How To Create a Search Shortcut On Desktop In Windows 8 and 8.1

How To Create a Search Shortcut On Desktop In Windows 8 and 8.1

Do you do a lot of searching in Windows Explorer? You can make it quicker and easier for yourself with a custom shortcut on your Desktop. We’ll show you how to create a shortcut that opens Windows Explorer ready for you to begin a search.

Right-click in any empty space on the Desktop and select New | Shortcut from the popup menu.

How To Create a Search Shortcut On Desktop In Windows 8 and 8.1

On the Create Shortcut dialog box, enter the following in the Type the location of the item edit box.

%windir%\explorer.exe search-ms:

Click Next.

How To Create a Search Shortcut On Desktop In Windows 8 and 8.1

Enter a name for the shortcut, such as Search, in the Type a name for this shortcut edit box. Click Finish.

How To Create a Search Shortcut On Desktop In Windows 8 and 8.1

The shortcut is created where you originally selected New | Shortcut. You can move it to where you want it on the Desktop.

How To Create a Search Shortcut On Desktop In Windows 8 and 8.1

Simply double-click the shortcut to open a Windows Explorer window ready for your search term, as shown at the beginning of this article. You can also right-click on the shortcut and pin it to the Taskbar or pin it to the Start screen.