Google is working on finding Chrome browser history, bookmarks, and open tabs a tad easier for users from the address bar. In other words, Chrome’s Site search or Keyword Mode is getting even better to display your saved bookmarks, history, and tabs. The feature is gated behind the “Omnibox Site Search Starter Pack“, here is how you can enable and use it in Chrome right now.
Recently, a while back Google revamped the Manage Search engines page and Site Search. The company has also changed keyword search shortcuts for users to use either space or tab or Tab only.
Omnibox Site Search Starter Pack
Chrome is now testing a new feature to ensure you can search your stuff right from the Omnibox without the need to land on chrome://bookmarks, Chrome://history, and chrome://tabs pages via various entry points by using Site Search.
Normally, on these pages, you need to use the Search box to find what you’re looking for.
Chrome is adding another convenience to do this from Omnibox itself, where, the end results will be displayed on respective pages after search.
“Enables @history, @bookmarks, and @tabs scopes in Omnibox Site Search/Keyword Mode,” the Omnibox Site Search Starter Pack description says.
How to enable Omnibox Search for Tabs, history, and bookmarks in Chrome
- Open Chrome browser
- Visit chrome://flags
- Search for “Omnibox Site Search”, in the results highlighted, and for “Omnibox Site Search Starter Pack”, in the dropdown select Enabled and restart the browser.
After turning on the feature, here’s how to use @history @bookmarks and @tabs scopes in the Chrome address bar for Searching.
Chrome has already launched Tab Search and made it simpler to find open tabs and tabs that play video, and audio, now, you can do this stuff from the address bar itself.
How to Search for history in Chrome from Omnibox
- Type @history and press the spacebar on the keyboard
- Now input the search term and press enter as Chrome displays the results on the chrome://history page with the query filled in the search box.
How to Search for bookmarks in Chrome from the address bar
- Type @bookmarks and press the spacebar
- Now start typing where Chrome displays the relevant results on the chrome://bookmarks page with query filled in the search box.
How to Search for tabs in Chrome from the address bar
- Type @tabs in the address bar and press the Space bar
- With many websites or pages open in tabs, Chrome can now filter and display the exact tab when you type the title.
The keyword searches you performed will appear under Settings > Search engine > Manage Search engine and site earch> Site Search.
Final words:
Chrome is adding custom search engines for bookmarks, history, and tabs to look up. The feature is being tested in Chrome 105, here is how you can enable and test it.
More on Chrome:
Chrome and Edge let you reorder tabs w/ Keyboard shortcuts in a cool way
Chrome 101 for Android gets Chrome Actions