How can I add a folder to the default quick-search list on the start menu on Windows 7?

Question

I have a bunch of programs that can run without installing (LINQPad, Reflector, Foobar 2000 and so on) - which is nice and makes them very portable.

I keep them here:

c:\admin\utils\

However, when you hit the Start icon in the bottom left and start typing "Foobar" in the quick-search nothing appears because (quite obviously) it isn't searching c:\admin\utils immediately. It searches Documents and Music and even Outlook and other places. Is there a way to add my C:\Admin folder to that list of initial search destinations?

I'm not after a hack like "add shortcuts to the apps in Documents"!

I've tried adding the folder to my PATH environment variable, just in case, but that didn't work.

Answer 1

• In the start menu, in the search box, type in "indexing", and in the search results that come up, select "Indexing Options".
• In the dialog that comes up, click "Modify"
• In the "Change Selected Locations" box (the top half), plus open the C: drive, then place a check on the "admin" folder (or on "utils" under it depending which you want exactly).

It may take a little while, for it to update the index and reflect the change, but I believe this should do it.

Answer 2

• Right click on Computer on the desktop (or in the start menu, right pane) and click properties.
• In the window that comes up, on the left side, click "Advanced System Settings"
• A "System Properties" window should pop up, on the 'Advanced' tab, click "Environment Variables" at the bottom.
• In the top section, under "Environment variables for " look for a variable named "PATH"
• If "PATH" exists, double-click it, or if it doesn't, then click "New..." and enter PATH for the name
• In the value box, go to the start of the string, and add "c:\admin\utils\;" to the value (without the quotes, with the semi-colon)

Now you should be able to run any of your executables from the start menu or the address bar or the command prompt.