Windows Search Box on XFCE

Besides trying synapse you can also use the Whisker Menu that already comes with Xfce4 (Xubuntu) to search your apps and launch a web search for you. This isn’t exactly like the Windows search but I think it will help with stuff you already have.

Whisker Menu:

To set up the Web / Google Search part do the following:

1. Right-click on the Whisker Menu and select Properties.

2. Click on the Search Actions tab.

3. Click on the + for Add Actions

4. Create Google Search

This is what I used for mine (but you can use any search engine you want as long as you use the %u at the end for the results you are looking for):

Name: Google Search
Pattern: ?
Command: exo-open --launch WebBrowser https://www.google.com/search?q=%u

5. Search menu for apps. (I used theme as example)

6. Create Google Search in Search Box by starting with ? and press enter for results.

Hope this helps!