The Start Menu in Windows offers you an easy way to launch your favorite programs and folders without having to use the mouse.

For instance, if you want to open a program like Windows Media Player on your computer, press the Windows key on your keyboard, or click the Start button, and type Windows Media Player in the search box.

The Start Menu is therefore a big time-saver especially for power users who prefer using the keyboard more than their mouse.

Quickly Open Programs from the Start Menu

If you already enjoy using the Windows Start Menu, here’s a tip that’ll make you love that feature even more.

When you are searching for a program (or a file) inside the search box, instead of typing the full name of the program, just type the initials and Windows will still find it for your.

For instance, instead of typing Windows Media Player, type “w m p” (without quotes) and hit Enter. Similarly, typing “m w” will launch Microsoft Word, “g c” for Google Chrome and so on. This is also useful when you have multiple versions of the same program on your computer - “fi 3” would open Firefox 3.6 while “fi 4” for the latest version.

For a demo, check the following video screencast: