This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

How do I change the default search engine in the address bar?

  • 9 replies
  • 44 have this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by Morbus

more options

I am trying to change the default search engine in the address bar to Scroogle SSL, I have tried editing about.config but it either goes to Google or on rare occasions it has opened to Scroogle SSL and the address bar shows https://ssl.scroogle.org/(+whatever was entered), while the main window shows a proxy error . I have an idea that something needs to be added at the end of the URL in about.config to actually make it search. Can anybody tell me what the specific settings would be to get this working? I have Scroogle SSL in the search engine list but I want to remove the search box to save space.

Also I cannot get the search to open in a new tab even though browser.search.openintab is set to True.

Thanks in advance.

Operating system

XP-SP3

I am trying to change the default search engine in the address bar to Scroogle SSL, I have tried editing about.config but it either goes to Google or on rare occasions it has opened to Scroogle SSL and the address bar shows https://ssl.scroogle.org/(+whatever was entered), while the main window shows a proxy error . I have an idea that something needs to be added at the end of the URL in about.config to actually make it search. Can anybody tell me what the specific settings would be to get this working? I have Scroogle SSL in the search engine list but I want to remove the search box to save space. Also I cannot get the search to open in a new tab even though browser.search.openintab is set to True. Thanks in advance. == Operating system == XP-SP3

All Replies (9)

more options
more options

Try using this for your keyword.url value: https://ssl.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/nbbwssl.cgi?Gw=

See: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Keyword.url#Replacing_Google_with_other_search_engines_for_location_bar_search

~~red:Suggested in Mozillazine article above:~~ http://www.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/nbbw.cgi?Gw= -not SSL

~~red:My suggestion:~~ https://ssl.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/nbbwssl.cgi?Gw= -should keep you in SSL for subsequent searches from the Scroogle search results page

Source: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-firefox-addons-to-enhance-google-search/ (comment from Daniel Brandt near bottom of page)

more options

Thank you both for your replies, as soon as I get a chance I will check them out and let you know.

more options

I am lost!

I have entered https://ssl.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/nbbwssl.cgi?Gw=%s into the keyword.URL and I can search from the location bar. The confusion is the search page that is opening is not Scroogle (SSL or otherwise) but the OpenDNS guide?

I tried http://www.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/nbbw.cgi?Gw=%s and that opens the OpenDNS guide as well?

more options

I see the source of your confusion. The link in "Source" at the bottom of my reply shows the keyword.url value with "%s" at the end; my suggestion does NOT.

I had discovered through testing that with the value in that link would work if the "%s" is omitted as shown twice in my post, on the first line and following "My suggestion".

more options

Hi, having tried both ways myself what you say is true but that is not the source of my confusion.

(In fact I discovered that when I set the same thing up in Opera10.53 everything up to the ? appears on one line in the setup and the Gw=%s on another.)

What I cannot understand is why, if I am using Scroogle SSl search it is opening the OpenDNS guide. If I use my Scroogle SSL home page it opens a minimal Google search page, the same thing happens if I use the search box. I expected this would be the same as well or am I missing something?

OpenDNS is preferable to Google but not what I was looking for.

Since I started writing this I have just discovered that changing the keyword.URL does not affect this.

Earlier I recovered my system from an image which undid the changes that I had made to about.config, I have run searches both before and after I edited it again. Both times I finished up on OpenDNS?

more options

I can not explain why you are getting directed to the OpenDNS Guide. I use Comodo DNS instead of my ISP's DNS servers and have no problem with the Scroogle SSL set up that I gave you. I goes to a page with results from Scroogle.

I am not an Opera user, so I can not comment on that. I do recall seeing somewhere in the past that the link for Opera was a bit different than for Firefox. Just Google "Scroogle SSL" and do some reading. That's the way I found this information some months ago.

more options

Yes I think I shall have to do some more reading but at least I have got the Location Bar search working. If I cannot turn up an answer I can always contact Scroogle.

As far as DNS servers go I use the ISP,s (AOL). I tried Open DNS but it slowed everything down too much, as I now use a VPN and a Proxy I have no worries about security, I just don't like the idea of Google or anyone else keeping endless records.

Thank you again for your help, before I started this thread I was looking at the browser.search items in about.config. None of the things that I had previously read had mentioned keyword.url.

more options

I want google as maim search engine. I do not like Bing