The wrong way to search Google in Firefox
by James Somers, August 23, 2009
The default Firefox toolbar looks like this:
Notice how the “quick search” box on the right uses Google. This seems convenient, because it’s giving you easy access (⌘+K) to the world’s most powerful search engine, until you realize that the address bar already does this. If you type words in there instead of a URL, it’ll automatically direct your query to Google.
But Firefox obfuscates that fact by putting the Google engine in the quick search box, with two pernicious effects:
- Users assume they have to use that for their googling, and so may never learn about all the cool things the address bar can do.
- Users lose the option of having another more targeted search engine—I use Wikipedia—because they think it’ll be at the expense of Google. But of course you can use both: Google in the address bar (⌘+L) and Wikipedia as the quick search (⌘+K).
This wouldn’t irritate me so much if it weren’t for the fact that every time someone else uses my computer, they remove my Wikipedia engine and re-select Google.
Well what about typing a single word in address bar. It search for http://word and hence error ! For ex. typing ‘pee’ in address bar gives ‘While trying to retrieve the URL: http://pee/‘ .. however ‘pee google’ works.
This should actually work just fine–it does on my system, with Firefox v3.5.2. Maybe upgrade?
In fact, there is a difference between searching Google using the address bar and the Search-engines bar. The address bar uses, sometimes, the “I’m Feeling Lucky” feature of Google, so if you type, say, “Microsoft” in the address bar, you’ll find yourself redirected immediately to Microsoft homepage, rather than just search Google for “Microsoft”.
True. I actually really like that feature, so it’s yet more reason for me to use the search bar. Of course some people hate it, in which case it’s not a bad idea to dedicate their “quick” bar to it.
Using keywords for searches solves all problems. Who uses quick search boxes anymore?