do the search in the Excel- File/Open/Tools/Find window

"Pete_UK" wrote:

Numbers are not stored in Excel in the way that we see them, so you
can't search for them reliably. If you set up the sheet to print the
date and time as a header or footer, and if your boss saves the file
after printing, then it might be more fruitful to do a search by date
saved.

Hope this helps.

Pete

On Nov 16, 10:59 pm, Bill Wilson .
(donotspam) wrote:
My boss has saved a lot of workbooks on his desktop--mostly budget scenarios
and financial statements. He prints out and saves hard copies, then he
forgets where the electronic file has been stored. I have tried to use the
Search feature in Windows Explorer to find a source worksheet from the hard
copy. I look for a unique number on the worksheet--say the grand total, which
is unlikely to be duplicated on any other worksheet--and then use the F3
Search feature in Windows Explorer to find this file. "Search for files or
folders named" = *.xls ; "Containing" = $222,321.19 (i.e. the grand total)
and I search through all of the files on his desktop.

Sometimes the search will return a list of files, sometimes not. It must
depend upon the format of the number. Has anyone ever used this technique,
or does anyone have a tip they could share? My boss is pretty set in his
ways, so I am looking for a way to solve the problem he has created, not to
change his ways. Thanks for your help!

Bill Wilson