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Outfox, Outsearch With Firefox
Scrivs writes "This article goes into detail showing users how to effectively utilize the hidden search powers of Firefox. Instead of using the basic search that just sends you to an 'I'm Feeling Lucky' page from Google, you can customize the browser to perform any type of search you want."
All of this is core Mozilla functionality that can be done in the stock browser from Mozilla. Why the divisive attitudes on Firefox vs Mozilla anyway? It's like the vi vs emacs of the browser world.
Parent is a known troll!
gets me a blank page....
My favorite feature is being able to type text directly on the webpage and having it search within the webpage for matching text. By default it only searches links, but you can change that by going into Tools -> Options -> Advanced and making sure that Find As You Type is set to not 'search links only'.
Not using a search engine, I know, but it drives my nuts that when I'm forced to use IE I have to use the CTRL-F Find window.
I will shred my adversaries. Pull their eyes out just enough to turn them towards their mewing, mutilated faces. Illyria
I've been using most of those features for a quite a while now.
:.
Most important are FindAsYouType and the Keywords.
I've made keywords for:
google, google i'm feeling lucky, dictionary.com, acronymfinder, urbandictionary, wikipedia and goole images.
It's very nice to write something like "img pr0n" and get many pics or "wiki slashdot" to get these precious pieces of information.
Some sites don't have a simple way to search them so for now I they don't have keywords
The autocomplete deletion thingy is new for me. I've checked and it works both for URLs completed in the URL bar and for standard autocomplete textboxes.
^_^
;why no documentation? though i am personally not opposed to searching for or reading tips on modifying the browser, i wonder why "tweaks" like this aren't documented in the help.
;are actions such as modifying the chrome or about:config considered "unsupported" by the developers at mozilla? curious...
;i would never have found out about how cool firefox keywords are without this article, for instance.
;ok, i guess mod me down... i didn't have much to say :)
;treehead
"If any part Linux was stolen, then Windows was the biggest heist in history."
That I can scroll down thru the list and find keyword.URL, but following those steps doesn't display it alone.
I implemented custom keywords some time ago, which I use constantly.
I have been using these features since phoenix0.5 days.
s r y=%s&sort=swishlastmodified&reverse=one
Quicksearches I use:
fm http://freshmeat.net/search/?q=%s§ion=project
man http://linux.ctyme.com/cgi-swish/linuxdoc.cgi?que
cpan http://search.cpan.org/search?query=%s&mode=modul
w http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%s
e2 http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=%s
dic http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=%s
google:
g http://www.google.com/search?&q=%s
l http://www.google.com/linux?q=%s
img http://images.google.com/images?q=%s
def http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3A%s
Also, when on a text console, I made a script to perform similar function: google.sh.
Tip: symlink it to different names to make your life easier.
If you want to access your quicksearches* even faster, I humbly submit a super early version of Trip, which lets Windows users enter URLs without having to wait for a browser to open, or having to use their mouse to select an input field (which, even if it takes half a second, is half a second too long).
Impatient people who like to optimise things seem to find it useful, others don't.
* FireFox doesn't allow launching quicksearches from external apps, whereas IE does, so Trip implements quicksearches itself.
What? No mention of Googlebar? For shame, forevergeek!
Chelloveck
I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
Now can someone point me to an article that will make Firefox 0.9 render Slashdot properly?
I click bookmarks, scroll down to manage bookmarks, and use that window to use them.
I have a LOT of bookmarks, with a lot of dirs and sub-dirs. Trying to navigate them from the tool bar is a pain.
Its also a pain in the manage bookmarks window, but less so.
Is there any way to display them in a explorer like list mode?
A bit offtopic, but I noticed the Firefox information page refers to "Find As You Type" as FastFind. WTF is that about? Sounds a bit too much like marketing speak.
If firefox wasn't -quite- so limited on it's pref UI. Mozilla has too many default configuration items and Firefox has too few.
I know about about:config, but my father will probably never get it (and he's a geek from the old days, he's just tired of fidgeting with hidden widgets).
A simple entry in the tools/options menu that says "advanced features" which pulled up about:config in a separate window along with better documentation and some tweaks to the UI display for about:config to allow deep help searches would be enough.
Something to make it easier for the non-expert (not necessarily newbie) to realize all the power hidden under the hood and some more explanations on what things do.
I would like to see a few more items in the Firefox pref UI as well, like more of the tabbed browsing parameters, but if not possible then the above would be sufficient.
It is more productive to voice thoughtful opinions (reply) than to judge (moderate) others.
OK this is wonderful, but...
Why can't I search the contents of a textarea???
It's nice to see this appear in Free/Open Software, but just like tabbed browsing, Opera had the search thing licked first. And it's a lot easier to choose an alternative search engine (although it isn't infinitely configurable like Firefox). And I love the "right click and choose 'Search' or 'Search with'" model that Opera 7 has.
... containing bookmarks and *bookmarklets* (Click here) So select some text and click "Google". Or if you're in the Google search results, click the "@" beside Yahoo to change to the Yahoo search results. Or select some text then click "TTS" to get it read out to you. If you're a Blogger user, click "BlogPage" to create a blog entry for the current page. Click "ACF" to create a Usenet post for alt.comp.freeware. etc.
I'm helping out with the Mozilla Keyword Repository. Right now it's a Wiki where you can add your own keywords:s
http://wormus.com/leakytap/Internet/CustomKeyword
There's also a version of the list that you can import directly into your bookmarks.
--Ajay
Is there any way to display them in a explorer like list mode?
To view your Bookmarks in a sidebar, like in Explorer, do the following.
On the menu bar, select View->Sidebar->Bookmarks, or use the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+B
Acutesearch adds this functionality to IE.
Netcaptor also has this functionality built-in, along with tabbed browsing and pop-up killing.
Other than wanting good products to thrive and geeks to be happy, I have no interest in these products.
I, I know, people shouldn't use IE.
The "I'm feeling lucky" feature freaked me out the other day. I'd typed a search string into the address bar, expecting to be taken to a google search results page, but was instead broguht to (what seemed to be) a random webpage. I couldn't find any mention of address bar search functions in the prefs, so I explored some more... and when, after typing "web search" into the bar and being brought to a spyware site, I thought my copy of firefox had been infected somehow. Futher tests revealed the truth, but for a short while I thought the gecko safe-harbour had been invaded.
If you still (are forced to) use IE, an easier way to tap into QuickSearch these days is here.
Only one army's marching into and destroying Redmond and being led by a giant red lizard. We'll let you fat ladies sing when we win, though.