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Favorite Features

Pages in this section highlight some of Nancy’s favorite Google features. You can find more information about these features in other sections of Google Guide.

My Favorite Features by Nancy Blachman

Note: Nancy uses this page for presentations on her favorite Google features. You can find more information about these features in other sections of Google Guide.

In addition to searching the web, you can use Google to find specific information that is available offline or on specialized sites.
1. Tools

Google Toolbar

Browser Buttons

Translation & Language Tools

 

2. Shortcuts

Driving Directions (Street Maps)

Definitions

Google Calculator

More Shortcuts

 
 
 

3. Special Searches

News Search

Sets

 
 

4. Other Features

More Relevant Results

Highlighting Terms

Preferences

Advertising

Advanced Search and Search Operators

Links

 
 

tags (keywords): favorite

...read all of: My Favorite Features by Nancy Blachman

This page was last modified on: Sunday February 26, 2012

Favorite Tools

Note: Nancy uses this page for presentations on her favorite Google features. You can find more information about these features in other sections of Google Guide.

Enter a query even if Google’s home page isn’t in your browser.
Toolbar - toolbar.google.com/ (Internet Explorer)

Firefox Toolbar - toolbar.google.com/firefox/ (Firefox)

Googlebar - googlebar.mozdev.org/ (Mozilla and Netscape)

Safari web browser (Macintosh OS X)
My favorite Toolbar features include

Feature
What it can do

Search Box
Access Google’s search technology from your browser toolbar.

Highlight
Highlight terms on the current page.

Pop-up Blocker
Stop annoying […]

...read all of: Favorite Tools

This page was last modified on: Friday February 2, 2007

Favorite Shortcuts

Note: Nancy uses this page for presentations on her favorite Google features. You can find more information about these features in other sections of Google Guide.

Google provides shortcuts for finding commonly sought utilities and information, which you may have previously found offline or on specialized sites.

Want Driving Directions?
Enter a U.S. street address, including zip code or city/state.

  

Clicking on a map-provider link takes you to a map showing the location result and links to driving directions.

Need a Definition?
If […]

...read all of: Favorite Shortcuts

This page was last modified on: Sunday February 26, 2012

Keeping Abreast of the News

Note: Nancy uses this page for presentations on her favorite Google features. You can find more information about these features in other sections of Google Guide.

I set up Google Alerts to send me email when news articles of interest to me appear on the web.

I’ve also set up Google Alert, a third-party service available at www.googlealert.com.

Google Alert is more flexible and returns more results than Google’s News Alerts.
tags (keywords): alerts, favorite, news

...read all of: Keeping Abreast of the News

This page was last modified on: Friday February 2, 2007

More Relevant Results

Note: Nancy uses this page for presentations on her favorite Google features. You can find more information about these features in other sections of Google Guide.

Google returns pages that match variants of your search terms.

  

The query above finds pages that contain words that are similar to some or all of your search terms, e.g.,

“child,” “children,” or “children’s”
“bicycle,” “bicycles,” “bicycle’s,” “bicycling,” or “bicyclists”
“helmet” or “helmets”

Google calls this feature word variations or automatic stemming.

Want only Exact Matches?
Disable automatic stemming by surrounding […]

...read all of: More Relevant Results

This page was last modified on: Sunday February 26, 2012

Special Notation

Note: Nancy uses this page for presentations on her favorite Google features. You can find more information about these features in other sections of Google Guide.

You can fine-tune your search query and increase the accuracy of its results by using special characters and operators, such as +, –, ~, .., OR, and quotation marks.
Force Google to include a term by preceding the term with a “+” sign.

  

The + operator is typically used in front of stop words that Google would […]

...read all of: Special Notation

This page was last modified on: Friday February 2, 2007

Diacritic Marks and Accents

Note: Nancy uses this page for presentations on her favorite Google features. You can find more information about these features in other sections of Google Guide.

