Some browsers separate the address bar and the search box. Google Chrome was the first to use what they call the omnibox. The omnibox is a combination of the address bar and the search box. This means you can perform a Google search right in omnibox, or you can type in a full web address and be taken directly to the site.
Mozilla Firefox
Google Chrome
Productivity Tips
Control L
Control L will highlight whatever is in the omnibox (or search box). If you are using the omnibox you can start typing directly what you are trying to find. If you are using a browser that separates the search bar and the address bar you will need to toggle over the search window if you do not already know the website address you are looking for.
www. and http:// are dead to you
There are occasions that you need to type in www. or http:// but for the most part you can omit typing these prefixes. The www. and http:// visually signal to you that the words are a website, however when you type the website into the address bar you can leave them off.
For example if you see that there are some nifty EdTech tips on https://www.alicekeeler.com you can simply type alicekeeler.com into the address bar. Neither the http:// or the www. is necessary. Save yourself the hassle and just type youtube.com or whatever website you need to travel to.
Define
Using Google Chrome the ominbox can do some pretty cool things all by itself. If you type the word define followed by a colon, no space, and the word you want to define then you do not need the extra step of going to dictionary.com. Teaching students some of the omnibox tricks can save valuable instructional minutes in class.
Calculator
The omnibox also acts as a calculator. Directly type in a math problem into the omnibox and push enter. You can get fancier a simple 4 function calculator also. Try typing something like 2+3 sin(45) into the omnibox, it will calculate that as well.
Graphing Calculator
Using the variable x I am able to graph functions within the omnibox. Type 3x+1 and press enter.
Time In
Type “Time in Hong Kong” into the omnibox. Without having to travel to a website on time zones students are able to have some global perspective. Using Google Hangouts or Skype in the Classroom some teachers are connecting with other classrooms around the globe.
Convert
Type “3 dollars to yen” to find the conversion rate.
Track Packages
If you are like me, you buy a lot of things for your classroom. Paste the tracking number right into the omnibox.
2 thoughts on “Tips and Tricks: Search, Address Bar and the Ominibox”
You can also find out which terminal your flight leaves/arrives from by typing in the flight number.
Hi, I made an infographic of this for younger students which you can find at http://qslin.org/infographic-for-grades-3-8-google-shortcuts-for-lifes-questions/
qslin.org stands for Quebec School Librarians Network