Add Search to Right-Click Context Menu

I am requesting help modifying an eight-forums tutorial registry hack. The tutorial has not been updated for Win10 but works nonetheless.

The Tutorial involves adding Search to the context menu of folders, drives, desktop background, This PC, as well as cabinet and compressed folders. The link is:

Search - Add to Context Menu in Windows 7 and Windows 8 | Windows 8 Help Forums

The problem is that, when using the right-click Search registry tweak on any arbitrary folder, a new window is opened and the Search is executed throughout This PC rather than within the specific folder and/or sub-folders.

How could this right-click Search registry tweak be modified to perform Search the target folder and/or sub-folders rather than This PC?

Closer examination of the registry file indicates two types of modifications:

(1) re-enabling right-click search functionality to Cabinet folders, Compressed folders, Directories, and Drives by removing a LegacyDisable string in Find key; in this case, the search box is opened by calling CLSID string {a015411a-f97d-4ef3-8425-8a38d022aebc} from explorer.exe

(2) creating right-click search functionality to Desktop Background folder and This PC by creating Search key; in this case, the search box is opened by calling a string explorer.exe search-ms:

How could the above strings be modified to search the current directory rather than This PC?

Thanks!

Thank you for the reply.

Your assertion is correct. I would like to modify the search context menu entry detailed in the first post where the folder path is passed to some sort of variable preferably or script, so right clicking the search context menu entry opens a new new search window (or even tab as I use QtTabBar) to search just that directory and/or subdirectories. The cursor does not have to be in the search box.

I would have thought that some sort of variable to just search the existing folder or subfolders could be added but I don't know as I am not a coder.

However, I do see your point that this change doesn't really add anything special since you can already just right click on a folder to open in a new window (or tab) and have the search box search in the desired folders and/or subfolders. But, since I always like to learn some command syntax, I thought I would ask.

Does that help?

dalchina said:

Hi, purely as a demonstrator to show how explorer could be opened with focus at the search box, try running this small script (attached, in a zip file).

All it does at present is open explorer at your Downloads folder and place the cursor in the search box.
Now imagine that in a context menu entry where the folder path was passed to the script, so rt clicking a folder, clicking search, opened that folder in a new instance of explorer with the cursor in the search box.
Is that what you are trying to achieve?

Personally, I'm not sure it adds much by way of convenience...

Perhaps a program that incorporates a search filter, such as QTTabBar...

If an autokey explorer file would work, then I would be ok with that.

My question is.....why can't you avoid autohotkey or easy context menu altogether and just use the %1% variable or whatever variable is appropriate for choosing the active directory to search along with the explorer.exe search-ms: command since the explorer search-ms: command is already built into windows? Or, when you enter some variable to open a command prompt in the current directory, why does that not work with opening a search window?

Thanks!

dalchina said:

Would you be happy with that appearance of file explorer as per that exe file?

The nexe step would be to incorporate that in the folder context menu and pass the path of the folder clicked on to the exe (Relatively easy - just haven't done it as there's no point spending the time if the result isn't what you want).

First, this is the very simple autohotkey script I wrote:
run, explorer.exe %Homepath%\Downloads
; Wait for window..
WinWaitActive ,ahk_exe explorer.exe,Downloads
; ..then place cursor in search box
Send ^f

I would then replace %Homepath%\Downloads with %1%, which is the path parameter passed to a context menu entry, and use Easy context menu (useful freeware) to create a folder and desktop context menu entry.

dalchina said:

Hi, here's what I have now- have a look at the screenshots of how it works as a context menu for folders:


and clicking on that gives:

- open at that folder, cursor in search box.

I've attached the source code and exe file - it took quite a little time as the precise syntax for string array handling proved more obscure than I'd expected.

What you need is a copy of Easy Context Menu (free) and a screenshot of what I added using that.
Or you could create the context menu manually or by other means.
You can then give it whatever name and icon you wish.

That might work! Thank you! I will try out the script when I get home from work tomorrow.

I am reading about command line switches and advanced search parameters. If a one-line command is going to work, it would involve something like explorer.exe (target directory), search-ms: or explorer.exe search-ms:folderpath or something like it. But after cursory testing it seems that a one line command won't do it.

What is the %1% variable mean? What is the proper parameter to perform some action on an arbitrary directory?

Thanks!