If you use Firefox or Netscape 9 (or greater), you’re in luck because I’ve compiled a big ol’ list of QuickSearches you can use right now in your web browser.
What a QuickSearch does: You type a word in your address bar followed by a search phrase and ta-da, your search result appears. Very handy time saver.
- Download this file: pcmech.quicksearches (if it does not download, right click and "Save As")
- In Firefox or Netscape 9, click Bookmarks (at the top)
- Click Organize Bookmarks
- From the new window that appears, click File
- Click Import
- Choose From File
- Click Next
- Browse to where you downloaded the pcmech.quicksearches file and select it
- Click Open
You will now have a Bookmarks folder called PCMech.com QuickSearches. Any of these can be modified to your liking, or if you don’t like them you can delete later (but I’m sure you’ll keep them around!)
To test your QuickSearches, try typing map tampa florida in your Firefox/Netscape address bar, then press Enter. If Google Maps shows up with Tampa Florida shown, your QuickSearches are working!
Here’s a list of all the QuickSearches and what they do. You might want to bookmark this page for later reference.
QuickSearch: ARCADE
Example use: arcade mortal kombat
What it does: Searches the Killer List of Video Games web site for arcade machines of past and present.
QuickSearch: ARCHIVE
Example use: archive microsoft.com
What it does: Searches the archives at archive.org for past versions of web sites.
QuickSearch: BLOG
Example use: blog iphone
What it does: Performs a Google Blog Search.
QuickSearch: BOOK
Example use: book wizard of oz
What it does: Performs a Google Book Search.
QuickSearch: D
Example use: d diatribe
What it does: Defines a word using the "define" operator in a Google Search.
QuickSearch: FIN
Example use: fin aapl
What it does: Performs a Google Finance Search.
QuickSearch: G
Example use: g pcmech
What it does: Performs a Google search.
QuickSearch: GROUP
Example use: group trs-80
What it does: Performs a Google Groups (i.e. Usenet newsgroups) search.
QuickSearch: ISO
Example use: iso ubuntu 7.04
What it does: Performs an isoHunt.com torrent search.
QuickSearch: MAP
Example use: map tampa florida
What it does: Searches Google Maps.
QuickSearch: NEWEGG
Example use: newegg ati radeon
What it does: Searches NewEgg.com for computer and electronic products.
QuickSearch: NEWS
Example use: news microsoft
What it does: Performs a Google News search.
QuickSearch: NOAA
Example use 1: noaa 33617
Example use 2: noaa tampa, fl
What it does: Searches NOAA for current weather reports.
QuickSearch: PCMECH
Example use: pcmech windows
What it does: Searches PCMech.com for articles, forum postings, etc.
QuickSearch: PIC
Example use: pic hot girl on beach
What it does: Performs a Google Image Search.
QuickSearch: PROD
Example use: prod game of life
What it does: Performs a Google Product Search.
QuickSearch: SCHOLAR
Example use: scholar einstein
What it does: Performs a Google Scholar Search.
QuickSearch: VID
Example use: vid funny cats
What it does: Performs a Google Video Search (checks multiple video sites)
QuickSearch: WHOIS
Example use: whois apple.com
What it does: Performs a Domain Tools domain lookup.
QuickSearch: WIKI
Example use: wiki spock
What it does: Performs a Wikipedia (English) search.
QuickSearch: WP
Example use: wp editor
What it does: Searches the WordPress Plugins database.
QuickSearch: WU
Example use 1: wu 33617
Example use 2: wu tampa florida
Example use 3: wu tampa fl
Example use 4: wu tpa
What it does: Performs a WeatherUnderground.com search.
QuickSearch: Y
Example use: y pcmech
What it does: Performs a Yahoo! Search.
QuickSearch: YOUTUBE
Example use: youtube united states of whatever
What it does: Performs a YouTube (only) search.
QuickSearch: ZIP
Example use: zip tampa fl
What it does: Performs a ZipInfo.com search for all zip codes for a specified town/state.
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