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COMMENTS

Helpful Tip: Quickly Switch Between Search Engines in Your Browser


browser search engines I’ve never been a big fan of the search box located in almost all of the browsers these days, and I’m not quite sure why. Maybe it is because I can setup keyword searches that turn the address bar into its own search box? Personally I always remove the search box when possible just to regain some more space.

If you’re not like me then you’ll likely enjoy this tip. Normally to switch between the different search engines you’ll have to hit the drop down arrow with your mouse and select the one you want from the list. Many browsers actually have keyboard shortcuts that make changing search engines a little faster, and in the end it can save you oodles of time. Here are the shortcuts for Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Opera:

  • Firefox
    • Control+Up/Down Arrows: The icon for the search engine will change according to which one you currently have selected, but you won’t see a list of search engines.
    • Alt+Up/Down Arrows: A drop down list of the different search engines is displayed.
  • Internet Explorer
    • Control+Up/Down Arrows: A drop down list of the different search engines is displayed.
  • Opera
    • Up/Down Arrows: A drop down list of the different search engines is displayed.

Now you can shuffle through the different search engines like there is no tomorrow!

Your Week in Review with Sunday’s Summary CyberNotes: Office 2007 Prototype History March 16th, 2008 Written by Ryan
  1. JKMarch 16, 2008 at 3:28 pm

    Sadly, this doesn’t work for me.

    /using Firefox 2.0.0.12

    Reply
  2. RichardMarch 16, 2008 at 4:46 pm

    Works for me

    Reply
  3. MaxAll-StarMarch 16, 2008 at 6:38 pm

    Doesn’t work for me either (neither the ALT nor the CTRL shortcuts).

    I’m running Fx 2.0.0.12

    Reply
  4. okaniMarch 16, 2008 at 7:26 pm

    the cursor has to be in the search field for the shortcuts to work. ctrl+k to move cursor to search field. (firefox 2.0.0.12

    Reply
  5. DkongMarch 16, 2008 at 10:29 pm

    Works for me. Don’t really care. I just use Yubnub and it’s pretty much the only thing I use in the search bar.
    But wait, why do I leave it there? Why don’t I just remove the search bar and use keyword searches?

    If there’s an unlinked url on a page or forum (which happens so ridiculously often…..<_<), I can right click it, hit “search with yubnub” and then yubnub will open the link in a new tab, which is quite helpful.

    Reply
  6. big_ben191March 17, 2008 at 8:47 am

    [addons.mozilla.org]

    Changes the selected search engine in the search bar by scrolling the mouse. This saves you from having to click the menu, and then click the engine you want to use. This works both when you’re hovering over the search bar, or when you’ve selected a word and right clicked to search the web for it, then you can scroll when you’re hovering over the “Search google for…” menuitem.

    Reply
  7. motangMarch 17, 2008 at 11:22 am

    Nice tip, I didn’t even know it existed. 8)

    Reply
  8. RyanAuthorMarch 17, 2008 at 1:20 pm

    Yes, the cursor has to be in the search field in order for this to work. I guess that’s something that I didn’t really mention.

    Reply
  9. rundunMarch 21, 2008 at 9:35 am

    I use the search box all the time and like the way I can set the results to open in a new tab. “Add to Search Bar” is a good FF add-on if you use search box.

    Does anyone know if it’s possible to set keyword search results to open in a new tab without changing global settings for all bookmarks/typed URLs? If so, I might switch to keyword search.

    Reply
  10. RyanAuthorMarch 21, 2008 at 7:50 pm
    rundun wrote:
    Does anyone know if it’s possible to set keyword search results to open in a new tab without changing global settings for all bookmarks/typed URLs? If so, I might switch to keyword search.

    Unfortunately I don’t think there is a way to do it only for the keyword searches.

    Reply