Windows 7 Start Menu Search Box
When you hit the Windows key you are instantly placed in the Windows 7 Start menu "Search" edit box. In this box you can type the name of a program, folder, file, or even website that you want to open. After you have typed in the name of whatever you want to open, down arrow until you hear that item spoken, and then hit the Enter key one time. Whatever you typed in the "Search" box will open. If you are just practicing using the "Search" box to open items, you can quickly close them with the Alt F4 key command. In Windows 8, when you hit the Windows key you are taken to the Metro view, or the Desktop view. Make sure you are in the Metro view before typing the name of a program. Practice opening and closing Windows items until you are quick and accurate. There are headings on this page. Use the letter h to move forward through the headings, or Shift h to move backward through the headings. When you hear the heading you want to work with, down arrow through the content for that heading. There is a link to an audio demonstration (MP3 format) of the Windows 7 Start menu "Search Box." You can move to audio demonstration and listen to it, or download it to put on another device. After you are finished move to the link at the bottom of this page titled "BACK" to go to the "Simple Windows Lessons" web page.
1. Hit the Windows key.
2. Type "Word" (without the quotes).
3. Down arrow until you hear something like "Microsoft Word."
4. Hit the Enter key one time and Word will open.
5. Hit the Escape key one time if you are using Word 2013 to go into a blank document.
6. Press the Alt F4 key combination to close Word.
7. Hit the Windows key one time.
8. Type "Excel" (without the quotes).
9. Down arrow until you hear something like "Microsoft Excel."
10. Hit the Enter key one time.
11. Hit the Escape key one time if you are using Excel 2013.
12. Press the Alt F4 key command to close Excel.
13. Hit the Windows key one time.
14. Type "calculator" (without the quotes).
15. Hit the Enter key one time and the Windows "Calculator" will come up.
16. Press the Alt F4 key command to close the Windows "Calculator."
17. Hit the Windows key one time.
18. Type "www.google.com" (without the quotes).
19. Hit the Enter key one time and the Google website will come up.
20. Press the Alt F4 key command to close the Internet.
21. Hit the Windows key one time.
22. Type the word "Documents" (without the quotes).
23. Down arrow until you hear something like "Documents Folder."
24. Hit the Enter key one time and you will open the "Documents" folder.
25. Press the Alt F4 key command to close the "Documents" folder.
26. Hit the Windows key one time.
27. Type the name of a document that you have saved.
28. Down arrow until you hear the name of the document you typed in the "Search" box.
29. Hit the Enter key one time and the document will open.
30. Press Alt F4 to close the document.
31. Experiment with the steps above to become more familiar with what you can open using the Windows Start menu "Search" box.
Audio Demonstration of the Windows 7 Start Menu Search Box Link