Firefox: Change Address Bar Search Provider

by Mitch

in Firefox

When Firefox performs a search from the Address Bar, it queries the search engine string you have setup within Firefox. If it’s using Yahoo, you can switch to Google. Don’t like Google? Use DuckDuckGo. Here’s how to switch which search engine Firefox searches when you use the address bar to search.

1. In Firefox type about:config in the address bar and press ENTER.

2. Locate and double-click the entry for keyword.URL

3. Set the value based on which search provider you would like to use for your address bar searches. Here are a few search strings you can use.

Yahoo: http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=

Ask: http://www.ask.com/web?q=

Bing: http://www.bing.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=

DuckDuckGo: http://duckduckgo.com/?q=

Google: http://www.google.com/search?&q=

ChaCha: http://www.chacha.com/search/

Firefox Keyword URL

Last modified August 30, 2011



{ 76 comments… read them below or add one }

Mark May 17, 2013 at 5:55 pm

Perfect changed to Google using your URL THANKS!

ddFL May 8, 2013 at 8:01 pm

It worked for me ONLY if I do:
After you typed: about:config
In the search box type “bing”
Modify EVERYONE with:
http ://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-
8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=
And it works – SO HAPPY

petrichor April 21, 2013 at 9:11 pm

Thanks!
Is the ‘ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient’ at all useful in the bing address?
I’m using ‘http://www.bing.com/search?tbs=qdr&q=’ and it works great.
AFIK, Bing is the only engine that will still interpret your search terms exactly as you wrote them — include ‘+’ before the first word without a space in between. The use of quotes and ‘+’ stopped working all the time with Google and drove me away.

mc April 11, 2013 at 9:15 am

Address bar search got hijacked by Yahoo, trick didn’t work even after restart (ff23beta).

ASKNF March 9, 2013 at 8:54 am

AWESOME, THANK YOU!

Bogit March 5, 2013 at 12:28 pm

It works for me, thanks.

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