This post provided by MiniTool party discusses the default reminding message in the Google search box “Search Google or Type a URL”. You have seen it thousands of times and it is easy to understand. Then, what interesting aspect of it that is discussed here?

What Is “Search Google or Type a URL”?

“Search Google or type a URL” are the default words displaying in the address bar or search box (now called Omnibox) when you open a new tab in the Chrome browser. It gives you two options to choose from for continuing to use Chrome. You can either type a keyword of what you want into the Omnibox and press Enter to see the search result, or just input the specific URL into the Omnibox and press Enter to directly go to the page.

In the new tab window, there are Gmail and Images on the upper right and Customize button in the bottom right corner. On special days (festivals, birthdays of celebrities, dates of great events in history, etc.), there is a theme created by the Google team locates above the Omnibox, and click on it will go to the search result of the theme.

“Search Google or Type a URL” in Chrome Canary

“Search Google or type a URL” is also a feature in Chrome’s Canary update. Chrome Canary is a leading-edge version of the chrome browser. Google makes use of it to test out ideas. One idea in the Canary 36 version is to bury the full URL into the top-level domain name. Even for navigating within the site, it only shows the site name.

Also Read: Fully Qualified Domain Name & Partially Qualified Domain Name

Yet, you can still see the full URL by clicking the “origin chip” button, that is, on the domain name itself. The button becomes enabled only by typing chrome://flags/#origin-chip-in-omnibox into the Omnibox. And, clicking on the domain enables you to edit it.

The advantages of the domain-only approach are that, on the one hand, it simplifies the web address; on the other hand, it creates room for a sub-field to the right that offers the option to “Search Google or type a URL”.

“Search Google or Type a URL” by Yourself

Sometimes, when you are so boring that you just open a new tab in the Google Chrome browser and type “Search Google or type a URL” following the default sentence. Or, maybe you are thinking something else and type those words without your knowledge.

Type a URL or Search on Google, Which One to Choose?

Which one should you select, enter an web address, or search on Google? It depends. If you know the exact URL of the target website, minitool.com, for example, you’d better directly enter the URL into the Omnibox or the address bar on the top and press Enter on the keyboard to directly go to the destination page.

However, if you don’t remember the full URL of the page or you just want to search for something online, you should rely on the search feature of the browser by inputting the keyword (e.g. MiniTool) into the search box and pressing Enter to let Google search into its library and list al the related websites. Then, you can browse the sites and choose some of them to open.

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About The Author

Helen
Helen

Position: Columnist

Helen Graduated from university in 2014 and started working as a tech editor in the same year. Her articles focus on data backup & recovery and disk management. Through an in-depth exploration of computer technology, Helen has successfully helped thousands of users solve their annoying problems.