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Using Windows Key+F you used to be able to open a search dialog.

I recommended WinKey+F this as an alternative to the start menu search, which didn't work anymore for a blind person using a screen reader. He told me that after trying this, he got "something about signing in and when I hit enter, nothing happens". Starting a Windows 10 VM and trying myself, it turns out they changed this to the "Feedback Hub".

What is the new shortcut? I tried Windows Key+F3, F3 by itself on the desktop, and Ctrl+F on the desktop.

An alternative I just thought of while writing this post is two steps: Windows Key+E to open explorer, then Ctrl+F to focus the search. This seems to work when trying it. Is this how you are supposed to do it now?

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  • 2
    Have you tried Win+S?
    – Cas
    Dec 1, 2016 at 7:55
  • 1
    @cascer1 Thanks, I did not know of that one. It just opens the start menu though, which I mentioned does not work with a screen reader. Is there no way to open the classic search window as Winkey+F did in Windows 7 and earlier?
    – Luc
    Dec 1, 2016 at 7:58
  • Oh, sorry about that. I'm afraid I don't know of any other search method in Windows 10.
    – Cas
    Dec 1, 2016 at 8:00
  • Pressing win and writing the search query also does the job for me.
    – Saaransh Garg
    May 23, 2022 at 16:32

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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In Windows 10, Microsoft has changed shortcut for search to Windows+S. It opens Search tab in Start menu. Alternatively, you can use Search bar in Taskbar or Cortana.

If you want search in Windows Explorer, you can do the following:

  1. Press Windows+E to launch Explorer¹.
  2. Press Ctrl+E to put focus to Search field.
  3. Type search request.

¹ Explorer in Windows 10 opens Recently Used folders and files. I'm not sure whether searching here will find all the files in your computer. You might want to configure Explorer to open This Computer folder by default.

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    Windows + S is the one that I am looking for. Faster access to applications and settings than navigating the Start Menu itself.
    – Aryo
    Aug 6, 2021 at 22:38
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If you install the new PowerToys made by Microsoft you will have a new Spotlight-Style Search Bar on Windows 10.

You can then fire that by using Alt + Space:

enter image description here

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