FindInside
Search inside documents on Windows
License: Freemium. Freemium licensing: the software is available to download and use for personal purposes. A paid license is available for commercial use and unlocks the licensed experience.
FindInside is a free Windows file content search tool that helps you find information hidden inside your documents, folders, and files — including PDFs, Word documents, spreadsheets, and many more formats.
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Version: 2.4 (October 21, 2026)
Changes in v2.4: Insreased speed of scanning.
What FindInside does
- Search for text inside documents and other files
- Search inside PDFs, DOCX files, office documents, text files, logs, source code, and many other formats
- Finds files by actual document content, not only by file name
- Built-in text preview for found documents
- Highlights the searched phrase in the preview area
- Previous and next match navigation
- Search selected folders and subfolders
- Wildcard file name masks
- Date and file size filters
- Optional hidden file search
- Free for personal use
Search inside PDFs, Office documents, and text files
FindInside searches for words or phrases inside many document and data formats, not only in filenames. Search PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OpenDocument, RTF, TXT, CSV, XML, JSON, HTML, Markdown, source code, logs, configuration files, and other supported formats in the same search.
- Search document content across a wide range of formats
- Find matching files without opening them one by one
See the matching text right inside FindInside
A useful results list is only the beginning. Select a matching file to see its readable content in the built-in preview. FindInside highlights the searched text so you can inspect its surrounding context and move between occurrences without repeatedly opening files in other applications.
- Built-in readable text preview with highlighted matches
- Previous and next match navigation
Narrow your search with file masks
Use the filename filter and text-to-find field to focus on the files and content you need. Wildcard masks such as *.pdf, *.docx, *.txt, or *.log help you search relevant formats, while the text search looks inside matching documents instead of relying on their names alone.
- Wildcard filename patterns for selected extensions
- Search for a word, phrase, number, or code fragment
Choose which folders to search
Select the drives, folders, and subfolders that matter to your task. FindInside lets you target particular locations rather than searching your whole computer, making it useful for project folders, document libraries, archives, and other large collections.
- Select specific folders and subfolders
- Focus searches on the directories you need
Refine results by date and file size
Need a more precise search? FindInside includes date filters for created, modified, or accessed files, along with file-size conditions. You can also optionally include hidden files to control which items are considered during the search.
- Date and file-size filters for more relevant results
- Optional inclusion of hidden files
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