Browse and search your files —
faster than Explorer.
A lightweight, portable file explorer with fast filename search — plus real search inside your Excel, Word, and PDF files. No install needed.
Windows Explorer++ or Windows Search — why not both?
Windows' built-in Explorer is fast for browsing but only searches filenames. Windows' native Search can search file content too, but it's slower to set up per-folder and isn't portable. ToolBox Explorer combines both: a fast, lightweight browser, plus a real search index — filenames and content inside .xlsx, .docx, and .pdf files — all in a single portable .exe, no installation required.
Everything you need, nothing you don't.
Search inside files
Finds text inside .xlsx, .xlsm, .docx, and .pdf files — not just filenames, like Windows Search.
Details view browsing
Clean list view with Name, Date modified, Type, and Size — grouped and sortable, with a folder tree.
File operations
Copy, move, rename, and delete — right-click or keyboard shortcuts, just like Explorer.
Keyboard shortcuts
Delete, F2, Ctrl+C/X/V, Enter, F5, Backspace — all the shortcuts you already know.
Portable
Single .exe file. No installer, no registry changes. Run it from anywhere, even a USB stick.
Lightweight
No thumbnails, no real-time file watching, no background services running.
Free forever
No subscription, no premium plan, no paywalls. Built for personal use and kept free.
Simple as 1, 2, 3.
Download & run
Grab the .exe from GitHub Releases and run it — no installation needed. Browse mode works immediately.
Pick a folder & re-index
Before using Search for the first time: select a folder, switch to Search mode, then click Re-index. A progress bar shows how far along it is.
Search everything
Search by filename or by what's actually written inside your Excel, Word, and PDF files.
⚠️ Search only works after indexing — searching a folder before you've indexed it returns no results. Re-index again any time files in that folder change; the index doesn't update automatically.
Works the way you already do.
Your files never leave your PC.
ToolBox Explorer runs entirely on your machine. The search index is stored locally at %USERPROFILE%\.toolbox_finder\ — separate from the app itself, so rebuilding the .exe never affects your existing index. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is sent to any server.
Free forever. Always. ☕
This tool is free, and always will be. If it saved you time, a small coffee means the world. Thank you. 🙏
☕ Support on Ko-fi