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IE Search Prefixes

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3/28/2005 8:43 PM

Comments (11)

We're always looking for ways to give you search results faster. The popular Desktop Search Shortcuts from MSN Desktop Search are good examples of this. On a related note, Internet Explorer (5.0 and above) has a little known feature that lets you quickly search for something on any site: IE Search prefixes.

After the search prefixes are set up, you can type a single word identifier (prefix) and search query in the IE address bar to send the query to any website. For example, the prefix "msn" can go to MSN Search and typing "msn chicken fried rice" in the IE address bar sends the query "chicken fried rice" to our web search.

This script installs the search prefixes below to your machine. The "Alternate" column lists additional prefixes to launch the same query (e.g. "images corvette" and "image corvette" both do the same thing).

Prefix	Alternate	Query Target	Example
define	definition, dictionary	MSN Search, web search with definition	define alpaca
encarta		MSN Search, Encarta search	encarta history of china
images	image	MSN Search, image search	images corvette
kb		Microsoft Knowledge Base	kb microsoft word
ms		Microsoft.com site	ms windows xp
movies	movie	MSN Movies	movies the incredibles
msdn		Microsoft MSDN	msdn cocreateguid
msn		MSN Search, web search	msn chicken fried rice
music		MSN Music	music peter gabriel
news		MSN Search, news search	news iraq
shop	shopping	MSN Shopping	shop digital camera
quote	stockquote	MSN Money, stock quote	quote msft
syn	thesaurus	Encarta thesaurus	syn vanguard

If you want to add prefixes for other websites, try the Microsoft Tweak UI utility for Windows XP. There are also a few shareware tools compatible with older versions of Windows. Enjoy!

Jamie Buckley
Program Manager, MSN Search

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Comments

TrackBack

3/29/2005 1:28 AM

» Internet Explorer Search Prefixes  InsideMicrosoft - part of the Blog News Channel
Brandon Paddock

3/29/2005 2:47 AM

It is my hope that this functionality is exposed in the GUI of IE 7. It's a feature of Maxthon that I'm very fond of (although to be honest, I've used it a lot less since I made all the shortcuts also a part of my DeskBar).
fake

3/29/2005 5:53 AM

Just use Firefox?
Desktop search prefix?

3/29/2005 12:08 PM

Is there prefix for desktop search?
Gary King

3/29/2005 7:32 PM

You know what? If MS had advertised this more, than it would have made IE better.

I have about 100+ search prefixes in Firefox, solely because it supports this feature. It wouldn't hurt if Microsoft at least made this known to the more advanced users, in one way or another.
taigablog

3/29/2005 7:48 PM

IE Search Prefixes On a related note, In...
RIO - Randektív Informatikai Oldal

3/30/2005 3:04 AM

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cc

3/30/2005 1:35 PM

When can we expect an update for the MSN Toolbar Suite Beta?
fake

3/31/2005 7:59 AM

Step up to the challenge and support this feature:
http://www.google.com/googleblog/2005/03/enhanced-searching-with-firefox.html
the weekly whinge » Firefox “Smart Keywords”

6/16/2007 6:43 AM

PingBack from http://www.weeklywhinge.com/?p=7
Anchor Web Hosting Blog » Blog Archive » Using browser search keywords

3/16/2009 9:21 PM

PingBack from http://www.anchor.com.au/blog/2009/03/using-browser-search-keywords/

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