This browser is no longer supported.
Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support.
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(128, 8%, 22%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EA%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What is the Purpose of the "searches" folder?
I've asked this question before, but the reply was not accurate; it referred to icons that are not present. What is this thing? It appears to contain an astrnomical number of files, in the tens of thousands. Can they be deleted safely?
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
hello jcgiglio, and welcome to the Microsoft form
the purpose of the folder is to make your searches fast by logging places you have visited, just like clearing the preflog it is not recommended, but it will regenerate itself, by deleting this item you computers search function will slow down considerably and it may have an adverse affect on your system where the system is searching for your personal settings and preferences
but technically speaking yes it can be delegated safely
good luck
I am sceptical that this folder plays any part in indexing files. All files in locations to be indexed are indexed, not just those that the user has searched for. It is the indexing of files that improves the speed of finding a file when the user searches, not the existence of a shortcut that was created when the user has looked for a file in the past.
The folder contains shortcuts to search results. You can revisit the file by clicking on the shortcut. The total space usage, notwithstanding the number of shortcuts, is tiny. My folder is 20 kb. You can delete the contents if you wish. I suppose someone investigating the files accessed could gather information if they wanted.
The folder contains shortcuts to search results. You can revisit the file by clicking on the shortcut. The total space usage, notwithstanding the number of shortcuts, is tiny. My folder is 20 kb. You can delete the contents if you wish. I suppose someone investigating the files accessed could gather information if they wanted.
The things listed in "searches" are not shortcuts; they're actual files, and when I delete one of them, it actually disappears from its folder.
Shortcuts are files!
