the boxes for search criteria, search scope and Folder only, followed by the search buttons and the result list. At the very bottom is the footer with the link to the website and the language that is set.

Sidebar

Entry	Function
Search	The normal file search by name, extension, date and size. The program starts in this view.
Large files	Finds the 100 largest files in the search scope (see the section Large files).
Results Manager	Opens the window with all saved results for loading, viewing and deleting (see below).
Settings	Opens the settings for display (scaling, advanced filters at startup), default sorting, language and colour scheme. All settings are stored in the file FileFinder-config.ini – there is no need to edit the INI by hand.
Help	Opens this help file in your default browser.

At the top right, above the boxes, is the button Clear fields. It resets all input fields and empties the result list of the current view.

Search criteria

The search criteria are in the top box with the green background.

Basic search

Field	Meaning & examples
File name contains	One or more name fragments, separated by spaces. The search is not case-sensitive. Example: Werner Schmi → finds all files containing both werner and schmi in the name.
File type / extension	File extension with or without the dot. Examples: jpg  ·  .pdf  ·  docx

Advanced filters

The advanced filters can be shown or hidden with the F11 key or the button Advanced filters (date, size) ▾ to the right of the “File type / extension” field. Whether they are visible at startup is set in Settings. The window grows when they are shown, but never beyond the taskbar. If there is not enough room, a scroll bar appears on the right.

Field	Meaning & examples
Created date from / to	Narrows the search by the date the file was created. Format: DD.MM.YYYY  ·  Example: 01.01.2023 to 31.12.2023
Modified date from / to	Narrows the search by the date of the last edit/save. Useful for finding recently edited documents. Format: DD.MM.YYYY
File size (MB) from / to	Limits the file size in megabytes. Both fields are optional.

Search scope: drives or folder

The blue-grey box Search scope shows all detected drives as check boxes. With All every drive is checked or unchecked at once; any combination of individual drives is possible.

Below it is the white box Folder only. If a folder is entered there (select it via Browse… or type it in directly), only this folder is searched. The drives in the box above are greyed out, all check marks are removed, and the note “With a folder entered, only this folder is searched.” appears next to them. With ✕ to the right of the field or via Clear fields the field is emptied and the previous drive selection returns.

Include subfolders NEW

Below the folder field is the check box Include subfolders. It can only be clicked when a folder is entered.

• Checked (default): the folder is searched including all its subfolders.
• Not checked: only the files directly in this folder are searched. Subfolders are left out.

The setting applies to the normal search and to Large files. It is saved with the result and restored when the result is loaded from the Results Manager. Clear fields checks the box again.

Search and Cancel

Button	Function
Search	Starts the search with the current criteria. Hits appear as they are found. Alternative: Enter in the field “File name contains” or “File type / extension”.
Cancel	Stops a running search immediately. Hits found so far remain visible.

To the right of the two buttons are the status line and the progress bar (see Status line & progress bar).

Large files NEW

Clicking Large files in the sidebar switches to a view of its own for tracking down space hogs. The box with the search criteria is hidden there, because only the size counts. Search scope, Folder only and Include subfolders apply as in the normal search.

The button Find 100 largest files searches the search scope and shows the 100 largest files, biggest first.

Result list

Found files are shown with file name, size, modified and created date and path. The list scrolls; column widths can be adjusted with the mouse.

Sorting

Clicking a column header sorts the list by that column; clicking again reverses the direction (arrow ▲/▼). Size is sorted correctly by bytes, dates by their real timestamp – not by the displayed text. Which sorting is applied automatically after a search is set in Settings (default: Modified, newest first).

Double-click

Opens the folder containing the file in Windows Explorer – with the file selected.

Multiple selection

With Ctrl individual rows are added to the selection, with Shift whole blocks. The selection is the basis for the action window (copy / move / delete, see below).

Right-click – context menu

Menu item	Action
📂 Open folder in Explorer	Explorer opens the folder with the file selected.
▶ Open file	Opens the file with its associated default program.
📋 Copy path	Copies the full file path to the clipboard.
🔧 Selection: copy / move / delete …	Opens the action window for all selected files (see below).

Action window: copy / move / delete

Select one or more files in the result list and choose “🔧 Selection: copy / move / delete …” via right-click. The window Action with selection opens and lists the selected files – all actions run inside the tool itself, without calling Explorer, with their own progress bar.

