Foreword
The following is a tips and tricks references for using the Google search engine in ways you may not know are available.
Tricks
define: – The “define:” protocol is used to quickly
obtain the definition of a word. For example, enter the following into
either Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box:
“define:ollie”. The definition and sometimes alternate spellings of the
word are displayed.
link: - The “link:” protocol is used to find out
which sites are currently linking to a domain name. For example, enter
the following into either Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google
search box: “link: godlikemouse.com”. All the sites that are currently
linking to godlikemouse.com are displayed.
related: – The “related:” protocol is used to find
out which sites or pages are related to the specified link, domain or
subject. For example, enter the following into either Google Chrome’s
address bar or into the Google search box: “related:godlikemouse.com”.
All the sites and pages that are related to the content of the
godlikemouse.com index page are displayed.
math functions - Let’s say you want to know the
answer quickly to a long math problem. You can either bring up a
calculator, switch to scientific and how that it has all the functions
you want to use, or you can just simply enter the entire equation into
either Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box. For
example, try entering: “9*(sqrt 9.8)/7″. The following is displayed: (9 * sqrt(9.8)) / 7 = 4.02492236
metric conversion – Now how about those pesky metric
conversions. How many cups are in a quart? How many feet in a mile?
etc. You can enter the following format directly into Google Chrome’s
address bar or into the Google search box: “convert {first-metric} to
{second-metric}”. For example, let’s convert quarts to cups by entering
the following: “convert quart to cup”. The following is displayed: 1 US quart = 4 US cups
population - Ever want to know how many people live
in a specific state or country. You can enter the following format
directly into Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box:
“population {state-abbrev}”. For example, let’s find out how many
people live in Washington state. Enter the following: “population wa”.
The actual number of people along with a trend graph is displayed and
source reference is displayed.
synonyms – Need to find a synonym for a word. You
can enter the following format directly into Google Chrome’s address bar
or into the Google search box: “~ {word}”. For example, let’s find a
synonym for the word “mouse”. Enter the following: “~ mouse”. Links
describing different means of the word and modifications to the word are
displayed.
movie showtimes – Need to know what time a movie is
playing in your local area. You could go to movies.com or the like, or
you can simply enter the following format into Google Chrome’s address
bar or into the Google search box: “movies {zip-code}”. For example,
let’s find movies and times for Gig Harbor, WA. Enter the following:
“movies 98332″. A short 3 line summary of movies and times are
displayed. Now click the showtimes link and all the movies and times in
that area a displayed.
plane flight information – Need to quickly look up
plane flight information. Simply enter the following format into either
Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box: “{airline}
{flight-number}”. For example, let’s say we needed to find out about
American Airlines flight 14. Enter the following: “American Airlines
14″. A link and synopsis of departure, arrival, on time or delayed, etc
is displayed along with a link which will display even more in depth
information.
maps – To quickly display a map, enter the following
format into either Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google
search box: “{location} map”. For example, let’s check out Italy.
Enter the following: “italy map”. A map is displayed of Italy. By
clicking on the map or link it takes you to maps.google.com which will
allow you to investigate the area even more.
package tracking – Need to track a UPS, USPS or
FedEx package. Simply enter the tracking number directly into Google
Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box. For example, let’s
track a UPS package. Enter the following: “1Z9999W99999999999″. A UPS
link with the tracking information is displayed. If this were a real
package, the link clicked would give you more details on the package’s
location.
patent search – If you’ve every applied for a patent
(what fun that is…) and what to check up on it’s status (every 2 years
or so) you can enter the following format: “patent {patent-number}”.
For example, let’s check up on the status of the bathtub overflow
device. Enter the following: “patent 5123123″. The relevant patent
information is displayed.
sunrise/sunset information – Want to know what time
sunrise or sunset is for today or in a specific location. Enter the
following format into either Google Chrome’s address bar or into the
Google search box: “sunset {location}”. For example, let’s see when
sunrise is in Gig Harbor. Enter the following: “sunrise Gig Harbor”.
The sunrise information is displayed along with additional information.
You can use varied information for the location ranging from named
locations to zip code.
time – Need to know time in a specific location.
Enter the following format into either Google Chrome’s address bar or
into the Google Search box: “time {location}”. For example, what time
is it right now in Singapore? Enter the following: “time singapore”.
The current time in Singapore is displayed along with relevant timezone
information.
stock quotes – Want to check up on a stock, just
enter the stock abbreviation into either Google Chrome’s address bar or
into the Google Search box. For example, let’s see how Cisco stock is
doing. Enter the following: “CSCO”. Relevant stock and trading
information is displayed.
weather – Don’t have a window? Want to know what
tomorrow’s weather is going to be like? Enter the following format into
either Google Chrome’s address bar or into the Google search box:
“weather {location}”. For example, let’s see what the weather is going
to be like in Beverly Hills. Enter the following: “weather 90210″.
Relevant forecast and current weather is displayed.
Tips
inclusive searching - To force the inclusion of a
word that Google may be removing due to it being to common or any other
reason. Simply prefix the word with a “+”. For example, to force the
word “and” you would use “+and”.
exclusive searching – To force the removal of
specific search terms from results to limit results to only relevant
terms, simply prefix the word to be removed with a “-”. For example, if
you do a search for the word “oil” and you see many results containing
the word hair, you could add “-hair” to the search query and anything
with the word hair in it would be removed from the results list.
exact phrase matching – To ensure that a phrase or
word is matched exactly as typed, surround the phrase or word with a set
of quotes. For example, if we search for: “jQuery Quick Start
Tutorial” without quotes, we get related jquery quick start matches.
Now if we search for the same phrase this time actually surrounded by
quotes, wet get the GodLikeMouse link because the terms are matched
exactly word for word with placement.