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Windows 11: CTRL + SHIFT + ESC

The Task Manager

On Windows 11, the CTRL + SHIFT + ESC is the shortcut keys to open the Task Manager.

But of course, Task Manager can be accessed through other methods:

  • Right clicking the taskbar ➡️ we will see Task Manager option in the context menu.
  • The CTRL + ALT + DEL ➡️ we will also see Task Manager in the menu.

The Background

I frequently use the emoji.

For our information — to access the emoji menu on Windows 11, we do:

Windows key + . (dot or period)

It will bring the emoji picker menu:

Windows 11 emoji picker menu

So the problem was

the search box was MISSING!

I couldn't recreate it. But it was this UI, marked with red box and arrow:

Missing search box in emoji picker

I did not realise it until I typed anything. I thought —

Why does the emoji picker keep closing?

— and then I noticed, the search box WASN'T there! I thought again —

Is this yet another of that missing "Open with Code" from context menu? 🤔 Or that forced cluttering icons on start menu? Mm.

How to fix it?

Fix Missing Search Box in Emoji Picker

So without further presumptions, I simply did the most common technique:

RESTART that particular process.

It can be done through the Task Manager. We need to restart the Windows Explorer. Or File Explorer.

Indeed, it is a part of "Explorer", that emoji picker.

The steps:

  1. Open the Task Manager — through either way above.
  2. Search for "explorer" from the Task Manager's search box.
  3. Right click on it and pick "Restart".
    Restart Windows Explorer through Task Manager
  4. Wait for a moment, and the emoji picker UI should be back to normal. ✅

It was a rendering bug. Perhaps caused by a system update. Most likely, it was.

Anyway, Windows Explorer = File Explorer. The latter is the latest name of the similar program. "Windows Explorer" is its legacy name. Now, it's "File Explorer". But in Task Manager, it's "Windows Explorer". Mm.

Two layers of context menu, anyone? Delightful.


Bug

"Bug", to describe a fault in software world.

So there's the Middle Welsh bwg — meaning:

A ghost, a goblin, a things-that-go-bump-in-the-night creature. Something unseen, lurking, causing mischief. Which gave us bogey, bugbear, and bogeyman.

And we have Middle English bugge — meaning:

Something frightening, scarecrow.

Well, Middle Welsh came first. Welsh, being a Brythonic Celtic language, had "bwg" well before Middle English even existed as a form of the language. Middle English itself only emerged around the 11th to 12th century after the Norman Conquest, whereas the Welsh Celtic traditions and vocabulary stretch back considerably further.

And then we have the insect "bug". The root is still uncertain. But it may stem from Middle English "bugge", or even Old English budde — meaning beetle, which sounds like "bug". Well, if we're tipsy enough whilst uttering it.

Right. Back to software "bug". Here's a list of several proper terms:

  • Defect
    The most widely used formal term in QA (Quality Assurance) and testing.
  • Fault
    Used in reliability engineering and formal methods.
  • Failure
    Specifically when the defect manifests and causes the system to misbehave.
  • Error
    Refers to the human mistake that introduced the fault in the first place.
  • Anomaly
    Common in IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) standards and safety-critical systems.
  • Incident
    Used in ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) and operational contexts.
  • Issue
    Broader, informal-but-accepted term in project tracking tools like Jira.
  • Regression
    Specifically when something that worked before is now broken, often after an update.

The IEEE 610.12-1990 standard actually distinguishes:

MISTAKE ➡️ ERROR ➡️ FAULT ➡️ FAILURE

as separate stages in a chain.

Side observation, "agile methodology". That "agile" term. Sounds like the bloke dashing about in the room, hitting chairs, knocking teacups, papers flying off the desk, trousers gone, and — IT'S DONE! Shipped! — Indeed, done. Waterfall methodology sends its regard. (Lotus position under Niagara.)


Right then, that's all. Cheers. 👋

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