How can you search for a term that might include one or more diacritics, marks, such as the umlaut (ö) in Gödel or the acute accent of resumé?
Note: For queries with diacritics, results vary depending on the language to which you are confining your search.

Note: On the English-language version of Google, a term with an accent […]

...read all of: Diacritic Marks and Accents

This page was last modified on: Sunday February 26, 2012

Favorite Preferences Setting

Note: Nancy uses this page for presentations on her favorite Google features. You can find more information about these features in other sections of Google Guide.

By default, Google returns just 10 results for a search.
You can increase the number of results displayed per page to 20, 30, 50, or 100.

The more results displayed per page:

the more likely you are to find what you want on the first page of results
the more slowly the page loads

tags (keywords): favorite, preferences

...read all of: Favorite Preferences Setting

This page was last modified on: Friday February 2, 2007

Translation and Language Tools

Note: Nancy uses this page for presentations on her favorite Google features. You can find more information about these features in other sections of Google Guide.

Web pages are available in languages other than English.
When Google finds a page in a language different from your language of choice, a translation link lets you get the gist of the page.

Want to translate some text or a web page? Try the Translate feature available from the Language Tools link on Google’s home page.
[…]

...read all of: Translation and Language Tools

This page was last modified on: Friday February 2, 2007

Highlighting

Note: Nancy uses this page for presentations on her favorite Google features. You can find more information about these features in other sections of Google Guide.

I look at the cached version of a page, when Google returns

a link to a page that appears to have little to do with my query
or if I can’t find the information I’m seeking on the current version of the page.

Click on the Cached link to view Google’s cached version of the page with the […]

...read all of: Highlighting

This page was last modified on: Friday February 2, 2007

Google Sets

Note: Nancy uses this page for presentations on her favorite Google features. You can find more information about these features in other sections of Google Guide.

Google showcases some prototypes and products in development on the Google Labs, the web site of Google’s research group.
My favorite prototype is Google Sets. To use it:

Enter a few items from a set of things.

Google Sets will try to predict other items in the set.

I’ve used Google sets to find

potential co-authors
things to eat for […]

...read all of: Google Sets

This page was last modified on: Friday February 2, 2007

Advertising

Note: Nancy uses this page for presentations on her favorite Google features. You can find more information about these features in other sections of Google Guide.

I never would have imagined that I would be listing Google advertising among my favorite features.
Google’s approach to ads is similar to its approach to search results: the ads must deliver useful links, or the ads are removed.

Ads must be relevant to your search.
Ads must not distract (no pop-up or flashy ads).
Sponsored links are clearly […]

...read all of: Advertising

This page was last modified on: Friday February 2, 2007

Advanced Features

Note: Nancy uses this page for presentations on her favorite Google features. You can find more information about these features in other sections of Google Guide.

Like a race car, there are special features if you want more control over your searches.
When you don’t find what you’re seeking, consider specifying more precisely what you want by using Google’s Advanced Search Form, which

is easy to use
allows you to select or exclude pages with more precision than by only specifying search terms and […]

...read all of: Advanced Features

This page was last modified on: Friday February 2, 2007

Links to Other Useful Information

Note: Nancy uses this page for presentations on her favorite Google features. You can find more information about these features in other sections of Google Guide.

Click on any of the following links for more on these topics.

Selecting Search Terms
How Google Interprets a Query
Refining a Query
What Appears on the Results Page
Getting to the Last Result
When Google added features (Feature History)
How Google Works

For more features and services as well as how Google works, read Google Guide (www.googleguide.com) or How to Do Everything […]

...read all of: Links to Other Useful Information

This page was last modified on: Friday February 2, 2007



For Google tips, tricks, & how Google works, visit Google Guide at www.GoogleGuide.com. Google Guide is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by Google.

Creative Commons

By Nancy Blachman and Jerry Peek who aren't Google employees. For permission to copy & create derivative works, visit Google Guide's Creative Commons License webpage.