Web Search Keywords

Web search keywords let you make up new pseudo URL schemes, or shortcuts, that parameterize commonly used addresses. For example, you can set up a shortcut like gg to trigger a search with Google, so typing gg:my query searches for “my query”. This module is under Workspace > Search in System Settings.

[!NOTE] They're called pseudo URL schemes because they're used like one, but the input isn't URL-encoded. You type google:sonic apps, not google:sonic+apps.

You can use them wherever you'd normally use an address, such as KRunner, which you open with Alt+F2 or Alt+Space. Shortcuts for several search engines should already be set up, and in this module you can add new ones and change or delete existing ones.

#The list

The list shows the names of the keywords you've defined. You can click a column heading to change the sort order, and resize the columns.

Enable Web search keywords has to be checked for this feature to work. New…, Edit… and Delete create, change and remove keywords.

If Use preferred keywords only is checked, only the keywords marked in the Preferred column are used where only a few can be shown at once.

• Default Web search keyword: The search engine used in input boxes that look things up automatically when you type words instead of an address. Select None to turn this off.
• Keyword delimiter: The character separating the keyword from what's being searched for.

#Editing a keyword

Double-click an entry or click Edit… to see its details: its Name, its URL and its Keywords, which you type wherever addresses are expected. A provider can have several keywords, separated by commas. Character set chooses the encoding for the query.

Most URLs have \{@} in them. These four characters are a placeholder, replaced by whatever you type after the colon between the keyword and your query. The button at the right of the field adds it.

Suppose the URL is https://www.google.com/search?q=\{@}, and gg is its keyword. Typing gg:alpha is the same as https://www.google.com/search?q=alpha. Whatever you type replaces \{@}, after being converted to the search provider's character set and URL-encoded. Only the \{@} part is changed. The rest should already be URL-encoded and is left alone.

You can also have shortcuts without a placeholder. If the URL is file:/home/me/mydocs/words and the keyword is mywords, typing mywords: is the same as typing the whole URL. There's nothing after the colon, but it's still needed for the shortcut to be recognized.

So although these are called web search keywords, they really are shortcuts to parameterized addresses, which can point to anything an address can, not just search engines.