How to Star Rate files in Windows 10?

Sometimes, your desktop setup may get too cluttered with files. You may not realize it in your day-to-day outings with the computer but files keep cascading one over the other to the point where you may begin to experience speed and smoothness issues with your PC. Thus, it may be helpful to flag and catalog files so as to keep them handy and be able to look for them whenever needed.

In Windows 10, using File Explorer which is the default file manager, you can mark files with a star rating and then look for them according to the ratings you have passed. This doesn’t directly act as a clearinghouse for unwanted files, but just helps you archive the necessary ones suitably.

Star Rate files on Windows 10

In order to rate files on a scale of 5 stars:

1. Open File Explorer on your computer.
2. Locate the file that you want to give a rating to and right-click on it.
3. From the list of options offered, look for ‘Properties’ and click on it.

This opens a dialog box for the selected file where you can see the various characteristics of the file; its format, size, location, etc.

From the options on the top, select Details.

Under the Description head of the Details category, you’ll find an option Rating, with 5 unselected stars.

Rate the file as you wish and apply the settings.

That’s all that you have to do in order to give a star rating to a file.

Users should keep in mind that while this functionality extends to most file formats on Windows 10, they may not be able to rate a few. While files in JPEG and MP4 formats have carried this feature across almost all versions of Windows, PNGs, and GIFs can still not be graded on a 5-star scale using the above method.

Search files by Star rating

After having graded the files, you can shortlist them using a keyword search on File Explorer. All you have to do is open File Explorer and in the search pane type ‘Rating:’ followed by the stars corresponding to which you want to look for files.

In the aforementioned case, I have given 5 stars to a sample file, so my search for it will constitute the keyword ‘Rating: 5 stars’. Upon searching this, the 5-star rated file shows up.

I hope this process will help you organize your setup and look for particular files in a more efficient manner.

Read next: How to change the Scrollbar width in Windows 10.