How to enter a filename at File>>Open?

If I am in an app, let's say TextEdit, and I want to open another file, I click on File, then Open. What then appears is a dialog box with "Documents" (or some other) in the folder window. Below that appear the names of the folders and files in "Documents" (or whatever other folder). In order to open the file I want, it seems that I need to scroll through all the filenames, until I come to the one I want, and select it. My question: Is there a place where, after browsing to the folder holding the file I want, that I can simply type in the name rather than having to scroll to it? I have tried using the Open>>File search window for that, but it often brings up numerous responses (for example, if I type "index.html" in the Open>>File search window of a folder holding a website, numerous pages appear in the search results, because many of the site's pages have a link to the site's home page, and so meet the search parameter). I hope I have made my question clear. Thank you for your help.

If you simply start typing the name of the file, it should begin highlighting files that match what you've typed. Don't use the search box - just type the name of the file.

After barely a month as a Mac user, it is increasingly apparent to me that the beauty of Apple's operating system is its simple, intuitive logic. Just so, here, if I'm looking for a file, just start typing its name, and Snow Leopard will find it! What could be more logical than that? But coming from decades as a Windows user, it would never have occurred to me. Thank you.