When i enter a phrase in the address bar it searches it in google instead of going to the site i wanted directly, as it did in 3.6
When i used earlier versions of Firefox i used to type a phrase or word i related to the website i wanted to reach and firefox would directly open that website. for example, if i wanted to download AVG antivirus i would type "download AVG antivirus" and press enter, and the browser would direct me to the website he thinks i meant, it usually worked great, in version 4 it directs me to the search page in google instead, how can i use that feature again?
All Replies (4)
The change between Firefox 3.6.* and Firefox 4 is how location bar search works. In Firefox 3.6 it uses Google "Browse by name" search. With the browse by name search, it performs a Google search and if there is a clear match it will take you to the site, otherwise it shows the Google search result. With Firefox 4 it just performs a Google search if you type something which is not recognised as a URL.
To get the Firefox 3.6 behaviour on Firefox 4 you need to change a hidden preference.
- Type about:config into the location bar and press enter
- Accept the warning message that appears, you will be taken to a list of preferences
- Locate the preference keyword.URL, double-click on it and change its value to the link shown below
http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=
Worked like a charm! thanks alot! why did they change the default? i loved that feature, and if its changed, why isn't it accessible through the normal settings menu??
anyway, thank you!
Several clients and I think this is great that you've changed the default. Going directly to a site has significant consequences for some businesses, especially for those whose competitors may have the geographic keyword for their location in their name, completely circumventing all the search optimization of everyone else on first page of Google. Readers, please leave your browsers set as they are so you see choices. (For those that think Firefox was always like this, it was not, only a few years ago it started going directly to a website. Their guess is not always best.)