Searching every backup you have made
One search box over every file in every backup, answered from an index on this PC, so it works with the backup drive unplugged.
Find answers the question Restore cannot: which backup has it? Every file in every backup, from every job on every destination, is in one index on this PC. Type a name and the answer comes back whether the backup drive is plugged in or not.
Search#
- Click Find in the left rail. On that page, Ctrl+F jumps to the search box.
- Type at least two characters of the file or folder name, for example
invoice,2026-03or.psd.
Each row is one file, from one job, with its newest copy:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| File | the name, and a pill when its backup is out of reach right now |
| Original location | the folder it was backed up from |
| Job | the job that holds it |
| Backed up | how long ago the newest copy was made. Click it to list every version |
| Size | the file's size |
The line above the results counts the matches and the backups searched. With many matches it ends Showing the first 300 matches.: type more of the name, or add a filter.
Filters#
| Filter | Choices |
|---|---|
| Job | All jobs, or one job |
| Type | Any type, Images, Videos, Audio, Documents, Code, Archives, Mail, Programs & binaries, Other |
| Size | Any size, Under 1 MB, 1–100 MB, Over 100 MB, Over 1 GB |
| Availability | Any drive, Available now, On a disconnected drive, Removed sets |
| Modified from and to | two dates: the file's own modified date |
| Deleted from source only | files no longer where they were backed up from |
Deleted from source only and Removed sets also work with nothing typed in the box.
From a result#
- Restore… opens that backup with the file's folder open and the file ticked.
- A version under Backed up opens the backup with that date instead.
- Restore when plugged in… appears on a result whose drive is not connected. See Restoring from a drive that is not connected.
- Forget this set appears on a result whose backup is out of reach or removed. See The file index, and rebuilding it.
The cards below#
| Card | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Your file index | how many files in how many backups, how many are on drives that are not connected, when it was updated and its size on this PC |
| Deleted from source, still restorable | how many files you deleted that backups still hold, and when the first copy is due to go. Show them lists them |
| Storage per destination | your five largest destinations, each with its size, its number of backups and Connected or Not connected. Show all lists the rest |
To see one job's backups in date order, use Restore and click the job under Backups by job.
What the index holds#
File names, paths, sizes, modified dates, which backup holds each copy, and whether the file has since been deleted from the source. Never the contents of any file.
A backup is added to the index when it completes. When the background agent starts, every destination that answers is checked against the index. See The file index, and rebuilding it.