You can create a Custom Search Engine for any website and search it via Chrome or Edge browser’s address bar by following the procedure laid down in this post. As an example, we will talk of Google Drive as many use it to save almost all the documents, and if you are one of them, I am sure you search for them every day. While you can open Google Drive and search if you can directly search Google Drive from the address bar, it’s going to save a lot of time. In this post, we will share how you can Google Drive directly from the Address bar. It works for Chrome, Edge, or any browser, which allows you to add search engines manually.
Search any website directly from Address Bar (Chrome and Edge)
The basic criteria to search any website directly from the address bar, using our method, is that they should support the “q=%s” query format. Here “s” is the search term, and q is the query parameter. Now a website may have used different alphabet or character. The best way to figure out is to make a search on that website and figure it out. Here are a few examples:
- Gmail: https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/#apps/%s
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%s&page={startPage?}&utm_source=opensearch
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=%s&opensearch=1
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/search?q=%s
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/search?q=%s
- Amazon: https://www.amazon.in/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=%s
To explain it further, I am taking Google Drive and TheWindowsClub as examples. Since Chrome and Edge use Chromium, and hence the implementation is similar. The best part is that you do not need to change the default search engine, but switch it on the fly.
How to Search on Google Drive directly from the browser
- Open Search Settings in Edge and Chrome
- Create a Custom Search Engine
- Perform a search.
Firefox doesn’t allow you to add a custom search engine, but instead only supports OpenSearch.
1] Open Search Settings in Edge and Chrome
In Edge:
- Click on the three-dot menu on the top right, and click on Settings.
- Click on the hamburger menu, and select Privacy and Services
- Scroll to the end, and locate Services > Address bar. Click on the arrow
In Chrome
- Click on the vertical three-dot menu and then open Search Engine > Manage Search Engine
- Click on Add to open the Add Search Engine option
2] Create a Custom Search Engine for Google Drive
In the above steps, both will open the Add Search Engine window. There are three fields in it. Search Engine, Keyword, and URL with %s in place of the query.
The second box is crucial. It will act as a shortcut to switch to Google Drive search. So if you name it as Drive, then type the word “Drive” in the Omnibox or address bar and then press tab. It will replace the default search engine with Google Drive search engine. Here is how I named in my case-
- Search Engine: GDrive
- Keyword: Drive
- URL: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/search?q=%s
Click on the Add button. Google Drive will appear in the list of search engines available with the browser. The search query will replace %s.
If you are here for the first time, I am sure you would notice tons of search engine added. Every time you visit a website that offers an OpenSearch standard, which the browser can accept, it will add it.
3] Perform Search
To search Google Drive directly from the address bar, type “Drive,” and then press Drive.
Google Drive search will become instantly available. You should see the highlighted text “Search in Google Drive.”
Now type the file name or text you want to search, followed by the enter key.
It will open Google Drive with results based on the query. There will be no difference between this and when you search after opening Google Drive.
How to Search on TheWindowsClub directly from the browser
If you search for solutions on TheWindowsClub, you can directly search on our website from Chrome or Edge. Follow the same steps as stated above, and use the URL query
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/the-windows-club-search-results?q=%s
Make sure to name the Engine and keyword as TWC.
Now the next time you want to search, type TWC, press tab, type your query, and press enter. You will visit TheWindowsClub search page directly, and results will be displayed.
What is the shortcut to search a page in Chrome?
Press Ctrl+F to search words on a page in Chrome or any other browser. It is a universal shortcut key. If you want to search a page without the Ctrl+F hotkey, then click on the three vertical dots icon available in the top-right corner of Google Chrome, and select the Find option. Alternatively, you can press the F3 key to open the Search box.
Why can’t I search in the Chrome address bar?
If the Omnibox or address bar search is not working in the Chrome browser, then first, update Google Chrome. If the browser is updated, then you should clear the Chrome data and relaunch the browser. If this doesn’t help, then you need to reset the browser or re-install it.
Thus, you can add a website’s search engine to Chrome or Edge as a Custom Search Engine.
We hope the steps were easy to follow, and you were able to search on any website directly from the browser using this tip.
