To look something up on YouTube, most people open YouTube, wait for it, click its search box and type. A Wyrd keyword sends the search straight to the site's results page instead. The common sites take one click; any other site takes about two minutes, once.
Short answer. Save the site's search address with %s where your words go, under a short keyword such as yt. Then type > yt lofi beats and press Enter.
Which one to use
| Way | Addresses with two or more blanks | Several sites searched at once | One list your team shares | Built into Chrome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyrd search keyword Recommended | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Chrome's site search shortcuts | No | No | No | Yes |
Chrome's own way is in Google's help: site search shortcuts. The two never clash: Chrome's shortcuts are typed on their own, Wyrd's after >. The rest of this guide is Wyrd's way.
Start with five ready-made searches
For the sites most people search, there is nothing to set up. The everyday search pack has g (Google), yt (YouTube), w (Wikipedia), maps (Google Maps) and gh (GitHub).
- With Wyrd installed, click Load the everyday search pack. Wyrd's Keyword tools open with the pack filled in.
- Untick any you do not want and click Add.
- Type
> w honey beesand press Enter.
More about the pack, and its file: the everyday keyword template.
Any other site: find its search address
Every site with a search box has an address for its results. You make it reusable by swapping your search words for %s.
- Go to the site and search for a word you will spot easily, such as
zebra. - Look at the address of the results page. On YouTube it is
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=zebra.
If the address does not contain your word, the site sends searches in a way the address bar cannot fill in, and a keyword cannot search it.
Save it as a keyword
- Stay on the results page from your test search.
- Click Wyrd's icon. In Address, replace your test word with
%s:…/results?search_query=%s. - Type
ytin Keyword and click Save. - To search, type
>, press Space, thenyt lofi beats, and press Enter.
Typed on its own, > yt opens the site's home page, so one keyword covers both. If you have set Wyrd up to search without the prefix, yt lofi beats works without the >.
When the address needs two pieces
Some addresses need more than one value in different places. A ticket in a tracker is a common case: a project code and a number. Number the blanks %1, %2 and so on, and the words you type fill them in order.
| Keyword | Address | You type | Opens |
|---|---|---|---|
jira | https://jira.example.com/browse/%1-%2 | > jira PROJ 123 | …/browse/PROJ-123 |
If it does not work
- The search lands on the site's home page. The address is missing
%s, or it replaced the wrong part. Run a test search again and compare. - Words with spaces arrive broken. Check that
%ssits where your test word was, not at the end of the address. - Load the everyday search pack shows “This site can't be reached”. Wyrd is not installed, or is switched off in
chrome://extensions. - A company tool asks you to sign in. That is the site, not the keyword: sign in once in Chrome, then search again.
- "This site can't be reached" or "Server Not Found" at wyrd.internal. That address only works inside Wyrd: Wyrd is not installed in this browser, or needs an update. Add it from the Chrome Web Store, then try again.
Next steps
- Search several sites, or open a whole set of pages, with one word: open several tabs at once.
- Give your team the same searches from one list: share links with your team.
- Searches, numbered blanks and more, in full: keyword syntax.