How to Use Vista's Instant Search Tool
Instant Search is arguably Vista's most underrated feature. It enables you to find stuff with just a few keystrokes instead of wading through endless menus and folders. But for anyone coming to Vista from Windows 2000 or XP, finding and using Instant Search might not be immediately obvious. To help out, a Microsoft product manager put together the above tutorial video. In the Start menu, for instance, the Search bar helps you find not just programs, but also files and browser favorites. Just click the Start button and then type the first few letters of the item you want to find -- it should appear almost instantly at the top of the Start menu. Click it to run the program, load the file, launch the browser, and so on. Instant Search can also be found in Windows Explorer, the Control Panel, Windows Media Player, and other locations. And because it's context-sensitive, it performs its searches accordingly depending on where you use it. Vista may not have brought many revolutionary features to the table, but Instant Search is a major convenience and huge time-saver. |
