How to add a search engine? Topic is solved

[PaleLuc]

Looking at this page:

https://addons.palemoon.org/search-plugins/

I would like to add Etsi, which is not listed there. I have no idea how. Is it possible? How?

[Kruppt]

Do you mean this site?
https://www.etsi.org/search-results
I went to the site and clicked on the search bar icon
and at the bottom of the menu clicked on
Add "ETSI Search Standard"

[billmcct]

I think he means "etsy" the shopping site. Their server is overloaded. Can't get a page open.

[Kruppt]

Went to https://www.etsy.com/ and the option to add from the search bar menu did not appear.
I installed https://addons.palemoon.org/addon/add-as-search-engine/
and right clicked inside the search area at top of https://www.etsy.com/ page
and selected "Add as Search Engine" from menu and that did work.

[PaleLuc]

Sorry, there has been a misunderstanding. I realize it's my fault. This is the Etsi I mean:

https://etsi.me/

I guess it's just not as popular and well-known as I had assumed.

Went to https://www.etsy.com/ and the option to add from the search bar menu did not appear.
I installed https://addons.palemoon.org/addon/add-as-search-engine/
and right clicked inside the search area at top of https://www.etsy.com/ page
and selected "Add as Search Engine" from menu and that did work.

I just tried that and it worked perfectly. Problem solved. Thank you very much.

[suzyne]

As a general tip https://mycroftproject.com/search-engines.html has more search add-ons to choose from, and has a utility to make you own plugin if there isn't one for a site.

[Raava]

As a general tip https://mycroftproject.com/search-engines.html has more search add-ons to choose from, and has a utility to make you own plugin if there isn't one for a site.

By "plugin", could you mean it will create one of these xml files that could be found in this folder

Code: Select all

~/.moonchild productions/pale moon/RANDOM.default/searchplugins/

and all xml files in there will be added as search engines into the search engine sub-menu? (That you get when clicking the "triangle pointing down" icon next to the icon to your current selected search engine)

If so that would be a great thing since one could add all kinds of more or less unknown search engines.

---

Could one even define one via https://mycroftproject.com/search-engines.html as so:

Code: Select all

"search phrase" site:forum.example.com

when no search function exists on forum.example.com ?

Update
Seems not. I tried that idea (not with the example URL of forum.example.com, but with an existing real forum URL), but mycroft tells me

Search results
Nothing found.

[suzyne]

The page https://mycroftproject.com/submitos.html is what you can use to make your own plugin, and be sure to turn on the Show full instructions? option to get a better understanding of what is needed for each field. But it is only for cases where the site already has some sort of search function, so it won't work for any site.

For a site without search, as you discovered, you still need to use Google, or your search engine of choice:

Code: Select all

"search phrase" site:forum.example.com

But for sites that do have some sort of search, mycroftproject can help. For example, if I wanted to make a search plugin for DNYUZ, by using the search on that site you can discover that the necessary search url would be:

Code: Select all

https://dnyuz.com/?s={searchTerms}

[PaleLuc]

Interesting. Customization is always a good thing. The more the better.

Now a different question. Whenever I enter a bare word in the address bar, Palemoon goes straight to google with the bare word as search query. I can't find a way in the configuration section to change the default search engine. How do I change it?

Note: I am using Pentadactyl. That may or may not matter. I don't see anything relevant in my .pentadactylrc file.

[billmcct]

Personally I use this:

https://addons.palemoon.org/addon/add-as-search-engine/

[Kruppt]

<snip>

Now a different question. Whenever I enter a bare word in the address bar, Palemoon goes straight to google with the bare word as search query. I can't find a way in the configuration section to change the default search engine. How do I change it?

<snip>

type in URL box : about:config
then paste below in Search at top of page.
browser.search.defaultenginename
Note the current "Value" and change it to the Engine you prefer for the default.

[PaleLuc]

type in URL box : about:config
then paste below in Search at top of page.
browser.search.defaultenginename
Note the current "Value" and change it to the Engine you prefer for the default.

Worked again. Excellent. Many thanks.

[PaleLuc]

It's not working anymore!

It worked yesterday, but I just ran a search by entering a bare word and it went straight to Google.

So I went back to about:config and browser.search.defaultenginename and it was set to Google.
I changed it to 'etsi' like I had done before.
It doesn't work anymore. It still uses Google.
And I close and relaunch the browser and go back to about:config and browser.search.defaultenginename and it is set back to Google! Like trick candle.

Where is that coming from?

[Moonchild]

Well something is setting your search engine to Google in that case (Google isn't even included in Pale Moon by default, so...)
Perhaps one of your extensions might be misbehaving? Are you using any "cleaner" software on your system?

It would probably help at this point if you provide troubleshooting info.

Go to the Pale Moon menu, Help -> troubleshooting information. On that page click the "Copy text to clipboard" button, and paste it in your reply. Preferably use the forum's "hide" tags around it so it won't cause a big blurb to scroll past for readers

[Goodydino]

My experience is that whatever search engine is showing in the searchbar is what will be used by default from the address bar.

[Moonchild]

My experience is that whatever search engine is showing in the searchbar is what will be used by default from the address bar.

That is correct.

But that doesn't magically change, certainly not to an engine that isn't even included with the browser by default.

[PaleLuc]

Well something is setting your search engine to Google in that case (Google isn't even included in Pale Moon by default, so...)

OK. Makes sense.

Are you using any "cleaner" software on your system?

I'm not quite sure I'm sure what that means. If I know what that means, it means stuff that people run on Windows. I'm on Linux and have no "cleaner" software that I'm aware of.

It would probably help at this point if you provide troubleshooting info.
Go to the Pale Moon menu, Help -> troubleshooting information. On that page click the "Copy text to clipboard" button, and paste it in your reply.

I am really not overly fond of the idea of pasting my entire browser fingerprint here. I wish you would ask for me to check for something more specific.

Perhaps one of your extensions might be misbehaving?

The most likely hypothesis in my uninformed opinion.
But well, I disabled every single one of my extensions. A small bunch at a time (then setting the search engine to etsi and restarting every time), trying to isolate the culprit. I finally got to no extensions and the trick candle always comes back up.

So I restarted in Safe Mode. The trick candle came back again. I set it to etsi and restarted in Safe Mode again, on top of the current Safe Mode. The trick candle came back again. How could I possibly hate Google even more than I do now?

Can we rule out extensions then? What do you think? Any other possibility?

[Moonchild]

I am really not overly fond of the idea of pasting my entire browser fingerprint here.

It's necessary information if you want us to be able to help you.

it means stuff that people run on Windows. I'm on Linux and have no "cleaner" software that I'm aware of.

Well, one of the things we'd be able to see from the troubleshooting info would be that you're on Linux
It was just a random thing to ask, since some external applications might change your browser settings or remove any preference changes you may have made in a session.

It's just not possible to play 1000 questions, asking for every potential preference and extension that may be causing an issue.

There are many possibilities why settings would revert on a browser restart. on Linux it can even extend to wrong profile file system permissions and what not.

And we're still not sure where your "Google" came from.

[ron_1]

My experience is that whatever search engine is showing in the searchbar is what will be used by default from the address bar.

The OP's search bar is not shown because he states he is using Pentadactyl. I assume it's the one for Pale Moon off of PM's extension page??

[Goodydino]

My experience is that whatever search engine is showing in the searchbar is what will be used by default from the address bar.

That is correct.

But that doesn't magically change, certainly not to an engine that isn't even included with the browser by default.

Brave is not included with Pale Moon, nor is Mojeek nor MetaGer but they work as defaults after they are added as search plugins.