You probably use Google Search all the time, but you're only scratching the surface if you limit yourself to using their basic services. If you use Google only to search for words and phrases, you're doing it wrong. The service is loaded with many advanced tricks that you can enable from that unassuming search box.
The tips and tricks in the next few pages will help you improve the precision of the search results Google provides--and use far fewer keystrokes to get them. And we will also explore Google search various tools which will make it easier to find the latest news about a topic, search forums, find reviews or even browse results in new ways.
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Great Google Search Tricks: The nice people at Google have invented multiple ways to make their core product --Internet search--even better. The tips and tricks below will help you improve the precision of the search results Google provides--and use far fewer keystrokes to get them.
Get to know search operators: Google made its name by delivering powerful search results in response to queries of any level of sophistication, but learning to use Google's search operators can really hone your Google-fu. The Google Help Cheat Sheet rounds up some of the finest, such as define: (for quick dictionary lookups), site: (to return results from a specific Web site), and OR (as in ‘pc OR world').
Calculate and convert: The search box doubles as a calculator. Try typing math problems, such as 89*22/(16). Aside from working as a simple calculator, Google is also a great tool for converting units of measure, Try typing 100 yards = ? meters. Google will do the rest..
Narrow down your results: Usually you can find what you're looking for on the first page of Google results, but if you need something very specific--say, a page that was published in the last 24 hours--click the Show Options link above your search results and choose the appropriate option from the the 'Any time' category.
Find a killer desktop wallpaper: Google Image Search is a familiar go-to resource for users seeking new wallpaper, but finding wallpaper that fits your desktop is much easier than you may realize. Go to the Google Advanced Image Search page, and click Use my desktop size link to automatically search for images that exactly fit your desktop dimensions.
Find the current time elsewhere: Don't bother trying to convert the time from your local setting to a distant city. Just type time city , as in time Beijing, to see the current time in that location. Yeah, it's too late to call your buddy there.
Search within a domain: Google's great search engine might be better (or simply more convenient) than the search box on a particular site. To limit results to a single site, type search term site:domain name , as in netbook review site:pcworld.in. You can even search within site sections, as in netbook site:pcworld.in/features.
Search for a file type: You can look up results that match a specific file type. This trick is great for special searches, such as tracking down a product manual or video file. Try search term filetype:three-letter type . For example, I entered Zoom H2 manual filetype:pdf to find the manual for that Zoom recording device.
Get the weather: Type weather city name (as in weather Bangalore) to get a quick report of the current conditions and forecast.
Get movie times: On the Web you have a myriad of choices to look up show times, but Google's simplicity is tough to beat. Just type movies: city, as in movies Bangalore. Click the More movies link to get more-specific listings.
Awesome Google Search Tools:Google provide a bunch of useful and visual tools for a better searching experience. Most of these tools can be accessed from the 'Show Options' link. We take a look at some of the helpful tools that can make your search tasks much more comfortable and appealing.
The tips and tricks in the next few pages will help you improve the precision of the search results Google provides--and use far fewer keystrokes to get them. And we will also explore Google search various tools which will make it easier to find the latest news about a topic, search forums, find reviews or even browse results in new ways.
Related stories
Great Google Search Tricks: The nice people at Google have invented multiple ways to make their core product --Internet search--even better. The tips and tricks below will help you improve the precision of the search results Google provides--and use far fewer keystrokes to get them.
Get to know search operators: Google made its name by delivering powerful search results in response to queries of any level of sophistication, but learning to use Google's search operators can really hone your Google-fu. The Google Help Cheat Sheet rounds up some of the finest, such as define: (for quick dictionary lookups), site: (to return results from a specific Web site), and OR (as in ‘pc OR world').
Calculate and convert: The search box doubles as a calculator. Try typing math problems, such as 89*22/(16). Aside from working as a simple calculator, Google is also a great tool for converting units of measure, Try typing 100 yards = ? meters. Google will do the rest..
Narrow down your results: Usually you can find what you're looking for on the first page of Google results, but if you need something very specific--say, a page that was published in the last 24 hours--click the Show Options link above your search results and choose the appropriate option from the the 'Any time' category.
Find a killer desktop wallpaper: Google Image Search is a familiar go-to resource for users seeking new wallpaper, but finding wallpaper that fits your desktop is much easier than you may realize. Go to the Google Advanced Image Search page, and click Use my desktop size link to automatically search for images that exactly fit your desktop dimensions.
