Searches made in Windows Vista (where this file type is used) work because the Windows Search Index monitors changes made to files and stores those changes in a SEARCH-MS file, which is then used to quickly find those files throughout the computer. The file type is also used when a user saves a search to view the results later. These files are based on the XML file format, which means they are text files that contain just text entries.
How to Open a SEARCH-MS File
The tool that actually uses SEARCH-MS files is included in Windows Vista, so there’s no need to download anything to make the file work. Neither is there any reason to manually open a SEARCH-MS file for the intent of “running” or “starting” the file like you would with other types of files (like EXE application files or MP3 audio files). The SEARCH-MS files are stored in Vista in the %userprofile%\Searches folder. In it are various files that all have this file extension; named Everywhere, Indexed Locations, Recent Documents, Recent E-mail, Recent Music, Recent Pictures and Videos, Recently Changed, and Shared By Me. Opening any of those files will launch a search using those specific settings. For example, Recent Documents.search-ms will show your most recently used documents. Since they’re purely text files, you can use any text editor to open them, like Notepad in Windows.
How to Convert a SEARCH-MS File
Changing the file type of a SEARCH-MS file will make that particular search function cease to work. There shouldn’t be any reason to change the file extension or do a conversion to make the file work in Windows. The only scenario we can think of where someone would want to convert anything related to a SEARCH-MS file would be if when you run a particular search, it shows a file that you’d rather have in a different format. For example, maybe you run a saved search and it shows an MP4 on your desktop. Instead of converting the SEARCH-MS file, you’d want to convert the actual file you’re dealing with, the MP4 video in this case. There are lots of file converters that can do all types of conversions between formats.
More Information on SEARCH-MS Files
SEARCH-MS files look like folders, and they’re each labeled “Search Folder” in Windows Explorer as the file type. However, these are still files like any other. Indexing can be turned off in Vista by stopping the “Windows Search” service. This can be done through the Services shortcut in Administrative Tools. Some of the same SEARCH-MS files in Vista are available in newer versions of Windows, too, like, Windows 11, in the same %userprofile%\Searches folder. You’ll need to show hidden files and folders to see them. Windows 7 and newer also use this folder to store the similar SEARCHCONNECTOR-MS files. Remember that files that end with .MS are not the same as ones whose suffix is .SEARCH-MS. Look again at the sections above that talk about MS files if that’s the kind of file you’re needing to open.
