Patent ID: 7890886

Claim:
A method for providing a shortcut for launching an item stored on a computer system, said method comprising steps of: (a) upon receiving user input to initiate a start menu, displaying a start menu having a search text input box on a display device directly or indirectly connected to the computer system, wherein said displaying the start menu is a single navigation step from the user input, the user input comprising either clicking on a start button using a mouse or pressing a start menu key on a keyboard that is connected to the computer system; (b) automatically providing an input focus that directs input text to the search text input box within the start menu for the user to enter input text corresponding to the start menu, wherein said search text input box receives said input focus upon displaying the start menu on the display device in response to the detection that the user has initiated the start menu key and without requiring further input from the user, and wherein said automatically providing said input focus includes navigating directly to the search text input box from the start button without further interaction from the user; (c) displaying search results within a predefined area of the start menu each time text input is received from the user via the search text input box, said search results comprising one or more user-selectable items within an operating system of the computer system, said items matching query input received from the user via the search text input box and wherein the search results comprise at least one valid item comprising at least one launched application stored on the computer system; (d) automatically providing selection focus to a top search result, wherein the top search result is determined by applying one or more rules to the search results; and (e) launching a selectable item corresponding to the top search result in response to another user input while the input focus is on the search text input box and while the top search result has selection focus, wherein said selectable item is launched without any further input from the user.