Find the current time elsewhere: Don't bother trying to convert the time from your local setting to a distant city. Just type time city , as in time Beijing, to see the current time in that location. Yeah, it's too late to call your buddy there.
Search within a domain: Google's great search engine might be better (or simply more convenient) than the search box on a particular site. To limit results to a single site, type search term site:domain name , as in netbook review site:pcworld.in. You can even search within site sections, as in netbook site:pcworld.in/features.
Search for a file type: You can look up results that match a specific file type. This trick is great for special searches, such as tracking down a product manual or video file. Try search term filetype:three-letter type . For example, I entered Zoom H2 manual filetype:pdf to find the manual for that Zoom recording device.
Get the weather: Type weather city name (as in weather Bangalore) to get a quick report of the current conditions and forecast.
Get movie times: On the Web you have a myriad of choices to look up show times, but Google's simplicity is tough to beat. Just type movies: city, as in movies Bangalore. Click the More movies link to get more-specific listings.
Awesome Google Search Tools:Google provide a bunch of useful and visual tools for a better searching experience. Most of these tools can be accessed from the 'Show Options' link. We take a look at some of the helpful tools that can make your search tasks much more comfortable and appealing.
Wonder Wheel: Google's Wonder Wheel doesn't feel like a terribly new idea. We've seen these hub-and-spoke representations of search results before from search engine companies that are probably now dead. And they're probably dead because this way of presenting results alone is not all that useful. But integrated into Google's otherwise sp
ot-on results makes Wonder Wheel a fun way of exploring a subject.
ot-on results makes Wonder Wheel a fun way of exploring a subject. For instance, when we clicked on wonder wheel while searching for Casio ex-z80, we got a wheel pointing to subjects like "Casio face detection," "Casio lithium-ion battery," "Casio NP 60," etc. To access this feature you will need to visit Google.com, since it presently doesn't works on the Google.co.in.
Timeline: This is a good way to get a feel for the buzz about the topic over time. For instance, we searched for the term "Muslim extremist" and got a good visual feel for the evolution of the term from 1970, when it was almost nonexistent, to its heyday in 2001 and 2002 right after the 9/11 attacks, to today when its use is somewhat on the wane. Not bad for a search that took less than a second.
Google Squared: Timeline and Wonder Wheel are both examples of Google not simply presenting links but analyzing information on the web, extracting it, and presenting it in a format that the search engine itself creates on-the-fly. Another and even more remarkable example of that is Google Squared. With Google Squared, you'll search for a topic and Google will pull information from all over the web and present it in a table with rows and columns. Squared looks fascinating, but it's still a part of Google Labs, indicating that it may still need some work.
Page Previews: This is a very good option when you want to quickly gauge how the website you are searching for looks like. It can come in handy when you want some visuals to help you sift through the various search results Google throws up.
Navigate results from your keyboard: Google's Experimental Search page is full of fun experiments from the search giant. One of the best is the Keyboard shortcuts experiment, which adds Gmail-like keyboard shortcuts to Google search results; for example, pressing ‘j' or ‘k' moves you up or down, respectively, between results
Timeline: This is a good way to get a feel for the buzz about the topic over time. For instance, we searched for the term "Muslim extremist" and got a good visual feel for the evolution of the term from 1970, when it was almost nonexistent, to its heyday in 2001 and 2002 right after the 9/11 attacks, to today when its use is somewhat on the wane. Not bad for a search that took less than a second.
Google Squared: Timeline and Wonder Wheel are both examples of Google not simply presenting links but analyzing information on the web, extracting it, and presenting it in a format that the search engine itself creates on-the-fly. Another and even more remarkable example of that is Google Squared. With Google Squared, you'll search for a topic and Google will pull information from all over the web and present it in a table with rows and columns. Squared looks fascinating, but it's still a part of Google Labs, indicating that it may still need some work.
Page Previews: This is a very good option when you want to quickly gauge how the website you are searching for looks like. It can come in handy when you want some visuals to help you sift through the various search results Google throws up.
Navigate results from your keyboard: Google's Experimental Search page is full of fun experiments from the search giant. One of the best is the Keyboard shortcuts experiment, which adds Gmail-like keyboard shortcuts to Google search results; for example, pressing ‘j' or ‘k' moves you up or down, respectively, between results
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