Windows Vista Instant Search

Windows Vista Instant Search

Windows Vista introduces Instant Search: enhanced desktop search and organization that helps you locate files and e-mail messages on your PC. If you remember anything about a file—the type of file, when it was created, or even what it contains—Windows Vista can quickly find it for you.

With Instant Search, you are never more than a few keystrokes away from whatever you're looking for. This feature, which is available almost anywhere you are in Windows Vista, enables you to search for a file name, a property, or even text contained within a file, and it returns pinpointed results. It's fast and easy. Instant Search is also contextual, optimizing its results based on your current activity—whether it's searching Control Panel applets, looking for music files in Windows Media Player, or looking over all your files and applications on the Start menu.

From the Start menu

From the more efficient and comprehensive Start menu in Windows Vista, you can find virtually anything on your PC with fast-as-you-can-type performance. To find a specific file, application, or Internet Favorite, you simply open the Start menu—or press the Windows key on the keyboard—and begin typing in the embedded Instant Search box. As you type, Windows Vista instantly searches file and application names, metadata, and the full text of all files, and it displays the search results organized by the type of asset—Programs; Favorites/Internet History; Files, including documents and media; and Communications, including e-mail, events, tasks, and contacts.

Explorers, Control Panel, and experiences

Explorer in Windows Vista showcases Instant Search in the top right corner. It's always with you when you're using any explorer, including the Documents Explorer, Music Explorer, Pictures Explorer, and new Search Explorer. Just like using Instant Search from the Start menu, you only have to type a few letters to quickly display the most relevant results. If the results aren't what you're looking for, Instant Search provides easy access to tools that can help you design more specific searches or search across the Internet using your search engine of choice.

Instant Search also appears in the top right corner of the redesigned Control Panel. Here, you need only type in a word or a phrase associated with the task you want to accomplish, and Control Panel filters down to the most appropriate choice.

You can also find Instant Search in Windows programs such as Windows Internet Explorer 7, Windows Photo Gallery, and even Windows Media Player. Anywhere you see it, just start typing, and you'll soon find what you're looking for.