Chrome keyword for search engines restriction

August 18, 2014 4:21 AM

So in Chrome you can define short keywords to perform a search with the search engine of your choosing. If I type "am shoes" in the address field, it searches for shoes on amazon.com. However, some keywords are blocked, for example I can't use the prefix "gm"for google maps or "rt" for rotten tomatoes. As I transitioned from Opera which has no such restrictions, and having used these prefixes for a long time, I would like to keep using them. Anybody know how to circumvent these restrictions, or at least why they are in place?
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

These are both possible, I believe. At least, I was able to do it.

For Rotten Tomatoes, it is pretty simple. First, go to Rotten Tomatoes and search for something using the "Search" bar at that website. Once you do that, Chrome should know about the site. Now, right click the "omnibar" or whatever you like to call it and select "Edit search engines..." Somewhere in "Other search engines" should be Rotten Tomatoes. I just changed the middle field to "rt" (no quotes) and now when I do a Ctrl-L and type 'rt batman' it does a Rotten Tomatoes search for 'batman'.

Now, Google Maps is a bit different since any search on Google Maps is actually mapped to a search on Google.com, so the search engine entry for that wins. However, you can make your own. On that same "Edit search engines..." page, add a new entry under "Other search engines" with these fields:

Google Maps | gm | https://www.google.com/maps/place/%s

Now when I type 'gm chicago' in the omnibar, it does a Maps search for chicago.
posted by Fortran at 5:39 AM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]

Google Maps is no different -- you can go to maps.google.com, right-click in the search bar, and select "Add as Search Engine...", and set the keyword as "gm", and it works just fine.
posted by misterbrandt at 8:19 AM on August 18, 2014 [1 favorite]

You might check all your saved search engines using the steps that Fortran gives to see if you have a short keyword duplicate.
posted by Mo Nickels at 1:56 PM on August 18, 2014

Ya, I use gm as well, without issue. One thing I started doing is using launchbar for that sort or shortcode - that way if I switch to a new browser I don't need to change how I search.

I'm sure there is a Windows equivalent - Launchy is one I used years back.
posted by backwards guitar at 8:10 PM on August 18, 2014