Ever download a document and edit it, save it and then lose your mind because you can't find it. This is because some applications, particularly web browsers, store these files in a temporary directory.

But you say, how come a search for files modified today can't find it?

These searches will not show hidden files be default

These searches do not search the temp folders

The directory structure in many systems (especially windows) is different ( a document may not be stored with a document extention (*.doc)

Solution:

Change your search to include "hidden files)

For internet files, these files may be linked to cached info from the webpage you downloaded them from. For example, in internet explorer, you would search the folder "C:\Documents and Settings\ \Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files" , sore by website, and you will probably find your file, with some bazar name like download_form.aspx.....doc.htm. It will be around the same size as the document you are looking for (a typical word or pdf doc is about 100K or more)

Hope this helps someone!