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Firefox Quick Search for Lifehacker.com?
Posted by Gina Trapani at 1:00 AM on March 18, 2008
Dear Lifehacker,
I'm trying to make a keyword search bookmark for Lifehacker.com in Firefox, but it's not working. In the address bar, I can type http://lifehacker.com/search/myterm/ and it'll search for "myterm" but when I make a quick search bookmark for this, using http://lifehacker.com/search/%s/, I get a "Bad Request" error since Firefox doesn't replace the %s with the actual search term. All my other keyword search bookmarks work great. Am I doing something wrong?
Signed,
Desperately Seeking Quick Search
Dear Desperately,
You're not doing anything wrong; whether it's a Firefox or Lifehacker problem, it's true that the correct bookmark for a site search (
http://lifehacker.com/search/%s/) does not work in Firefox 2.0.0.1.1.2. (It does, however, work in Firefox 3 Beta 4, which leads me to think it's a Firefox issue and not our crackhead site. Surprising, I know.) My advice to you, O Searcher of Lifehacker, is to skip our site search entirely and use Google instead. Bookmark the following URL:
http://www.google.com/search?&q=site:lifehacker.com.au+%syourkeyword your search terms to find Lifehacker posts on any topic.
AU - if you need to search old Lifehacker archives (before the AU days!) then drop the ".au".
Sorry for the Firefox 2 quick search problem. Here's three more useful Lifehacker quick searches you might want to try out as well.
Love,
Lifehacker
Tags: announcements | ask lifehacker | bookmarks | firefox | google | quick searches | search techniques | top
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
joelena
Posted 2:22 AM 18/3/08
Actually, the only problem you have is the forward slash on the end of the string.
hxxp://lifehacker.com/search/%s
works fine for me.
joelena
toritaiyo
Posted 3:15 AM 18/3/08
I second Craig.
It made me laugh too and adds to the love I have for lifehacker.
Definitely one of the best sites on the net (and recently 2nd only to Google in usefulness for me)
toritaiyo
Craig720
Posted 3:15 AM 18/3/08
I love it when you say things like, "it's a Firefox issue and not our crackhead site. Surprising, I know."
I had to laugh. I love this place. I guess I should say site. That would be more accurate.
I can rarely get any site's search feature to function better than I can search it using goodle's site search feature.
Anyway, back to real life. Sigh.
Craig720
Robert J. Walker
Posted 3:15 AM 18/3/08
Or use the search plugin: [mycroft.mozdev.org]
Robert J. Walker
gawyn210
Posted 4:04 AM 18/3/08
Robert,
Thank you for the Tip! I love it.
gawyn210
Deadman36g
Posted 4:04 AM 18/3/08
@Robert J. Walker: "Or use the search plugin: [mycroft.mozdev.org]" +1
Deadman36g
aj_robins
Posted 4:53 AM 18/3/08
If you read Lifehacker via Google Reader (I do), the search function there works amazingly well -- just limit your searches to LH. Also:
* Since it's google, you can search for phrases, too (e.g., "better gmail 2").
* You have a consistent search mechanism for multiple websites. You're no longer dependent upon the nuances of each website's search function.
* It's also very nice for those times when you remember reading something, but can't remember where you read it (assuming, of course, that you read it via Google Reader).
Highly recommended. :-)
aj_robins
JeffCarr
Posted 5:46 AM 18/3/08
Hey, thanks, I was just fighting with this in del.icio.us myself about 2 minutes ago...
Thanks for the solution jolena!
JeffCarr
farlane
Posted 7:45 AM 18/3/08
You are the man, woman or other, alotasB!
I couldn't get any of the others to work - I love community!!
farlane
¶alotasB.
Posted 7:45 AM 18/3/08
[lifehacker.com]
This shalt work. (Checked the html code of the search box which sends a POST request here. Then are we redirected to a "subdirectory" of lifehacker.com/search/)
¶alotasB.
The How-To Geek
Posted 7:45 AM 18/3/08
I use the "Google Lifehacker by Keyboard" search plugin...
[lifehacker.com]
In fact, I used it to find that link. =)
The How-To Geek
miragj
Posted 3:14 AM 19/3/08
@¶alotasB.: That's exactly what I wanted! Awesome.
miragj
sumeshpremraj
Posted 3:14 AM 19/3/08
I'd wondered about LH search a few weeks back too. I guessed it must be some difference in the way the search box here is coded, and started using the google search box in Firefox.
sumeshpremraj
abackstrom
Posted 4:57 AM 19/3/08
Gah! The sub-pixel antialiasing, it burns! Some of these screenshots are getting pretty hard to read.
abackstrom