Topic: ARCHITECTURE: Search from your browser

[Joeno]

Ever found yourself wondering where you could catch those two Bidoof again? While, for some strange reason, you didn't have a PKMN.NET window open? And you want a fast result, and so search immediately?

We have a new solution for you.

These days, several browsers offer their own search bar - you type some text in and it searches on the site that is specified there. That now also works for PKMN.NET.

How, you ask? Very simple, you just tell your browser to add it, as long as it supports OpenSearch. Someone may be along to offer pictures, but it's quite simple. Go to a PKMN.NET page (both the forums and main site should work), and you should see the search engie button light up. Click it, choose to add 'PKMN.NET search', and it should show up in the list from now on. Can it be any easier than this?

Some specific notes on browser support:

• FireFox: Only FireFox 2 and higher support this. If you're still on FF1, get with the times and upgrade. You should use the search engine selector (usually the Google image by default) to add it.
• Internet Explorer: This only works in Internet Explorer 7 or higher. If you're still on IE6 or lower... yeah, you know what I'll say here. You should use the search button (the magnifying glass) to add it. (This is untested, because my IE installation is messed up, but there is no reason why it should not work. Let me know when you're sure!)
• Chrome: Google seems to automatically add our search engine when you visit PKMN.NET. To use it, first enter 'pkmn.net' in your address bar, and then the search query - an option to search should automatically appear.
• Opera: Opera does not currently support OpenSearch or Opensearch auto-discovery. However, its 'Create Search engine' feature that works by right-clicking the search box on all of our pages does the job as well.
• Safari: Sorry Apple fanboys - it seems like Safari doesn't want to make your life one-click-easy and add Opensearch or its related auto-discovery. Sorry guys. Get a browser that cares about features and usability instead of looks :p

Support for this feature is accomplished through 'Opensearch', the current standard for sharing search engine plugins.

Search suggestions are not currently supported - we have to rely on Google's API for our search engine, and it seems to be a bit too limited to do so. If you know more on how to accomplish this, let us know.

This feature is a backport from Project Porygon-Z. Expect many more enhancement when that version arrives at your preferred Pokemon website

[Turner]

Awesome, I'm using this right now and it's great and works fine. Love the way it searches the forums too and not just site content.