F5F Stay Refreshed Software Operating Systems It looks like Windows 11 Search Bar can't find your GIMP .xcf file.

It looks like Windows 11 Search Bar can't find your GIMP .xcf file.

It looks like Windows 11 Search Bar can't find your GIMP .xcf file.

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ProDexorite
Junior Member
21
10-25-2026, 12:33 PM
#1
For years, since Windows 8 came out, I've used Classic Shell to get that old-school Windows 7 feel we all know and love. With that setup, I could find any file like floor plans from 2022.xcf by pressing the Windows key, typing "floor plans 2022.xcf", and hitting enter to open it in Gimp.

Recently, I re-imaged my computer to Windows 11 Pro and tried giving the default search a try. When I search for floor plans or even just ". xcf", nothing comes up. Searching for docx, jpg, or png works fine though. To be clear, I'm not looking for a preview image of an .xcf file; I just need to see if it exists so I can open it.

I checked the Indexing Options in Advanced and made sure File Types was on with "Index properties only" (and even set Contents to check). That done, nothing changed. Under Search settings, it shows 228218 Indexed files for that drive. But when I opened a file explorer and searched the root of that drive directly, there were actually 3884 .xcf files sitting there. It took about half a second to find them. This makes me wonder if the search tool just sucks at finding these specific things or if they aren't really indexed? Should I try reinstalling Open Shell?
P
ProDexorite
10-25-2026, 12:33 PM #1

For years, since Windows 8 came out, I've used Classic Shell to get that old-school Windows 7 feel we all know and love. With that setup, I could find any file like floor plans from 2022.xcf by pressing the Windows key, typing "floor plans 2022.xcf", and hitting enter to open it in Gimp.

Recently, I re-imaged my computer to Windows 11 Pro and tried giving the default search a try. When I search for floor plans or even just ". xcf", nothing comes up. Searching for docx, jpg, or png works fine though. To be clear, I'm not looking for a preview image of an .xcf file; I just need to see if it exists so I can open it.

I checked the Indexing Options in Advanced and made sure File Types was on with "Index properties only" (and even set Contents to check). That done, nothing changed. Under Search settings, it shows 228218 Indexed files for that drive. But when I opened a file explorer and searched the root of that drive directly, there were actually 3884 .xcf files sitting there. It took about half a second to find them. This makes me wonder if the search tool just sucks at finding these specific things or if they aren't really indexed? Should I try reinstalling Open Shell?

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RabbitKiller99
Member
140
10-27-2026, 09:35 AM
#2
When you see an .xcf file, you click on it and it opens in GIMP. That's right, isn't it? Does GIMP automatically show up when you press Windows Key plus 'I'? You can find the default apps by going to Settings > Apps > Default apps from there.
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RabbitKiller99
10-27-2026, 09:35 AM #2

When you see an .xcf file, you click on it and it opens in GIMP. That's right, isn't it? Does GIMP automatically show up when you press Windows Key plus 'I'? You can find the default apps by going to Settings > Apps > Default apps from there.

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ovcoming
Member
229
10-28-2026, 01:49 PM
#3
If I open my file explorer and look at the top of the drive, I find 3884 .xcf files. They all show up in about half a second when I do a search. This makes me think that .xcf files are actually indexed. So, are those .xcf files really just sitting right here at the root? Or are they scattered around in other places?
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ovcoming
10-28-2026, 01:49 PM #3

If I open my file explorer and look at the top of the drive, I find 3884 .xcf files. They all show up in about half a second when I do a search. This makes me think that .xcf files are actually indexed. So, are those .xcf files really just sitting right here at the root? Or are they scattered around in other places?

2
2anivb
Member
61
10-28-2026, 05:36 PM
#4
D: Floor Plans to be specific. Not every single 3884 .xcf file is a floor plan, but that's where the floor plans folder sits. The other .xcf files are all over different parts of the hard drive.
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2anivb
10-28-2026, 05:36 PM #4

D: Floor Plans to be specific. Not every single 3884 .xcf file is a floor plan, but that's where the floor plans folder sits. The other .xcf files are all over different parts of the hard drive.

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tommylapis
Member
55
Yesterday, 01:27 AM
#5
When you find an .xcf file, clicking it lets you open it with GIMP. Is GIMP actually the main program to handle .xcf files? If you press Win and then tap I (or click the search icon), look under the Apps section in the default settings menu.
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tommylapis
Yesterday, 01:27 AM #5

When you find an .xcf file, clicking it lets you open it with GIMP. Is GIMP actually the main program to handle .xcf files? If you press Win and then tap I (or click the search icon), look under the Apps section in the default settings menu.