Instant Search - More Detail

The Instant Search box is downright may not be that obvious. It is in the Start menu, Control Panel, Windows Media Player, Windows Explorer, and even certain Vista applications (like Contacts and Windows Mail). This makes it great when your trying to find a specific picture or program.

There are two important things you will want to understand about Instant Search.

1. It is context-sensitive, meaning it will begin the search from whatever program or window that is open. When you search is with the Control Panel is open you will see Control Panel results ahead of any others. If Photo Gallery is open, the search will begin from Photo Gallery.
2. Instant Search is dynamic, Meaning it works as you type. The search is narrows the results a bit further with each letter (or number) you add to the search. Type “su,” for instance, and you’ll immediately see all documents, applications, and other items that contain those letters. Keep typing, however, until you get to “summer.”

Practice doing some Instant Searchs. Left click on the Start orb and then click Search in the right-hand pane. This will open Vista’s basic Search window. This search will look on all the drives on your computer. You can narrow your search by show only buttons across the top, or click one to quickly filter your search results.