Troubleshooting

Tern Files doesn't start or no window appears

Tern Files runs only once per user. If you start it while it is already running – for example invisibly in the tray after Start with Windows – the running copy brings its window to the front or opens a new one. If nothing appears:

1. Look for the Tern Files icon in the tray next to the clock (it may be under the small arrow for hidden icons) and click it.
2. If the icon is there but no window comes, right-click it › Exit, then start Tern Files again.
3. No icon either: open Task Manager, end Tern Files there if it is listed, and start it again.
4. Still nothing: run the self test described under Logs and data and write to support.

If Tern Files runs into an unexpected problem, it shows Something went wrong. Your files are safe; running transfers were saved and can be resumed. Click Open log folder and send the newest log file to support.

A damaged settings file does not stop the start: Tern Files then starts with the default settings and keeps the old file as settings.json.broken.

Folders open in Explorer

This applies to the version from ternfiles.com with Tern Files as default file manager switched on (Settings › Integrations). Some things open Explorer anyway, and that is expected:

• "Show in folder" in other programs, for example in the download list of your browser – Windows doesn't ask the default file manager for this. Take over Explorer windows (Settings › Integrations) brings these folders to Tern Files, too.
• Control Panel, Recycle Bin and Network from outside Tern Files are left to Explorer on purpose.
• Open and Save dialogs belong to Windows. Use the quick switch there.
• Now and then Explorer instead of Tern Files – if Tern Files isn't running and doesn't answer within 3 seconds, Explorer opens so you never wait. Nothing is changed. With Start with Windows Tern Files is ready at once.

To go back to Explorer, switch off Tern Files as default file manager. Tern Files then checks that Explorer is the default again and reports File Explorer is the default again (self test passed), or that it found and removed leftovers. If you uninstalled Tern Files without switching it off, its small starter notices that, opens Explorer and removes its own entries. If folders still don't open properly, write to support. More under Default file manager.

Search finds nothing or not everything

Instant search looks in an index of your drives, not in the folders themselves. When something is missing, go through these points:

1. Is the index ready? While Tern Files reads your drives for the first time, the status bar says Building index … – that takes a few minutes in the background. No index means there is none yet: open Settings › Search & index and click Rebuild index.
2. Too many filters? Look at the chips under Understood as and remove the ones you don't need with their ×. Fewer words or filters find more.
3. Is the place in the index? USB sticks and memory cards are not indexed, network drives only with Include network drives. Drives you switched off and Excluded folders don't show up. Tern Files' own index also leaves out the Windows folder, temp folders and browser caches. For such places, open the folder and filter it with Ctrl+F.
4. Does Everything deliver the results? The first line under Settings › Search & index tells you. Then Everything's own settings decide which drives and folders it knows. To use Tern Files' own index instead, quit Everything and click Rebuild index.
5. Results look outdated? Rebuild index starts from scratch.

Finding text inside files is a separate step – see Content search.

Content search or amounts missing

Finding text and amounts inside files needs the content index. Check these points:

1. Is reading contents on? If the search says "Read contents" is off – only names were searched., click Switch on, or switch on Also read contents under Settings › Search & index.
2. Is the file in a shared folder? Contents are read only in the Shared folders – preset are Documents, Downloads, Desktop and Pictures. Add the folder there.
3. Is reading finished? Settings › AI (local) shows Reading … 40 of 120 files while it works, and later how many documents are in the content index.
4. Can the file be read? Tern Files reads PDFs, Word, Excel and PowerPoint files (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx – not the old .doc and .xls), text files and pictures. It skips documents over 100 MB, pictures over 25 MB, files that are only online and tool folders like node_modules or .git.
5. Scans and photos are read with the text recognition of Windows, in the languages of your Windows profile; of a scanned PDF only the first three pages. If a photo is hard to read, no text and no amount are found.

Amounts appear in the Amount column. Search for them with amount:>100 or, with Natural language switched on, simply "invoices over 100 €". If results still look wrong, Clear cache under Settings › AI (local) reads everything again.

Tern Files feels slow

Tern Files does most of its work in the background. If it still feels slow, these are the usual reasons:

• Right after installing – the first start after an install or update can take longer because your virus scanner checks the new files. In the first minutes Tern Files also builds the search index (Building index … in the status bar) and, if switched on, reads contents. Both calm down once they are done.
• Folder sizes – counting big folders takes a moment; sizes marked with ≈ are still being checked. On huge or slow drives set Folder sizes to Local only or Off (Settings › Appearance).
• Thumbnails – if the grid view of big picture folders feels sluggish, switch off Thumbnails there.
• Git – in very large repositories switch off Git status in file lists (Settings › Integrations).
• Copying – Verify after copying reads every copy once more to compare it. Switch it off under Settings › Safety & history if speed matters more to you than the check.
• AI – without a suitable graphics card the model runs on the processor and needs longer. Meanwhile the search shows what its fast built-in rules understood.
• Network – network folders are only as fast as the connection; see Network drives.

