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Firefox Will Soon Offer One-Click Buttons For Your Search Engines

Posted by Soulskill on from the who-needs-keyword-search dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Mozilla today unveiled some of the new search features coming to Firefox. The company says the new additions are "coming soon to a Firefox near you" but didn't give a more specific timeline. The news comes less than a week after Mozilla struck a deal with Yahoo to replace Google as the default search engine in its browser for U.S. users. At the time, the company said a new search experience was coming in December, so we're betting the search revamp will come with the release of Firefox 34, which is currently in beta. In the future release, when you type a search term into the Firefox search box, you will get a list of reorganized search suggestions from the default search provider. Better yet, a new array of buttons below these suggestions will let you pick which search engine you want to send the query to.

9 of 101 comments (clear)

  1. Ah, good, progress. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    I was just saying to myself, damn, it's almost impossible to search the net in Firefox. Without some kind of singular button, I was a ship at sea. This update is a godsend and I now die happy.

    1. Re:Ah, good, progress. by jenningsthecat · · Score: 3, Insightful

      A search engine is a web page. Google (without the auto-suggestions) is my home page. The first thing I do after installing a browser is remove the useless "search box", leaving nothing but the actual address bar.

      Yup, me too. I go one step farther - I turn off search from the address bar. If there's text in the address bar, and the text isn't a URL, the browser should do nothing. It's called an address bar for a reason.

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  2. Already have this in my Firefox by Nyder · · Score: 2

    I use google, and for some reason, i can type something into the search box, I'll get auto-suggestions and one click action.

    Yes, I already have 1 click search action in the current build of firefox without doing anything.

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    Be seeing you...
  3. stupid right away by NotInHere · · Score: 2

    unless I use a screen-keyboard, I need to change my hands from the keyboard to the mouse and back again for this "one-click-experience". Thats stupid. My setup has "one keypress search" (ok actually two if you count whitespace), which is far more better. I use an already existing feature. My most important search sites get such shortcuts. My current prefixes are:

    w : en.wikipedia.org
    s: en.wiktionary.org
    d: duckduckgo.com
    a: web.archive.org (link down? just paste URL, pos1 and a + space)
    g: google.com
    y: youtube.com

    Best thing is, it isn't cluttered up with all that ebay or other sites. Disadvantage of course is that I have to set it up on each computer I use firefox on.

    1. Re:stupid right away by Blaskowicz · · Score: 2

      I was using the keyword feature 10 years ago, now I don't (esp. since the search box's engine choice was merged with the default search in URL bar) and I don't rely too much on the features of a customized firefox profile.

      The keyword feature is very old, even available in the former "Mozilla" browser.

  4. Poor yahoo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Spending all that money just so people can change the default engine back to google.

  5. Re:Huh by rtb61 · · Score: 2

    Pretty obvious why Yahoo still exists, to pay more than Google for default search engine status on Firefox ;). Also they are one of the last major portals to offer a properly customisable 'my'portal interface, now that myAOL and myMSN are now dead and myGoogle never really existed. If there are any other major properly customisable 'my'portal web sites out there, provide some links.

    One click search doesn't really work, mainly because for best search results specialised search engines are preferable, http://mycroftproject.com/sear... or http://mycroftproject.com/sear... or when you want you privacy back http://mycroftproject.com/sear.... As examples, so using the most appropriate search engine for the results you are after takes more than one click.

    --
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  6. Re:So what? by OhPlz · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That may change as it gains in popularity. Sounds like two major groups went to Pale Moon from Firefox.. those that detest the UI changes Mozilla keeps inflicting on its users and those that don't agree with Mozilla's stance on social justice. They're not necessarily separate factions either, I'm sure there's overlap.

    Browsers don't need to do much. They render pages. They execute scripts. I can't for the life of me understand why there are so many updates to it. Many of them seem like steps backwards, such as screwing with a UI that everyone is familiar with.

    Pale Moon might not be the long term, maybe, maybe not, but there's a vacuum looking for a long term option. MSIE isn't it. Chrome isn't it. Firefox isn't it. Which browser can appeal to the masses and stay true to its purpose?

  7. It all about marketing Yahoo by Stan92057 · · Score: 2

    It all about marketing yahoo and pushing people to use the default search providers. I mean yahoo is paying them millions of dollars its what Yahoo wants not really what FF wants. maybe the numbers are very different then what we think they are. Meaning people who actually use the default search and search bar/box whatever ya want to call it

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