Note: This site is currently "Under construction". I'm migrating to a new version of my site building software. Lots of things are in a state of disrepair as a result (for example, footnote links aren't working). It's all part of the process of building in public. Most things should still be readable though.

Google Site Search Bookmarklet

I use Firefox. I use Google. Often while I'm browsing a web site in Firefox, I want to use Google to search that site (and only that site) for something. Google is usually way better than internal search engines. Two ways to do this are: 1) to go to http://www.google.com/ and add "site:example.com" in the search box so that Google only returns results for the specific site (in this case, example.com). 2) Install the Google Toolbar which provides a convenient search box that can search the site you are currently on. I don't like the first one cause it takes a little while and I have to either type in the site name or copy and paste it out. Not hard, but annoying. I don't like the second option since I already have a ton of other stuff installed and I don't want to install the entire Google Toolbar just to get that feature. It has a ton of other stuff that I don't want to use. So, enter option three: Bookmarklets. Basically, a bookmark that contains javascript code instead of a page address. I've been meaning to create a Google Search This Site bookmarklet for some time, but never got around to it. Finally got fed up tonight and made it. I know this works in my Firefox 2 browser on Windows XP, but it probably works in some other browsers as well. All you have to do is create a new blank bookmark. Name it whatever you want and then in the "Location" or similarly named section paste this in: Assuming it doesn't get mangled somehow, when you are on a site that you would like to search with google, simply click the bookmarklet. It should open a new window with Google in it and the search field already filled out with the site you want to search. Just enter your search term after it, and away you go.