Context Search Plugin for FireFox
Results from a previous poll indicate that very few PixelWit.com visitors use a toolbar when browsing. I don’t use one either, but there’s one FireFox plugin that I absolutely have to have. It’s called Context Search and I like it so much that it’s the first FireFox plugin that I reinstall after a catastrophic hard drive failure. 😉 This simple little (9k) tool helps you easily research terms found within a web page.
Here’s how it works, let’s say you’re minding your own business, reading your favorite blog, when all of a sudden, WHAM! you run into an unfamiliar word like “apoptosis”. Quick, what do you do? You could “skim-over” the word and pretend “apoptosis” means something amusing like “fear of toaster pastries” or, if you actually need to comprehend what you’re reading, you could use Context Search to quickly reference your favorite search engines and learn everything there is to know about the not-so-fascinating world of apoptosis.
Simply highlight the word or phrase in question, right-click it, select “Search for ‘apoptosis'”, and then choose a search engine from the list. Context Search will let you choose from any of the search sites listed in your FireFox Search Bar (Google, Yahoo, Dictionary.com, etc.). If you middle-click the search engine, your results will be opened in a new tab and that tab will gain focus. If you left-click when choosing a search engine, the results will open in a new tab but that tab won’t gain focus. This allows you to continue reading without interruption and it’s a great way to create a cache of search pages linking to interesting aspects of the current page.
Context Search is small, easy to use, and free. If you use it, let me know what you think.
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Hi Joga, yes, providing a selection of various search engines is the main benefit of using Context Search. I like this feature because Google isn’t always the best resource when researching a given topic (Word definitions, Product info, etc.). The other thing that sets it apart is the ability to middle-click and view the results immediately in a new tab.
I like FireBug too. 😉
I’ll have to check out those other plugins you mentioned too, thanks for the tip.
Without this plugin there’s still the “search _defaultSearchEngine_ for ___” context menu in firefox though. At least in the 2.0.0.12 i have running. Is the only difference that you have the option of choosing which search to perform instead of just your default?
The first thing i reinstall is firebug. life wouldn’t be the same without being able to edit other people’s websites on the fly. then minimize to tray and cache status. Minimize to tray is great for thunderbird too, so i can keep it running without it taking up real estate in my taskbar.