Use keywords for any search engine in Firefox

One of the things I especially like about Firefox is the way search tools are implemented to make them more accessible to the user. Press Ctrl+F, for example, and you’ll be able to search the web page you’re currently visiting from the bottom tab. Or you can press Ctrl+K to activate the built-in Google search field on the top right corner – a search field that can be easily customized with other search engines. Another trick is one that Cyril taught us a while ago: using keywords to quickly search any website from the browser’s address bar.

Now with the all-new Firefox 3 you can also use these keywords to manage the built-in search engines. You only have to click on the little arrow to the right of the G icon in the search field, and select “Manage search engines”.

Then select the search engine you want to assign a keyword to and click on the “Edit keyword” button. That will open a new window where you can enter the keyword that will be linked to that specific search engine.

From this moment on, you’ll be able to search that website from the browser’s address bar simply by typing the keyword you just assigned to it plus your query. In my example, now I can search Wikipedia from anywhere just by using my keyword.