I turn off the find as you type feature - I was wondering is there any way to use aliases without typing the / beforehand?
You'll always have to type or click something to get into a mode where you can type an alias.
If you want really fast access to frequently-used folders, creating buttons or hotkeys that go to them in a single click or keypress is probably best.
Thanks Leo 
I will try to get used to it. Is there a way to change it from a slash? (probably not?) and this is just curiosity's sake at this point since a slash is easy to type anyway I suppose LOL! I just wish there was a mode where I could use the address bar with just typing in aliases w/o the "/". I never use paths and typing is the fastest for me. I will just have to get used to the extra character