Button	Behaviour
Copy …	Asks for a destination folder and copies the selection there. The result list stays unchanged.
Move …	Moves the selection to the destination folder. Moved files disappear from the list.
To Recycle Bin	After a confirmation, puts the selection into the Windows Recycle Bin – so it is recoverable, not permanently deleted. Deleted files disappear from the list.

Saving results & Results Manager

Below the result list there are two buttons on the right. Both store the result in the fixed folder FileFinder-Suchen\ next to the program – each as a loadable file (.ffs) and as an HTML report for viewing.

Button	Function
Save result	Saves the current result quietly (for the Results Manager).
Result report	Saves the result and opens the HTML report in your browser right away – for viewing, printing or sharing. The report header shows under Search scope where the search ran – the drives, or the folder path for a folder search.

Results Manager

The entry Results Manager in the sidebar opens a window with all saved results (date/time, hits, search term, search scope), newest first. For a folder search, the search scope shows the folder path.

Button	Function
Load	Brings search criteria and result list back into the main window (double-click works too). For a saved folder search, the folder and the check box “Include subfolders” are restored as well. A large-files result appears in the Large files view, a normal search in the Search view.
Open HTML	Opens the HTML report of the selected result in your browser.
Delete	After a confirmation, deletes the selected saved results (multiple selection possible).
Delete from–to	Deletes all saved results within a date range. You choose start and end from two lists in the window that follows.

Settings

The entry Settings in the sidebar opens the Settings window with four boxes. All settings are stored in FileFinder-config.ini – no manual work on the INI is needed. Clicking the flag and language code at the bottom right of the footer also opens the settings.

Setting	Meaning
Scaling	Display size from 90 % to 200 %. The level applies regardless of the scaling set in Windows: at 100 % the program is shown at 100 %, even if Windows is set to 125 %. A change takes effect after restarting the program – after saving, the program offers the restart directly (the program only, not the PC).
Show advanced filters (date/size) at startup	Sets whether the advanced filters are visible when the program starts.
Default sorting	Column (file name / size / modified / created / path / none) and direction (descending / ascending) by which the list is sorted automatically when a search finishes.
Language NEW	The field with the flag and the language name opens a selection window with all available languages. Clicking a language selects it; a change takes effect after the offered restart of the program.
Colour scheme NEW	Colours of the interface in five schemes (see the section Colour scheme). A change takes effect after the offered restart of the program.

Save applies the settings, Cancel or ESC closes the window without changes.

Colour scheme NEW

In the Colour scheme box of the settings you choose the colours in which the interface appears. Five schemes are available:

• Standard: dark blue-grey sidebar, light content area.
• Soft light: light blue-grey sidebar with dark text, light content area.
• Muted (default): dark grey sidebar and a slightly greyer content area – less contrast than Standard.
• Strongly muted: in addition, the boxes and the result list in shades of grey; the text stays dark.
• Dark: dark surfaces with light text, comparable to the dark mode of Windows.

A changed colour scheme takes effect after the restart that the program offers after saving – as with scaling and language. The button Reset colours sets the selection back to Muted; Save applies it.

Languages NEW

From version 2.0 on, FileFinder speaks 18 languages: German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Danish, Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian, Montenegrin, Slovenian, Albanian, Romanian, Turkish, Bulgarian and Macedonian. The language is chosen in Settings and, after the program restarts, applies to the whole interface – including all messages and the HTML result report.

This help is available in German, English, French and Spanish; the language bar at the top of every page switches between them. For all other languages, the entry Help opens the English version.

Keyboard shortcuts

Key	Function
F11	Show / hide the advanced filters (in the Search view).
Enter	Start the search (when the cursor is in the field “File name contains” or “File type / extension”).
ESC	Quit the program, or close an open window.

Status line & progress bar

While the search is running, a progress bar moves to the right of Search and Cancel, and the status line above it shows the progress. When it finishes, the total count appears; skipped folders without access are mentioned as well, e.g.: ✔ Search finished — 47 hits (3 folders without access)

Tips & notes

System requirements

Operating system	Windows 10 / 11
Python	3.10 or newer (only for the .py version)
Dependencies	Python standard library only (tkinter, os, threading, ctypes …)
Permissions	No administrator rights required; locked folders are skipped