One more thing about the universal search dealie:
I have a habit of creating shortcut files to applications that I use very often, but which I don't want to hunt down across Start menu, stick to the desktop or pin to the taskbar. A good example - Total Commander. So here is what I did since Windows XP:
- Create a shortcut to the application executable and give it a short title. I still use wc.lnk (historic reasons, Total Commander was Windows Commander once upon a time).
- Copy the .lnk file to the Windows folder.
- Open the Start menu - one click/press of a key.
- Type in wc - two key presses.
- Press enter - one key press.
- The application loads.
With Windows XP, I also had to press the R key after opening the menu, but that was no bother.
My question is: how does this work in Win8? I have erased all of my virtual installations of Win8 previews so I cannot check myself. Does the Metro search field still look in the Windows folder? Does it recognize shortcut files?
And I cannot really understand the last thing you said. My problem with the preview builds was that in order to open the charms menu (I guess it was called that) using the mouse meant some really hardcore pixel hunting. I run a dual-screen setup (side-by-side, 1-2) at a relatively high resolution, so hitting that specific area where the first screen meets the second one feels almost impossible.