Taskbar Search: Launch Windows Explorer Search


  1. Posts : 3,502
    Win_8.1-Pro, Win_10.1607-Pro, Mint_17.3
       #1

    Taskbar Search: Launch Windows Explorer Search


    What I'd like to find is a way to have a searchbox on the Taskbar that launches Windows Search, not the new Windows search. I'm pretty sure it's just a different GUID or namespace. This will do for now though.

    From the SevenForums (SF) Tutorial section
    Search Shortcut - Create - Windows 7 Help Forums

    Download ZipSearch.zip

    The compressed folder, ZipSearch.zip, contains three shortcuts
    • Search.lnk
    • Search [GUID].lnk
    • SF Search Shortcut - Create tutorial.url


    Open the compressed folder and extract one or the other Search shortcuts to your desktop. If you want the SF tutorial for reference - extract that too.
    Both search shortcuts do the same thing; open an Explorer Search window. The difference is the target of the shortcut (how the Explorer search window is opened)

    Search.lnk target:
    %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe search-ms:

    Search [GUID].lnk target:
    %windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}

    Right click the Search shortcut you extracted, select Properties, select the General tab, then press the [Unblock] button at the bottom right if it is present.

    Right click the Search shortcut you extracted, select Pin to taskbar
    -> You could also Pin to Start The tile has not shown up on the Start Screen, so maybe you can only pin it to the Start menu

    As Shawn is wont to say: That's it
    Last edited by Slartybart; 10 Nov 2014 at 15:01.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 3,502
    Win_8.1-Pro, Win_10.1607-Pro, Mint_17.3
    Thread Starter
       #2

    I'm feeling a little silly here, the easy way to control the scope of a search is to launch Explorer, navigate to the location you want to search and get a full list using the kind: tag in the search box.

    Sort by the view and columns you prefer (I like Details sorted by Date Modified)

    You can then save the search (pick a meaningful name, SearchProfile or SerachThisPC for example) which creates a shortcut in your links folder.

    There's a trick to get this pinned though. I'll revisit SevenForums because I know Brink has a tut on this - I helped another member do some gymnastics with the taskbar once - that member came up with a third way of pinning to the taskbar (special jumplist req I think)

    Three searches should suffice for most members (ThisPC, Profile, and Programs/Apps - the last one will take some work to get the search criteria correct). You can create as many of these as you want (kind:=Document; kind:=Music; kind:=Picture; kind:=Video; kind:=E-mail; see more kind:= filters in the search box)

    Bill
    .
      My Computer


 

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