How to Find Files by Date Modified on Windows 11

Find Files by When You Last Worked on Them

When you can't remember a filename but know roughly when you created or edited it, date-based searching is the fastest way to find it. Windows 11 supports this in both Windows Search and File Explorer.

Method 1: Windows Search Date Filters

1. Press Win + S and type any relevant keyword (or leave it blank)
2. Click the Documents tab
3. A Date modified filter appears — click it to expand the options
4. Choose: Today, Yesterday, This week, This month, This year, or A long time ago

This quickly narrows hundreds of results to just the files from the relevant period.

Method 2: File Explorer Date Filter

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder you want to search
2. Click in the search bar (top right)
3. Type datemodified: followed by a date range

Examples:

• datemodified:this week — files modified in the last 7 days
• datemodified:last month — files modified last calendar month
• datemodified:6/1/2026..6/30/2026 — files modified between two specific dates (use your regional date format)

Method 3: Sort by Date Modified

In File Explorer, click the Date modified column header to sort all files in a folder by when they were last changed. Click again to reverse the sort (newest first). No typing required — just visual scanning.

Combining with File Type

You can combine date and type filters: search datemodified:this week kind:document in the File Explorer search bar to find only documents modified this week — narrowing hundreds of files to a manageable list.