If one action is always slow, send the log to support (see Logs and data) – it records, for example, how long the start took.

OneDrive and cloud files

Tern Files shows OneDrive and other cloud folders like Explorer does, and it never downloads files on its own.

• Status – at the right end of the name: a cloud means online only, a tick means the file is on this PC, a filled tick means it is always kept on this device.
• Keep or free up – right-click › Always keep on this device or Free up space. Your cloud app then downloads or frees the files. If Tern Files reports The cloud provider did not accept the change., check that OneDrive (or your cloud app) is running and signed in.
• Preview – for online-only files it shows Online only – download to view. Only a click on Download fetches the file.
• Opening an online-only file lets your cloud app download it, as in Explorer.
• Search finds online-only files by name. Their contents are never read, and duplicate search, checksums and AI tidy-up skip them. If you want their text to be searchable, keep the folder on this device and add it to the shared folders.
• Folder sizes – cloud folders are counted like local ones; for online-only files their size in the cloud counts, and nothing is downloaded for that.

Network drives

Network drives and shares like \\server\share work like local folders. Tern Files only accesses them when you open them.

• Connect – right-click a drive in the sidebar › Map network drive … opens the Windows dialog; if the share needs a user name and password, Windows asks for them there. Disconnect removes a mapped drive again.
• Not reachable – if a place doesn't answer within about 10 seconds, Tern Files shows This location doesn't respond. Check the network connection or try again later. and stays usable. Check the connection and open the folder again.
• Search – network drives are not in the index by default. Switch on Include network drives (Settings › Search & index); the first build takes longer. This covers mapped drives with a drive letter.
• Folder sizes – with the default Local only, network folders show no size, which keeps the network quiet. Choose Always if you need them.
• Deleting – network folders have no recycle bin. Tern Files warns with This location has no recycle bin and deletes for good only after you confirm.
• Copying – if the connection drops during a copy, the transfer waits and continues where it stopped once the drive is back.

Reset settings and start fresh

Most things can be reset right in the app:

• Shortcuts – Settings › Keyboard shortcuts › Reset all.
• First-start choices – Settings › General › Start setup walks you through the setup again.
• Explorer as default again – switch off Tern Files as default file manager under Settings › Integrations.

To put all settings back to their defaults:

1. Right-click the tray icon › Exit.
2. Open the data folder (see Logs and data) and rename settings.json, for example to settings-old.json.
3. Start Tern Files. It starts with the default settings and shows the setup again.

History, tags, workspaces, rules and your license stay. Saved searches, your own quick actions and changed shortcuts are part of the settings and start fresh too. To go back, exit Tern Files and rename the file back.

Don't delete the whole data folder: it also holds your history, tags and license and, if Tern Files is your default file manager, the small starter that opens your folders.

Logs and data

Everything Tern Files remembers is in one data folder on your PC: settings (settings.json), history, tags, workspaces and rules (roost.db), the search index, the AI model and the logs.

• Version from ternfiles.com: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Tern Files
• Microsoft Store version: Windows keeps the folder inside the app's package. Tern Files itself still shows it at %LOCALAPPDATA%\Tern Files; in Explorer you find it under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages, in the folder of the Tern Files package, under LocalCache\Local\Tern Files.

The logs are in the subfolder logs: one file per day (for example ternfiles-20260930.log), kept for 7 days. They contain paths and times, never the contents of your files, and they stay on your PC unless you send them. To send one:

1. In Tern Files press Ctrl+L, type %LOCALAPPDATA%\Tern Files\logs and press Enter.
2. Copy the newest file into your Documents folder (Ctrl+C, then Ctrl+V there) and attach it to your e-mail from there.
3. If you like, add a self test: open a command prompt and run TernFiles.exe --selftest --report selftest.txt. It checks the core functions in a separate test folder and saves the report in the folder the command prompt shows, usually C:\Users\<your name>.

Contact support

Something still doesn't work? Write to support@ut-systems.com. The more we know, the faster we can help:

1. Describe in two or three sentences what you did, what happened and what you expected.
2. Say which version you use – Microsoft Store or ternfiles.com – and whether you have Windows 10 or 11.
3. Attach the log file of the day and, if you have it, the self-test report (see Logs and data). The log also tells us the version number.
4. For display problems add a screenshot: Win+Shift+S.

Tern Files never sends anything by itself – nothing reaches us unless you send it. Logs contain paths and times, but no file contents; you are welcome to look through them before sending.

In the app, F1 or the ? button in the title bar opens this guide right at the section for the view you are in.