University of Kwazulu-Natal

Windows 11 Local Search Top 6 Keyboard First Replacements

Bonisiwe Shabane
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windows 11 local search top 6 keyboard first replacements

Are you tired of slow Windows 11 search? Check out these alternatives to the default Windows Search experience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Windows 11 includes a search feature that should be enough for most users, but it often struggles with speed, particularly in non-indexed locations or when handling a large number of files. The search home also feels cluttered with advertisements and lacks polish, which is surprising given it comes from the world's largest software company.

If you want something faster, lighter, or more customizable, several third-party tools can deliver a significantly better search experience. Popular options include Command Palette from PowerToys, Fluent Search, Everything, Listary, Flow Launcher, and RayCast. In this guide, I'll highlight six tools you can use to replace the Search functionality on Windows 11. I am an avid computer user and my PC is always crammed with files and data. Though I keep all my files well-ordered and organized and I count on the improved Windows Search, I sometimes still look for more features, speed, and accuracy. I know it is very annoying when we find that Windows Search is not working and we miss some important files or documents in our computer system.

What annoys me the most is that I know I saved it, but I can’t locate it even after searching for it in all the expected folders. Fortunately, there are a handful of free desktop search utilities to make it easier for us. Since it is a very common issue with computer users, I would like to discuss a few desktop search utilities. I am using Search Everything as my Windows search utility but there are a few more desktop search utilities that I would like to mention here in my post. Desktop search tools are available in both free and paid versions with a variety of shapes and sizes. There are many third-party tools that claim to be better and faster than the Windows search tool.

These tools are more functional than Windows’ built-in search tool. I have listed some Windows Search Alternative Tools for Windows 11/10: Everything is a free Windows desktop search utility that helps to locate files and folders in your computer system. It is a fast tool and works like no other search tools. You can start using ‘Everything’ right after downloading it on your system. Although it won’t search the contents of your stored files, its accuracy and speed are pretty impressive.

Void, the developer of ‘Everything’, recently released the new and updated beta version of the tool for the latest Windows versions. I am using this tool for a long and haven’t found any downsides to Everything. It uses less than 1MB of my hard drive space and is always up to date. What’s happened? Microsoft is testing a tiny, helpful tweak in the latest Insider Preview of Windows 11. Copy any text, and a small paste gleam appears in the Windows Search box on your taskbar.

Click it, and your copied text drops in for an instant search. This is important because: Those little copy, switch, paste routines eat time. Copy & Search shortens the hop from clipboard to results, and it hints at a search box that pays attention to what you just did, without getting in your way. Why should I care? Clipboard-aware UI can raise eyebrows. Here, you’re still in control.

Nothing runs until you click, and your text lands in the field first, which lets you edit or cancel before hitting Enter. Okay, so what’s next? This is a Dev Channel experiment for now. If feedback is positive, features like this often move wider, so it’s worth a try to see if it earns a permanent spot in your workflow.

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