Using keyword searches: Difference between revisions

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(External links added and Quick Searches location clarification)
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*[http://johnbokma.com/firefox/keymarks-explained.html Firefox smart keywords explained] includes screenshots
*[http://johnbokma.com/firefox/keymarks-explained.html Firefox smart keywords explained] includes screenshots
*[http://www.wormus.com/leakytap/Internet/CustomKeywords/ CustomKeywords] with other links, as well
*[http://www.wormus.com/leakytap/Internet/CustomKeywords/ CustomKeywords] with other links, as well
*[http://www.pitt.edu/~crp11/firefox/quicksearches/ Quicksearches -- Samples and Instructions] by Chris Poverk, creator of the related SmartSearch extension

Revision as of 01:02, 19 October 2005

This article applies to Firefox and Mozilla Suite.
This article should include Firefox : Tips : Quick searches

In Firefox and Mozilla Suite you can specify keywords for bookmarks. When you type the keyword into the Location Bar and hit Enter, the keyword will be replaced with the bookmarked URL. For example, bookmarking http://google.com/, giving it a keyword of "google", and typing "google" into the Location Bar will take you to Google.

What makes keywords very powerful is that if you add a "%s" at some place in your bookmark URL, that will be replaced by the words you type in after your keywords. For example, a keyword of "google" corresponding to "http://google.com/?q=%s" and typing in "google mozilla" into the Location Bar will give you "http://google.com/search?q=mozilla".

Creating Bookmarks with Keywords

  • Search for a random string, say, "mozilla".
  • Bookmark the resulting page, then open the bookmark's properties and replace the search term with %s.

For example, Google. The search URL for their database is "http://google.com/search?q=" where any words typed after the "q=" will be used in the search. This part is where we want to add text so we place a "%s" after the "q=" when writing the location. This makes the bookmark's URL look like "http://google.com/search?q=%s". Default sites in Firefox are located under the Quick Searches section of Bookmarks.

A keyword of "google" is assigned to the bookmark. To recap:

Name: Google
Location: http://google.com/search?q=%s
Keyword: google

Now, typing "google mozilla" in the Location Bar will take you to a Google search about Mozilla.

Note: Mozilla Suite users can use the "Bookmarks -> File Bookmark..." feature and edit bookmark's properties at the moment of its creation.

See Also

External links