Tell me more ×
Super User is a question and answer site for computer enthusiasts and power users. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite

Is there any way to have the Windows 7 start search bar highlight the first result found so I can just hit Enter on the result rather than have to use the down arrow 2 times?

Currently, when I search for a file, it list all the matches and automatically highlights "See more results". I have to press the down arrow 3 times to highlight the first file match. This seems like a needless waste of keystrokes...

share|improve this question

1 Answer

up vote 0 down vote

Shift+F6 jumps you to the Results Pane.

Edit:

As I commented before, for the Start Menu, your machine isn't the default behavior. I'd try it on a fresh machine and look at the shell extensions you've installed.

share|improve this answer
Shift + F6 actually doesn't do anything for me in the start menu. – Andy Shinn May 12 '12 at 17:27
@AndyShinn: I read that wrong. I thought this was for Explorer. In the start menu, it automatically highlights the first result. – surfasb May 15 '12 at 4:53
It does not on mine. No matter what I type in (even if there is only 1 result) the "See more results" link is highlighted first. – Andy Shinn May 15 '12 at 20:55
So I think I figured out what is happening. Search results for Programs are automatically highlighted. But Documents and Music are not. To get around this, I created shortcuts to common documents I use and pinned them to the Start Menu. This allows me to search them and hit enter on the first result. A silly workaround that only works on documents I specify. But if you would like to update your answer with this information I would be happy to accept it. I tried on another Windows 7 machine and it has the same behavior. – Andy Shinn May 18 '12 at 21:29
Edit: I also found another user with the same question which I did not find before: superuser.com/questions/70333/… – Andy Shinn May 18 '12 at 21:32

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.