I just stumbled on a new way to trigger Select to Search on my Chromebook Plus

This morning, as I was just going about my work on my Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, I accidentally triggered the new Select to Search feature in a way I hadn’t before. It was totally a fat-finger miss, but once I realized what I’d pressed, I tested again and confirmed it: there’s a new (to me, anyway) keyboard shortcut for this fantastic feature, and it’s a really handy one.

Though there are plenty of ways to get to this new feature from Google, this new one will be my go-to for sure, as you can now trigger Select to Search on your Chromebook Plus by simply hitting Launcher + Space.

An ever-growing list of entry points

This new shortcut joins a growing list of ways to access what is quickly becoming one of my favorite new ChromeOS features. It’s clear that Google wants this Circle to Search equivalent to be incredibly easy to get to, no matter your workflow. As a quick recap, you can also trigger Select to Search by:

• Using the screen capture key and selecting the Lens option
• Long-pressing the launcher button (the “G” button) on your screen
• Clicking the Lens icon in the expanded launcher view.

And now, we can add the simple and intuitive Launcher + Space combo to that list. I know it might seem like a small thing, but the fact that Google has built so many different entry points for a single feature tells me a lot. It signals that they view Select to Search not just as a fun bar trick; but as a core, fundamental part of the new Chromebook Plus experience. They want it to be an ingrained, muscle-memory action for users.

And I, for one, absolutely love it. The more ways we have to quickly and easily access powerful tools, the better the user experience becomes. For those of us who live by keyboard shortcuts, Launcher + Space might just become the fastest and most natural way to look something up on-screen.

It’s always exciting to see Google continue to refine and improve the ChromeOS experience, even with small, unannounced tweaks like this one. Go ahead and give the new shortcut a try on your Chromebook Plus!