How can I automatically use a " -searchterm " instead of having to input it all the time?
I am a Linux user and any time I do a search I end up having to type " -windows " to remove content that is not relevant to me. Parents could use such a feature to customize a list of terms to exclude from searches so their kids are not "accidentally" exposed to adult material.
All Replies (8)
A search engine web site may have such an option, but I don't know.
When you stop to think about it, you wonder why it is so hard to find something like this. I'm sure someone (not me, I'm working on learning BASH at the moment, and my memory isn't what it used to be - depression) could whip up such an addon in an evening or two. Some way to add words to a list that would be excluded during a seach. Mind you, since most search engines limit the number of terms you can use it would need to perform the initial search and check the rest against the list.
Anybody up for a challenge?
You can add modified search plugins if the basic ones don't have all the parameters you need. That would affect all searches run through the search bar with that plugin. Which site do you like to use that you would like to modify?
Alternately, you could modify queries on demand but, the more you exclude the less predictably search engines behave, so your results may become a little odd.
I maintain a userscript that allows you to easily exclude sites you don't want to see in your results. Someone could borrow the code and modify it to exclude words you don't want in your results (off the top of my head I don't know the best user interface for that).
https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/1679-google-site-tool-site-results-exclude-sites
Maybe use a keyword search via the location bar to exclude a specific term.
cor-el said
Maybe use a keyword search via the location bar to exclude a specific term.
I've been doing THAT for years, that's why I'm asking.
jscher2000 said
You can add modified search plugins if the basic ones don't have all the parameters you need. That would affect all searches run through the search bar with that plugin. Which site do you like to use that you would like to modify? Alternately, you could modify queries on demand but, the more you exclude the less predictably search engines behave, so your results may become a little odd. I maintain a userscript that allows you to easily exclude sites you don't want to see in your results. Someone could borrow the code and modify it to exclude words you don't want in your results (off the top of my head I don't know the best user interface for that). https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/1679-google-site-tool-site-results-exclude-sites
I understand where you're coming from on that one. My personal demon is that I'm looking for Linux specific information and get really tired of having to type "-windows -microsoft -ms -osx" on the majority of my searches (If only I could stop "tweaking", sigh). Such terms would likely have little effect on, say, on-line shopping.
I have more than one browser installed (DETEST Chrome, but it plays flash - Adobe has discontinued producing Flash for Linux, and there are so many holes in it that it'll take a complete re-write to plug them).
I downloaded your script and will look at it soon. I've started scripting since my retirement, and look forward to the challenge.
Example userscript for excluding unwanted words from a query: https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/15254-exclude-term-on-google-firefox-only