Remember this hidden search trick
Welcome to Advisorator’s Tip of the Week, helping you learn something new from the tech world every Tuesday.
Next time you’re reading an article online and come across a name, word, or phrase you want to research further, try this:
- Highlight the text.
- Right-click on it.
- Select “Search” in the pop-up context menu
Highlight, right-click, search. It might sound a little clunky, but in practice it’s more efficient than copying, opening a new browser tab, and pasting.
While I’ve admittedly known about this trick for years, it never clicked for me until a couple of weeks ago, when I made a point of turning it into a habit. That’s often how things go in tech, with some of the best tools hiding in plain sight.
A version of this trick also exists on most mobile web browsers: Just highlight the snippet of text, then select “Search.” (On iOS, you’ll have to hit the little right arrow in the pop-up menu to see this option.)
Want to take it a step further? Check out the Context Menu Search browser extension, which lets you add other sites and search engines to the pop-up menu. That way, you can instantly look up the highlighted text on sites like YouTube, Wikipedia, and Amazon. (For my fellow Vivaldi browser users, no extension is necessary. Just head to Settings > Search to customize your sources, then look for the “Search With” option in the pop-up menu.)
Now, all you have to do is develop the muscle memory to use this handy search trick in the first place. I can attest that it’s well worth the effort.
Sponsored by Shortform: Absorb the best non-fiction books in less time with Shortform’s concise explainers and summaries, covering tech, productivity, self-improvement, and more. You’ll learn which books are actually worth reading, retain more of the ones you’ve already read, and discover new authors through Shortform’s sharply-written cross references.
Advisorator readers can use this link to get a five-day free trial and 20% off an annual subscription.