Google Chrome has come a long way to become the best web browser by far. It has so many unique features which makes it a no brainer to be preferred over other web browsers. But the most unique and definitely one of the most liked feature of Chrome is unified search/address bar also called omnibar. I personally can't live without it. The omnibar searches the keywords using default search engine(Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.) we provide. But it isn't limited to search content only in default search engine at a time. You can also search your favourite website right from the omnibar in Chrome.
This feature has been there in chrome for quite a long time. But I wonder many people know about it. To search your favorite website from the omnibar, all you have to do is type name of the website and press <space> or <tab> key. Chrome instantly lets you know that now you can search on this website. However, to let this work all by itself you must have visited and searched that website previously. If you haven't, then you can manually add your own search URL from settings. Here are the steps that can guide you through the process:
- Open Google Chrome Browser
Open settings Tab. Click on settings icon on top right and choose settings
Make sure Basics menu is selected on left
On the right click on the Manage Search Engines button in the Search Engine section
You will now see popular search engines like google, yahoo, bing, etc. and below there are other search engines you used previously on sites you visit
There you can add your favorite website or modify it's keyword to type when you want to switch to that search engine from the address bar
Make sure you enter the search URL properly and put %s in place of value of the query parameter
If you find step 6 and 7 difficult and website you want to search is not already in the list, then just go to your website which you want to search from the address bar and search something on the site. It will appear in the Other Search Engines list automatically
Now go back to the address bar and type website name e.g. wikipedia.org and press <space> or <tab> key. Address bar will show "Search Wikipedia.org:"
So that's the custom search feature in Chrome. Very useful and time saving. Did you like this feature and will you use it? Which website search engine would you like to add? Let everyone know in the comments.