February 27, 2007

Goal-Oriented Browsing

This is something very small, but useful if you have a very clear target in mind. Let's say you're trying to download an application: you go to its homepage and find some interesting description of a customer, the features. Instead of trying to visually find a link that says "Download", use the find feature of your browser.

* Ctrl+F in most browsers, including Internet Explorer and Safari (Cmd+F)
* / or ' in Firefox (use the single quote to search only the links)
* / or , in Opera (use comma for link search)
* to find the next match, type Enter if the search box has focus or F3 in most browsers
* Google Toolbar has a nice feature called word find

You'll find what you're looking for much faster and you won't get distracted by shiny pictures and irrelevant news.

at

2 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 27, 2007 at 11:17 PM

    "Find as you type" in Firefox makes it even easier. The browser starts searching without the need for some hotkey.

    Death to sites that use images as links! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMarch 1, 2007 at 11:13 AM

    In Opera, you can also use the dot button to search text. No need to hold Shift!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.