Windows 8 Features Slick Search from Start Screen

When we talk about "search", most people would assume we're talking about Google, Bing and the like. While cataloging and searching the endless stream of information from the internet is vital, sometimes we just want to find something on our own computers.

Thumbing through the dozens of programs installed in the Start menu is one way to do it, but these days it's all about search. Check out the video below to see how Microsoft is improving search on Windows 8. Those who are also a fan of keyboard shortcuts or just hate using the mouse will also find a lot of love about the new search functions.

Power users can also search down to a very granular level using AQS, such as the examples noted below:

Swipe to scroll horizontally
QueryAQS Syntax
Find all files authored by Brian or Davidauthor: (Brian OR David)
Find all photos with an F-stop of 2.8 where no flash was firedf-stop:2.8 flashmode:no flash
Find all files where the file name contains a word starting with Metro and the file size is greater than 1MBfilename:$<Metro* size:>1mb

For more, check out the full Windows 8 blog.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
  • jimmysmitty
    Thats pretty neat. Makes 8 look a bit more attractive.
    Reply
  • campb292
    People need to start stepping up and criticizing this stuff. This whole concept doesn't save time. I don't want to "switch to start" with the logo key and type "calc" to bring up the calculator. Right now it is 2 clicks. Why would I want to increase that to 5?
    Reply
  • campb292
    While I am at it - stop with all the gimmicks and mac-like menus. Windows has an 85-90% market share. Rewrite the kernel, upgrade ntfs to a new file system, stop write throttling, end 32 bit, stop turning on automatic updates after I just turned it off... improve. Stop turning the round wheel into a box; Round just works better.
    Reply
  • klavis
    being able to quickly search by details of how a photo was taken is pretty cool, I would use that. One could say I am almost looking forward to being able to do that.

    Reply
  • klavis
    campb292People need to start stepping up and criticizing this stuff. This whole concept doesn't save time. I don't want to "switch to start" with the logo key and type "calc" to bring up the calculator. Right now it is 2 clicks. Why would I want to increase that to 5?
    Being able to use the keyboard to make 5 clicks is a lot faster than moving the mouse and making it click twice, it also interrupts the flow of what you are doing on the keyboard.
    Reply
  • AbdullahG
    campb292People need to start stepping up and criticizing this stuff. This whole concept doesn't save time. I don't want to "switch to start" with the logo key and type "calc" to bring up the calculator. Right now it is 2 clicks. Why would I want to increase that to 5?You do realize you can just use the mouse then, right?
    Reply
  • killerclick
    I fail to see how this is better and more useful than the Start Menu in Windows 7. In fact, this seems like a full screen Start Menu that doesn't have all the features the current Start Menu has.

    If I promise never to buy or use a Windows tablet, will they include the normal Start Menu in Windows 8?
    Reply
  • killerclick
    Try this in Windows 7... Ctrl+Esc and then type a file name! Amazing, right?
    Reply
  • amk-aka-Phantom
    killerclickTry this in Windows 7... Ctrl+Esc and then type a file name! Amazing, right?
    Yep.

    Stupid, anyhow... I can't recall when was the last time I used Search. I really can't. Whether or not Win8 will have better search doesn't matter to me.
    Reply
  • molo9000
    Pretty much all of this is already there in Windows 7 Start Menu search and Mac OS X Spotlight.
    Reply