Google Chrome has many novel and impressive features and one of them is the ability to use multiple search engines or search different websites right from the address bar. Consequently, it does not have an accessory search bar like is found on other web browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera or Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Google calls this versatile search bar the Omnibox. If you are new to Google Chrome or have not taken the time to learn the many tricks that it offers or just prefer to search the old way, then you need to read the following:
Searching From the Address Bar
This feature allows you to search using any search engine or to search a website without having to visit the website first. To search from the Google Chrome address bar, you simply type in your search term (as long as it is not a web address) and press enter. The default search engine is set to Google when Chrome is first installed. You may change the default search engine at any time as shown below.
Using other non-default search engines or websites from the address bar is also simple. Type in the URL of the search engine or website such as “www.bing.com” and then press Tab when the prompt appears in the address bar. Go ahead and type in your search term and results from that search engine will be displayed.
Managing Search Engines in Google Chrome
Viewing Available Search Engines
To see which search engines or sites can be searched in the manner described above (i.e. from the address bar), right-click inside the address bar and select “Edit search engines”. This will display a smaller window where you can see the search engines that have been captured on Google Chrome.
Alternatively, you can click on the Tools button (the wrench icon) in the top right-hand corner and then select Options from the menu that appears. Select the “Basic” tab and click on the Manage button towards the bottom of the window that is displayed to view the search engines.
Choosing a Default Search Engine
To use another search engine such as Yahoo! Search, Bing, or Wikipedia (or any website’s search engine that you prefer) instead of Google as your default search engine, do the following:
– Follow either of the steps mentioned above under Viewing Available Search Engines.
– Highlight the search engine of your choice and click on the Make Default button on the right hand side of the window.
Adding or Removing Search Engines
– Follow either of the steps mentioned above under Viewing Available Search Engines.
– To add a search engine, click on the Add button and fill in the required fields. These fields include the name, keyword and URL of the search engine. To determine a search engine’s URL, click here for a detailed guide on how to add search engines to Google Chrome.
– To remove a search engine, highlight that search engine and click on the Remove button.
Tip: The keyword is the word that causes the Tab prompt to appear when you type in the name of the search engine. It can be any word but should be one that is related to the search engine. It is usual and advisable to simply use the site’s URL such as “amazon.com”.
Editing Search Engines
– Follow either of the steps mentioned above under Viewing Available Search Engines.
– Highlight the search engine you would like to edit and click on the Edit button. Make your changes and click OK to save.
