Scott Porad

Recently, I have started using Chrome as my regular browser.  When it was released originally, I used it as my default browser, but then I switched computers and got in the habit of using other browsers.

One of the things that I’ve really come to like about Chrome is the address bar.  Unlike IE, Safari or Firefox, Chrome doesn’t have a separate search box—if you want to search, you just type directly into the Address Box.

This is a huge usability improvement.  As a user, when I want to find something in my browser I don’t have to think about where I want to go—Address Box or Search Box—I just start typing.  It’s like Chrome has turned the Address Box into a command line.

With that in mind, I thought, “What else could I do from this command line?  I wonder if I could send a status update to Twitter?”  And, the answer is yes, I can!

In Chrome, this is done by adding a Search Engine, although we’re not really searching…we’re populating the Twitter status update field.  (Click here for instructions on how to add a search engine.)  Here’s how you do it:

• Click the Wrench
• Click Options or Preferences
• Click Basics tab
• Click Manage (which is next to Default Search)
• Click Add
• Enter the following values:
  • Name: Twitter Status Update
  • Keyword: tweet
  • URL: http://twitter.com/home?status=%s
• Click OK and close out of all the dialog windows

Now, here’s how it works: simply type “tweet” then a space and your status update, like so:

then press enter, and Chrome will load Twitter in your browser with your status message.  To complete the update without having to take your hands off the keyboard, simply press Tab and then press Enter or Return.

Suddenly, Chrome has become even more usable because through “Search Engines” I can use the Address Box as a command line for any web page that uses a single querystring parameter.

UPDATE: This same thing can be done in Firefox by adding a “keyword” to a bookmark.  I bet it could be done in IE and Safari too, but I have not tried.