I use Google Chrome as my default browser but a recent inadvertent action resulted in New Tab appearing with it & then displacing it immediately. I found some instructions for getting rid of it but the first step is to type in 'the location bar' the words 'about:config'.
My problem, as always, is the first step: where/what is the 'location bar' ?
You can use the address bar (omnibox) as a search box. It automatically uses Google, but you can set another default search engine instead. If you notice unexpected changes in your search engine, you might have malware. Learn how to remove malware. If you've tried to set your search engine but it doesn't work, you may have malware. Get help restoring your Chrome settings. Tips: "Search engine" field Enter a label or name for the search engine.
Add, edit, or remove site search shortcuts
How to fill out text fields
"Shortcut" field
Enter the text shortcut you want to use for the search engine. You can enter the keyword in your address bar to quickly use the search engine.
"URL with %s in place of query" field
Enter the web address for the search engine's results page, and use %s where the query would go.
To find and edit the web address of the results page:
- Go to the search engine you want to add.
- Do a search.
- Copy and paste the web address of the search results page into the URL field. The address for the search results page is different from the website address.
- For example, if you search for "soccer," the Google search results URL is //www.google.com/search?q=soccer.
- Replace the search term in the URL with %s.
- For example, if you were using the Google search results URL, your search engine address would be //www.google.com/search?q=%s.
- On your computer, open Chrome .
- In the address bar, enter the text shortcut you created for your favorite search engine or site to search.
- Press Space or Tab.
- In Chrome’s settings, you can choose whether the Tab key or Space bar activates your address bar.
- Enter your search term.
- Press Enter.
Using a Chromebook at work or school? Your network administrator might choose a default search engine or manage your search engines for you. Learn about using a managed Chrome device.
Google took away the full URL of the sites you’re visiting to shorten things up. Here’s how to get the full link back in the address bar.
Google Chrome recently started hiding the full URL in the address bar of the sites you visit. In addition, it now hides the “//” and “WWW” part of the link you are visiting. Some users might not even notice the change, but power users do. And if you’re annoyed by the change and would rather see the full length of a URL, there is a hidden flag in Chrome you can enable.
If you want to see the full link of the page you are visiting and not Google’s shortened version, follow the steps below.
How to Force Chrome to Show the Full URL
If you want to force Chrome to show the full URL in the address bar, here’s what you’ll need to do:
- Open a new Google Chrome browser window.
- Right-click the address bar and select the Always Show Full URLs option.
That’s it! You can repeat this trick in Chrome and other Chrome-based browsers, including Microsoft Edge.
How to Hide Full URLs in Google Chrome
If you want to hide full URLs in Chrome, right-click the address bar. From the menu, uncheck the Always Show Full URLs option.
Older versions of Chrome required you to access the advanced settings menu to enable and disable this feature (chrome://flags/#omnibox-context-menu-show-full-urls) but this is no longer required. If you don’t see the Always Show Full URLs option, you’ll need to update Chrome to the latest version.
There are some interesting things you can do with Chrome by enabling or disabling certain flags. For example, check out our articles on how to enable tab groups or how to disable Chrome’s tab hover cards. Or, to clean things up on the browser with Chrome version 76 or above, read our article on how to combine Chrome extensions with the extensions toolbar menu.