You remember a presentation from the spring, but not its filename. Searching by properties is more useful here than making repeated guesses at the name. File type, date range, size, and available descriptions can narrow the field. Which properties are available depends on the format and search tool. Not every search automatically includes all attached drives or online-only material.
Choose the search scope first
Start where the file is likely to live: the relevant project, Documents, or a particular cloud area. Searching the whole computer can return many copies and temporary files. If the first scope fails, broaden it deliberately rather than continuing unknowingly inside a folder that is too narrow.
Make sure external drives are connected. A cloud service's own search may return different results from a local search. Windows also uses an index for files and their properties. A missing search result therefore does not by itself prove that the file was deleted.
Combine two or three clues
For example, filter to presentations first and then to a plausible date range. Size helps when looking for a large video; capture date or camera information may help with a photograph. Start with generous ranges so an imperfect memory does not exclude every result.
Distinguish creation, modification, and capture dates. These fields describe different events and may behave differently during copying or export. An author listed in document properties is not necessarily the person who wrote the latest contents. Metadata provides clues, not automatically reliable evidence.
Verify the result and improve future retrieval
Open the candidate and inspect its actual contents. Check its path and revision before editing or sending it. A similar preview may belong to an old version. If several copies appear, establish which location is authoritative first.
For important collections, add recognizable names or descriptions rather than depending entirely on automatically generated properties. Occasionally test whether your chosen search actually uses those details. Before external sharing, also consider which metadata travels with the file: information useful for internal searching is not always intended for every recipient.