save searching time with Google shortcuts.

Navigation: Main page

Author: Gunn, Holly

â†' Do you know that you can obtain definitions and perform calculations, conversions, and a variety of other tasks on the Google search bar? Learning the useful searching features in this article can save time and make you a more efficient searcher.

The most useful shortcut for most Web searchers is Google's definitions. The ability to obtain definitions from Google without reaching for a dictionary or searching a dictionary web site is very helpful when reading technical literature online. Type define in front of the term for which you want a definition, and Google returns a definition as well as search results for the word.

Example: define recombinant

To obtain a variety of definitions without any search results, type define followed by a colon.

Example: define:recombinant

Google's search bar acts as a calculator and can perform basic arithmetic functions and even advanced math tasks involving trigonometric functions, logarithms, factorial, and probability calculations. Simple type your mathematical expression in the search bar, and press Enter to perform the calculation. The results that Google returns appear under each example.

Example 1:53.99 + 24.95 + 14.95 + 10.00 - 1.95

53.99 + 24.95 + 14.95 + 10.00 - 1.95 = 101.94

Example 2: 15% of 5,284

15% of 5,284 = 792.6

Google's calculator also performs conversions involving units of measure.

Example 1: 100 kilometers in miles

100 kilometers = 62.1371192 miles

Example 2: Cups in a quart

1 U.S. quart = 4 U.S. cups

Google's Help Center (www.google.com/help/calculator.html) provides a bare-bones description of its calculator and its functions, but other web sites such as EwingSeniorNet Computer Literacy Center (www.ewingsnet.com/) offer a more detailed explanation of the calculator's features.

Google's search bar will perform currency conversions for the more common currencies.

Example 1: 5 Canadian Dollars in GBP

5 Canadian dollars = 2.32948364 British pounds

Example 2: USD in EUR

1 U.S. dollar = 0.832085206 Euros

Example 3: Currency of Canada in Japanese money

1 Canadian dollar = 91.1521011 Japanese yen

The search syntax that you use matters. The search phrase Currency of Canada in Japan does not provide a currency conversion, but Currency of Canada in Japanese currency does. Check Google's Help Center [www.google.com/help/features.html#currency) for wording arrangements that deliver results. Conversions are not performed for currencies of smaller countries.

Google's phone book, weather, street maps, parcel tracking, and travel information work only for locations in the United States, and the stock market quotes are delivered only from the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, and AMEX.

Type the name of the person or business followed by the city, and Google retrieves the person's phone number. Google will also perform a reverse search. Type the phone number in the space bar, and Google finds the person's street address. Google's Help Center lists various formats that you can use to locate phone numbers.

To see weather conditions and a four-day forecast for a particular location, type the name of the place, followed by the state or zip code.

Example: Weather Berkeley, CA

Weather for Berkeley, CA
70°F

Partly Cloudy
Wind: W at 12 mph
Humidity: 64%

To obtain a street map, type the street address, followed by name of the city in Google's search bar, and Google provides a choice of maps for the requested location: Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps, or MapQuest.

Example: 260 Beach Walk Honolulu

Map of 260 Beach Walk,
Honolulu, HI
Google Maps- Yahoo! Maps - MapQuest

To see delays or weather conditions for U.S. airports, type either the airport code or the name of the city followed by the word airport. Example 1: Denver airport

View conditions at Denver International Airport (DEN), Denver, Colorado www.fly.faa.gov

Example 2: mco airport

View conditions at Orlando International Airport (MCO), Orlando, Florida www.fly.faa.gov

Type the stock symbol in the Google search bar and receive a live quote and information about the stock.

Example: Goog

GOOG (GOOGLE) 287.76 -5.74 (-1.96%) 29 Jul at 4:00PM ET

Open:               Volume:
292.14              8,374,949

High:               Avg Vol:
292.84              11,958,000

Low:                Mkt Cap:
286.99              78.36B

Nasdaq data delayed by
15 minutes - Disclaimer

Google's search bar performs many functions other than searching the Web. Visit Google's Help Center to get an overview of Google's capabilities and shortcuts, and spend a few minutes trying these search engine shortcuts. They are great time-saving tools to add to your searching toolkit.

GRAPH

??? Google Inc. (2005). Google Help Center. Retrieved July 31, 2005, from www.google.com/help/features.html

??? May, J. (2005). The many faces of Google: Shortcuts. Ewing SeniorNet Computer Literacy Center. Retrieved July 31, 2005, from www.ewingsnet.com/documents/ CourseOutlines/ManyFacesofGoogle/short cuts.html

~~~~~~~~

By Holly Gunn