Custom Search Engines not working...

damienliles

Hey guys. I just got a new computer (Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon) and decided to see if there were any new browsers on the market and found you guys, drawn by the sheer level of customization on offer. And as I need to do a lot of queries across different search engines, I made sure before downloading that your browser featured custom search engines like what I was used to on Google Chrome.

Yadda yadda yadda, I installed it, customized some colors and privacy settings, imported bookmarks/start page, and was about to top it all off with custom search engines. But lo and behold, not only do my custom keywords not work, the default ones don't work, either! Does something come between the keyword and the query other than a space? Because I've already tried every combination I can think of like "g query", "g+query", "g_query", etc. but it still keeps opening with the default (Bing). Obviously, I can click into the drop-down menu and do things that way, but that would be a major blow for me, as I need to look up the same word/expression across several engines at one time (I'm in the translation/interpretation field).

I've already looked through the forums for related topics/posts as well as this page (https://vivalditips.com/search/custom-search/en), but no dice. Let me know if you need any other information from me to help solve this problem.

By the way:

When I imported my bookmarks, I noticed one of the folders was peskily turned a shade darker than the others, but it changed back after a while.
As a design recommendation, maybe the bookmarks bar could be combined into the bottom bar, off next to the Camera, Page Controls, Size Controls and what not? I know some people might look at the upcoming link address at the bottom, but I could care less + would rather have my links easily accessible without having to open an entirely new tray.
I'm based in China, so my system and browser are both entirely in Chinese. If any of the above words/terminology are slightly off, sorry. I'm pretty much translating off the top of my head here lol.

Thanks,
Damien Liles

zaibon

@damienliles You need to asign "nicknames" for your searchengines first go to
Settings --> Search--> click the pencil on the right side of a searchengine and asign a nickname in the new menu below.

Lets say you asigned g for Google than the search syntax should be g bananas

damienliles

@zaibon

Nicknames are in there, but it won't recognize them.

Pesala

You must type the nickname in the URL Field

damienliles

@pesala That actually does work. Thanks! But doesn't that also defeat the purpose of having a dedicated address bar + search bar? I like having my addresses and searches separate, and I can see how this would very quickly lead to clutter.

Pesala

@damienliles I don't see the point of the Search field. I am more likely to use the right-click context search, but I do also use the nickname search in the address bar.

I guess that those who use the search bar, select the search engine from the drop list first. OK if you have lots of engines and cannot remember their nicknames, I suppose.

zaibon

@pesala @damienliles My guess is that the searchbar is there to give users just the option to choose what they like more. I disabled the search bar in Settings --> Search --> "Show search Field in Address Bar" so I have a bit more space.

Blackbird

@pesala said in Custom Search Engines not working...:

@damienliles I don't see the point of the Search field. I am more likely to use the right-click context search, but I do also use the nickname search in the address bar.

I guess that those who use the search bar, select the search engine from the drop list first. OK if you have lots of engines and cannot remember their nicknames, I suppose.

For myself, it's a somewhat more effective way to use the browser. I enter a search term in the search box and I've set the results to appear in a new tab for that engine, which I can further peruse from within that tab or discard the tab. In the meantime, the search term persists in the original tab's search box for further usage of the exact same search term, so that I can reapply it to different engines in different new tabs. All that while, I can still employ the original page for whatever I was doing via its address box.

It comes across somewhat like 'using both my left and right hands at the same time' while working.

damienliles

Thanks for those who've posted. I essentially did the workaround you guys suggested, simply sticking with one combined address-search bar. To be extra nitpicky, though, I only allowed searches when nicknames (keywords) are used. That way I won't add to the clutter by accidental inputs.

Hopefully my message will send this time. Tried sending a few days ago but Vivaldi's internal engine kept blocking me...