Faster Firefox searches

The search box in Firefox is quite handy, but its clunky to switch between search engines and difficult to add engines, too. Here's a quick tip for making searches faster and easier with a Firefox add-on called Lookpicking. First, go to Lookpicking.com and grab the add-on. Install and restart Firefox. Then create an account at Lookpicking. This is where you'll manage the search engines you use in Firefox. They'll send you an e-mail with a link you need to click on to confirm your membership. From the Lookpicking Web site, you can add search engines to your account, that will show up as options in Firefox. The fastest way is to click on the link to add the 50 most popular. Now you'll see the lookpicking option in the search box. Start by typing the name of the search engine you want to use, say Yahoo. Press enter and then type your search term. The search will be carried out at Yahoo. Go back to the box and press the double arrows to return to search engine selection. Then type a different engine say Wikipedia and enter your search term. Your search will be conducted within Wikipedia, taking you directly to the page in question when possible. You can also search from YouTube, Delicious, and any other engine you can add to your account. It's much faster than the old way of using a drop-down menu.