804699 - Search with keyword does not work from the search bar

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 236587

(Firefox :: Search, defect)

Description

[Michal Purzynski [:michal`] (use NEEDINFO)]

Hi!

I've found something that might be accidental, but is very confusing.

When you assign a keyword to a search engine and type <keyword> <query> into the search bar, it googles entire phrase (or to be more specific, searches everything in your default engine).

What's expected here, is to have the <query> send the the (chosen by the <keyword>) engine.

It does work, but from the address bar only.


Example:

"b" letter assigned as a keyword to bugzilla.

b 792596 input for the _search_ bar googles "b 792596"

If i put it into an _address_ bar it opens bugzilla with the said bug.


That's VERY confusing, and most of people will just try and give up, thinking it just does not work. 
It's a search bar functionality, and is kind of strange it does not work there.

Don't' disappoint me please, saying 'that's the way it should be' ;)

Comment 1

[:Gavin Sharp [email: [e-mail]]]

Search keywords are a very hard to discover feature, that most users don't know about. They also oddly interact with bookmark keywords (which can also take parameters). Having them take effect in the search bar would probably be more confusing than it is useful, particularly since you can already fairly easily switch engines in the search bar with cmd/ctrl+down/up.