In this post, we will see how you can search from the taskbar in Windows 11/10. We have seen how to add the address bar to the taskbar in Windows 10. This lets Windows 10 (Feature not available in Windows 11) users type the URL directly into it and hit Enter to open the web page in your default browser. What is little less known is that you can also carry out your searches on the Internet, by typing your queries in the address bar and clicking Enter. One drawback, however, is that single-word searches do not work.
How to search from the Taskbar in Windows 11/10
In Windows 11 and Windows 10, Microsoft added a dedicated search option that you can use to search for apps, files, games, documents, music, Windows Settings etc. As Windows 11 doesn’t allow users to use toolbars on the Taskbar, you can use the Taskbar search box to get the job done.
To search from the Taskbar in Windows 11/10, follow these steps:
- Click on the search icon visible on the Taskbar.
- Click on the Type here to search
- Type something you want to search for.
- Click on the individual search result to open the file/app/document/image, etc.
It is also possible to run an app with administrator permission from the Taskbar search box. For that, you need to search for an app, and click the Run as administrator option on the right side. Following that, click on the Yes button.
Apart from that, you can find some Quick searches options. For example, it shows some options to search for something quickly. You can get Today in history, New movies, Translate, etc.
You can click on such filters to find something in the Taskbar search box. The most interesting thing about the Taskbar search box is that you can search for the web. However, it uses Bing instead of Google.
Search from the Taskbar in Windows 7 and Windows 8
How can we search our computer from the taskbar? Windows Desktop Search offered a Search Deskbar, that let you search from the taskbar. There’s no Windows Search Deskbar like this, in Windows 7 or Windows 8.
In Windows 7 you can open the Start Menu and start typing. You can also create a shortcut using the following path, and pin it to your taskbar:
%SystemRoot%explorer.exe search-ms:
In Windows 8, you can tap the Win key and start typing to search. Or you can simply press Win+S, and the Search Charms will open.
You can also carry out this interesting little exercise, that lets you pin a shortcut to search everywhere on your Windows 8 computer from the taskbar.
Navigate to the following folder:
C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar
Right-click, select New > Shortcut. In the location of the item box, type the following:
explorer.exe shell:::{2559a1f0-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}
Click Next, give it a name and icon if you want.
Read: Shortcuts, Shell Commands and CLSID in Windows
Now clicking on this new icon in your taskbar will open the Search Charms. You can search your computer here.
A small tip that some of you may find useful.
Read: How to add Address Bar to Taskbar in Windows 10
How do I open the search bar in Windows 11?
To open the search box or bar in Windows 11, you need to click on the search icon visible on the Taskbar. However, if it is not visible, you can find right-click on the Taskbar and select the Taskbar settings. Expand the Taskbar items section and toggle the Search button to turn it on.
You can also check out some free Windows Search alternative tools, that can help you search faster on your Windows PC.
