Search customization for Firefox & Chrome

Firefox has a simple “Quick Search” mechanism (a.k.a. “Smart Keywords”)  that uses”special” bookmarks with a keyword and a token replacement mechanism. Then, when you type that keyword in the address bar, the rest of what you type is dropped into the bookmark’s location at the proper place. You have just made a custom search right from the address bar — you don’t have to navigate anywhere first.  Once this is set up to your liking in Firebox, switch to Chrome and “import bookmarks and search engines.” This will give you the equivalent set up in Chrome, without the need to edit a single thing.

Let’s say %s means “token replacement string” — then the magic web “locations” below simply tack on your search “tokens” to the end of a web address, making a search query:

http://www.bing.com/search?q=%s

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=%s

The best part of using this feature in Firefox & Chrome is that the feedback in the address bar is immediate,  and you are reassured — and made aware you are doing a “special” search on some other site.

Here is the the “Bookmarks (quicksearch)” HTML file - suitable for  download and “Organize Bookmarks / Import HTML” in Firefox.  This file includes the set of 15 custom searches shown below, and nothing else.

I opted for the concise style, where the “bookmark name” tells you everything you need to know. If you want to change a bookmarrk’s keyword, change the bookmark’s name to match. Also, there is no need for a “description” field at all — the name says what it is, and how to use it.