I know Ctrl+L moves focus to the browser address bar, and I use it all the time across browsers. What would be useful though, on sites such as this one, Amazon, or even Google, is a shortcut which moves directly to the "main" search bar at the top of the page. Is there such a thing?
8 Answers
Not in every situation but / (slash) works on a lot of websites like Google pages (Youtube, Gmail, Drive, Photos...), Facebook, Twitter... and brings you to that page's search box
/ - Search
In Github you can even see the / shortcut on the search box
s or /: Focus the search bar. For more information, see "About searching on GitHub."
Same to JIRA:
See Jira - Using Keyboard Shortcuts
Tip: Use the Forward Slash (/) to Access Quick Search
It also works in Google after searching: Shortcut for Google search box
/ is also the shortcut for "quick find" in Firefox.
If you want to do the same in Chrome you'll need SlashSearch
This key probably comes from several Unix command line tools (lile less
or vi
) where /
is the search feature
Since you are using chrome, the closest thing I can think of is using an extension called vimium.
- You press "f," it shows a letter (or two) in front of every field on the page.
- You press that letter, and it simulates a click.
This way can achieve the desired outcome of using a shortcut to jump to the search bar, but this shortcut changes from page to page.
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1The OP also tags Firefox and there are similar extensions like Vimium-FF– phuclvAug 16, 2019 at 3:46
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If you're using Firefox, you could go to about:config
and configure accessibility:tabfocus
to 1.
See here for more details: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Accessibility.tabfocus
This will force the Tab key to give focus to text fields only so most of the time, just once or few presses of the Tab key directs it to the search bar and other text fields.
This userscript adds a slash keypress event listener for google search pages.
You can use it with Tampermonkey in most modern browsers.
Firefox
- Jump to address bar: Ctrl+L
- Input search engine keyword: @<search-engine><Enter>
- Input search query
Tip: Firefox has auto-completion after inputting @ symbol. A relative drop-down menu appears below the address bar that shows your choices.
Search Settings
Add, change, or remove search engines and keywords: about:preferences#search
Examples
Default Search Engine: Ctrl+L@TAB the Beatles
Enter
Amazon: Ctrl+L@AmazonSpace Beatles submarine
Enter
DuckDuckGo: Ctrl+L@dTab Beatles memorabilia
Enter
Pros & Cons
Pros
- This will work for any search engine that can be added into Firefox in preferences.
- Defaults come with Firefox: Amazon, Google, Bing, eBay, DuckDuckGo, Wikipedia
Cons
- This doesn't work with websites outside of what you can add-on in Firefox's preferences.
You can workaround this con through:
/ or Ctrl+F search features by searching for a keyword on the webpage that sits adjacent to the search bar then Tabbing over. Use ShiftTab to tab backwards.
Use Google's
site
operator in search bar to search a given domain.site:github.com avr assembly
Use an Extension
If using Chrome, simply install Search Box Focus. It allows you to set your own custom shortcut and works basically everywhere. On any website that has a search bar.
depending on how you use your browser.
i. e. Google Chrome accepts it by using F6 as any default browser for the Adress Bar, any text for them will redirected to the default search engine
you can use "Tab". After you type the website on address bar. for example: www.google.com then press TAB
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1This is what to do when you are in the address bar, not how to get to it from a browser view. May 3, 2021 at 16:09