Custom Shortcuts

What are Default Shortcuts

Some Default Shortcuts, not to be confused with Bookmarks, are built into the Chrome browser as defaults and they allow you to do certain things that would normally take a bit longer.

For instance, if you start to type clear history into your address bar, you'll see an option with a button appear - just give it one tap from there, you can immediately clear your browsing history with minimal effort.

Other currently available commands include these ....

open incognito tab,     manage passwords,    view chrome history,    run chrome safety check,    and — of course — play chrome dino.

What is a Custom Shortcut ? 

Custom Shortcuts, not to be confused with Bookmarks, can be created within your Chrome browser to provide an extremely effective way of being very productive. They only take a couple of minutes to set up but can be used time and time again in just a second or two to get your browser to do things that would normally take you a bit longer.

Quick Method 1. If you right click your mouse in your browser's Omnibox [the address bar along the top that displays URLs] you will see a list of options [* paragraph below] including the one to Manage search engines / and manage site search that allows you to create your custom shortcut using an on-screen dialogue. 

Long Method  2. If you click on the 3 dots to open the Browser Menu then select the "Settings" option near the bottom it will open the Settings Page - take the "Search engine" option a little way down the list. When the Search engine dialogue is displayed click on "Manage search engines / manage site search" 

Both of the above methods take you to the page where you create your new entry in the "Other search engines" section by pressing the blue "Add" button.

During the next dialogue you need to specify three different components for each shortcut. The first component is used to identify your shortcut [give it a label], the second component is the actual unique characters you want to key [use 2 or 3 that are easy to remember - e.g. "bq" for B&Q] and the third component is the action you want your shortcut to initiate [this can either the full URL address of an external web page {like https://www.diy.com/} or just a shortcut to an internal browser setting].

When working through the creation dialogue the above three components are referred to as the Search Engine, the Keyword, and the Query URL. 

Once created you can quickly jump to the URL of any web page, or your chosen browser setting, by simple entering your custom shortcut. See "Shortcut Examples" below.

You can learn more about the creation process used in the dialogue at these sites ....

Click here to read a ChromeUnboxed article from Apr 2022 called "How to set up site search shortcuts in Chrome"

Click here to read a ChromeUnboxed article from Jan 2021 called "Create Custom Shortcuts In Chrome For Any Website"

Click here to read a Computerworld article from Dec 2020 called "How to create your own custom Chrome address bar actions"

Omnibox Additional Functionality Examples 

There are other Omnibox options like 'Find' & 'Manage Search Engines' and 'Reader Mode' and 'Share' and 'Zoom' that you may find are well worth looking into.

Shortcut Examples 

The tables below consists of three columns for the necessary components and contain working examples.

Search Engine : This column lists the labels [names] you choose to identify your shortcuts, 

Keyword : This column contains the unique shortcuts that you will key in each time you want to do a search.

Query URL : This column contains the actual address that will be triggered when executed.

Web pages:

The first table has examples of real web addresses, in the Query URL column, that launch specific Web Pages [the Query URLs] in a similar way as you might use a traditional Bookmark.

Browser Settings:

The second table has examples of browser commands , in the Query URL column, that take you to the respective internal Settings page.

N.B.  The Search Engine names and Keyword characters must be unique, otherwise they can be anything you choose. 

Tip:

Once created any Keyword needs to be entered into the URL address bar [a.k.a. the Omnibox] of your Chrome browser so that you can to invoke it. 

Before entering the Keyword your cursor needs to be positioned in the URL box. You can do this in several ways including clicking in the URL box with your mouse; or using the tab / shift keys to select the address bar; or you can use one of the following keyboard shortcuts to quickly position the cursor inside of the box ready to enter a shortcut ....

Alt + D     selects the address bar in Chrome and most other web browsers 

F6     used on Windows

Ctrl + L     alternative for Windows

Command + L    on a Mac