Search with the Firefox address bar

Revision Information
  • Revision id: 104324
  • Created:
  • Creator: Joni
  • Comment: made this shorter by separating default search engine steps into another article
  • Reviewed: Yes
  • Reviewed:
  • Reviewed by: heyjoni
  • Is approved? Yes
  • Is current revision? No
  • Ready for localization: Yes
  • Readied for localization:
  • Readied for localization by: heyjoni
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Revision Content

Access all your favorite search engines conveniently through Firefox's built-in Search bar. The Search bar is easily customizable, so you can add, remove and reorder your search engines in just a few clicks.

Access all your favorite search engines conveniently through Firefox's quick search bar.

Note: If you are using a localized version of Firefox, the Search bar and Settings described below may not apply to you. These changes will be available in a future version of Firefox.

Using the Search bar

Enter a search into the Search bar at the top of the browser or on the New Tab page. Firefox will take you to the search results page for the search engine that's currently selected.

Search Bar - Win1Search Bar - Mac1Search Bar - Lin1Search1 29 - WinSearch1 29 - MacSearch1 29 - Linsearch bar 31

Change your search engine

The logo next to the search field tells you which search engine is currently active. You can change your search engine at any time, regardless of the default provider.

  • From the toolbar: Click on the arrow next to the icon and select your preferred search engine from the list:
Search Bar - Win3 Fx8Search Bar - Lin3Search2 29 - WinSearch2 29 - MacSearch2 29 - Linswitch search 33
  • From the New Tab page: Click on the logo and select your preferred search engine from the list:
change search tab 31search new page 33
Note: Any changes you make to one of the search bars will also apply to the other one.

Firefox comes with the following search engines by default:

  • Yahoo for searching the web via Yahoo
  • Google for searching the web via Google
    Note: The default Google search is encrypted to prevent eavesdropping.
  • Bing for searching the web via Microsoft Bing
  • Amazon.com for searching for products on the Amazon.com retail website
  • DuckDuckGo as a search engine for users who don't want to be tracked when they search
  • eBay for looking up items for sale or auction at eBay
  • Twitter for searching people on Twitter
  • Wikipedia (en) for searching the English Wikipedia free online encyclopedia
Note: The new search engine you select will remain active until you change it again.
Customize your search settings: If these settings aren't right for you, changing them is easy. See Manage Firefox search settings or Add or remove a search engine in Firefox for more information.

Using the Search bar

  1. Simply type into the Search bar on your toolbar or on the New Tab page.
    new search 34
  2. As you type into the toolbar search, your default search engine shows you suggestions to help you search faster. These suggestions are based on popular searches or on your previous searches (if enabled).
    search suggestions 34
  3. Press returnEnter to search using your default search engine, or select another search engine by clicking on its logo.

Available default search engines

Firefox comes with the following search engines by default:

  • Yahoo for searching the web via Yahoo
  • Google for searching the web via Google
    Note: The default Google search is encrypted to prevent eavesdropping.
  • Bing for searching the web via Microsoft Bing
  • Amazon.com for searching for products on the Amazon.com retail website
  • DuckDuckGo as a search engine for users who don't want to be tracked when they search
  • eBay for looking up items for sale or auction at eBay
  • Twitter for searching people on Twitter
  • Wikipedia (en) for searching the English Wikipedia free online encyclopedia
Customize your search settings: If these settings aren't right for you, changing them is easy. See Manage Firefox search settings or Add or remove a search engine in Firefox for more information.