A wildcard is a special symbol that stands for one or more characters. This enables you to select multiple files with a single specification. In Windows we use the asterisk (*). This allows the user to have some advanced search strings which can be used to help search. Here are some examples of wildcards:

 

            m* - Will search for any file or folder starting with the letter “m” and ending with anything else (mysettings.inf, mouse.txt, minute.exe).

            *.exe – Will search for any filename ending in an exe extension. Any extension type can be used, for example, *.jpg, *.jpeg, *.bmp.

 

Here are some advanced wildcard searches.

            Mou*.ex*

            Jo*.

            Admin*r*s.*