Navigate through "all apps" menu using key presses

This is driving me a bit crazy and I have a sinking Microsoft feeling that there is nothing I can do about it.

I have put a couple of shortcuts to files I open quite a lot in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs ... these are not picked up by the method of pressing the Windows/Start Key and then pressing the first 2 or 3 letters of the name.

However, these shortcuts DO appear in the "all apps" list... alphabetical. My natural assumption was that it would be possible to navigate through this menu pressing the opening letter(s) of the name ... but NO.

Oh, no, what a naive fool I was: in its wisdom it appears that M$ decided this would be just too convenient.

I know that you can click on the letters here and the list is replaced by a grid of the letters ... again, with no visible means of navigatioh by key press. Already at that point you are at 3 key presses and a mouse click to get there.

Please can someone suprise me and tell me a way of navigating through all apps?

I can think of a "workaround" involving Autohotkey: i.e. to bring up an Explorer at the directory C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs... then navigating by key press.

Is this workaround the only way?

mrodent said:

This is driving me a bit crazy and I have a sinking Microsoft feeling that there is nothing I can do about it.

I have put a couple of shortcuts to files I open quite a lot in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs ... these are not picked up by the method of pressing the Windows/Start Key and then pressing the first 2 or 3 letters of the name.

However, these shortcuts DO appear in the "all apps" list... alphabetical. My natural assumption was that it would be possible to navigate through this menu pressing the opening letter(s) of the name ... but NO.

Oh, no, what a naive fool I was: in its wisdom it appears that M$ decided this would be just too convenient.

I know that you can click on the letters here and the list is replaced by a grid of the letters ... again, with no visible means of navigatioh by key press. Already at that point you are at 3 key presses and a mouse click to get there.

Please can someone suprise me and tell me a way of navigating through all apps?

I can think of a "workaround" involving Autohotkey: i.e. to bring up an Explorer at the directory C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs... then navigating by key press.

Is this workaround the only way?

WinKey►down arrow►first letter

... thanks for the attempt... on my W10 system this doesn't work.

- Winkey: start menu comes up
- down key (keypad or non-keypad): selects my name (i.e. my account)
- letter of a shortcut I know is in the directory C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs:
err: NOTHING happens at all...

NB I also tried going Winkey+downkey (pressed simultaneously):
err... causes the active window to be minimised...

doing that puts the "funny box" on "All apps".

pressing Return then takes me to "All apps"... I know this.

if you read my original post you'll find I want to ***NAVIGATE*** in the "All apps" list, using keypresses (i.e. press "F" and the focus box goes to Firefox or whatever) ... but M$ won't let me do this using the keyboard.

It is always nice if people try to answer the actual question posed rather than assume they know what the questioner is asking.

mrodent said:

doing that puts the "funny box" on "All apps".

pressing Return then takes me to "All apps"... I know this.

if you read my original post you'll find I want to ***NAVIGATE*** in the "All apps" list, using keypresses (i.e. press "F" and the focus box goes to Firefox or whatever) ... but M$ won't let me do this using the keyboard.

It is always nice if people try to answer the actual question posed rather than assume they know what the questioner is asking.

2016-06-07_1335 - Ficfel's library

huh? takes me to this page: 2016-06-07_1335 - Ficfel's library


If you have some answer to my problem, you could just answer ... it'd be more courteous.

mrodent said:

huh? takes me to this page: 2016-06-07_1335 - Ficfel's library


If you have some answer to my problem, you could just answer ... it'd be more courteous.

It'd be more courteous if you would just watch the video, it's more explanatory!

OK... sorry, there must be something there... thing is I don't have Adobe Flash whatsit and am not prepared to install it for this sole purpose. Given that I view videos every day I'm not sure why I'd have to install something which would presumably eat into my C: drive to see this one.

Can you possibly take the time to just tell me a digest of what this video tells you to do?