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I've made a habit of making a 'Search Helpers' folder and dropping it in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Search Helpers. I fill this folder with shortcut icons to make Start-Search more efficient for me, but Windows 10 update has caused problems.
In there I add 4 flavors of shortcuts.
- App short cuts with shorter names than standard, so I can type faster (i.e. 'VS2015', then just typing 'VS' in Start-Search pulls that instead of having to type 'Visual Studio...'). So I just copy shortcuts from standard start menu folder and rename them, or create shortcuts to custom applications I've built with .NET and put in folder.
- Favorite folder shortcuts in the format of 'go*' where * is name. i.e. goRSApp1 would go to default folder on my Rackspace Application Server #1. These shortcuts actually run a *.vbs script passing in desired folder location...probably better way to do it, but it works. The short cut is just a standard windows shortcut to the *.vbs file, but then I alter the command of shortcut to something like:
"C:\BTR\PowerToys\VBScript Files\Open Folder.vbs" folder:"\\192.168.100.130\c$\Program Files\Microsoft Office 15\root\office15\Library\BTRTools"
- Remote Desktop shortcuts in the format of 'r*' where * is server. i.e. rRSApp1 would open RDP to Rackspace Application Server #1. I just 'save' the RDP settings to a directory in
My Documents
then create a shortcut to that file. - Common URL shortcuts that I always hit (I just drag shortcut icon from browser address bar into the folder and name it to a short/quick name that I can use).
My problems with Start-Search are the following items are no longer 'found':
- No longer allows me to type r* shortcuts for RDP
- A 'handful' of the application shortcuts do not work (although some still do, can't figure out pattern of why some would work and some wouldn't)
- URL short cuts are never found
- A benefit I accidentally discovered in Win 8.1 is I could do 'first letter' searches, so with a shortcut of 'Data Updater', I could type 'D U' and it would find that. That no longer works.
Thanks in advance.
Possibly related: http://superuser.com/questions/956036/why-is-windows-explorer-search-box-not-recognizing-the-character-r-for-a-set-o
– rlb.usa – 2015-08-12T16:48:14.1532I don't think so. Just read, not completely sure what that post is implying I try, but I have problems with Start-Search not showing other shortcuts that do NOT start with 'r'. – Terry – 2015-08-12T16:56:16.270
1Do you have more than 512 items in your Start Menu? Go to the actual folder and "dir /s." If so, tidy up and delete a few older things. This is a known bug that will be fixed. – Scott Hanselman – 2015-09-29T00:48:07.643
@ScottHanselman In LINQPad... new DirectoryInfo( @"C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu" ).GetFiles( "*.*", SearchOption.AllDirectories ).Count().Dump(); = 232. Is that the folder you were referring to? – Terry – 2015-09-30T02:45:18.210
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Please see my answer here: https://superuser.com/questions/1047230/windows-10-where-do-items-in-the-search-programs-and-files-box-come-from/1187884#1187884 - I have found a way of starting up most things with "press Start" followed by just a few letters. For the record I regard my solution as a workaround: the W10 mechanism is, for my purposes, broken.
– mike rodent – 2017-03-14T18:32:15.200Side-comment, but, Windows 10 Search is so horribly broken in many ways, and Everything search (google it) is such an amazing incredible search tool... I'll never go back... – Wouter – 2017-05-09T11:34:08.020