SECRET INSTRUCTIONS FOR GOOGLE WEB TOOLS
Google Search
www.google.co.uk The search engine that started it all is 20 years old this September, but Google is determined to keep it faster and smarter than fresher-faced rivals. It regularly launches new ‘underthe-bonnet’ technology such as Google Caffeine and Hummingbird ( www.snipca. com/24716), plus clever features such as the Personal tab. Must do: Use the Personal tab – the latest tab to sit alongside Images, News, Shopping and the rest. Unlike other tabs, Personal displays results that only you can see because they are drawn from your Google account. So, for example, when we searched for ‘Cakes’, it brought up photos of our cat – who has that name – that we’ve stored online (see screenshot right). Enter your search term, click More then select Personal from the dropdown menu. The tab is being rolled out gradually, and currently only links to your Gmail messages and Google Photos.
Another thing you may be unaware of is that Google UK’S search excludes many overseas websites (often for legal reasons). To beat the restrictions without having to use a VPN, add ‘/ncr’ (no country redirect) to the end of an overseas Google web address. For example to search US Google, go to www.google.com/ncr. This prevents Google from redirecting you back to your ‘home’ site based on your IP address, so your results will now include sites previously only visible in the US.
The ‘ncr’ command works with all overseas Google sites, for example Spain ( www.google.es/ncr) and Australia ( www.google.com.au/ncr). Here’s a list of Google domains: www.snipca.com/24690. Common mistake: Clicking multiple Google results that you’ll “come back to”, then being overwhelmed at the sight of 30 open tabs. Free Chrome extension Searchpreview ( www.snipca.com/24671) helps you ditch this scattergun approach by adding website thumbnails and popularity rankings so you can see what’s worth clicking – and what isn’t.
www.google.com/gmail The tool that kicked Hotmail off its perch now offers 15GB of free storage, sorts your emails into customisable tabs, and even lets you transfer money for free (albeit within the UK only) by incorporating the new tool Google Wallet ( www.google.com/wallet).
Add experimental features from Gmail Labs. Click the cog icon, Settings, then the Labs tab. Click Enable next to any you want (see screenshot above), then click Save Changes. Our favourites are ‘Custom keyboard shortcuts’, which lets you customise hotkeys for common Gmail tasks, and Canned Responses for creating templates (‘Email for the truly lazy’, as its creator calls it).
If you mainly use Gmail on your phone or tablet, consider switching to the new Inbox app, which adds features such as a Snooze button and scheduled sending (Android and IOS, www.google.com/ inbox – see page 56 for more). Common mistake: Spotting errors after clicking Send. Go to Settings, then tick Enable Undo Send and set a ‘cancellation period’ of up to 30 seconds. This option started life in Gmail Labs.
www.google.com/chrome Google’s browser may hog memory, but it’s peerlessly fast and easy to customise using free extensions. From next year, it’ll even have a built-in ad-blocker ( www.snipca. com/24660). Must do: Use Chrome as a media player. Drag and drop a video or audio file from your PC on to a tab to play it. You can right-click for options including Cast (see screenshot right), which will stream the video to your TV via your Chromecast.
Less fun but more useful are Chrome’s umpteen keyboard shortcuts. If you’ve got lots of tabs open, press Ctrl plus the corresponding number to jump to that tab (for example, Ctrl+5 for the fifth tab from the left). To search the current web page, press Ctrl+f. To open Chrome’s own Task Manager, press Shift+esc. Find many more shortcuts at www.snipca.com/24699.
Like Gmail, Chrome has a hidden list of free experimental features, but they are a little more obscure than Gmail’s. Go to chrome://flags (no http or www) then click Enable to add a ‘flag’. Annoyingly (and uncharacteristically) you can’t search the list, and it’s not even in alphabetical order, but you can go straight to a flag if you know its name, using this pattern: chrome://flags/#name-name (sometimes chrome://flags/#enablename-name). Try ‘Automatic tab discarding’, which sets unused tabs to sleep without closing them ( chrome:// flags/#automatic-tab-discarding) and Password Generation ( chrome:// flags/#enable-password-generation), which automatically generates a strong password when it detects a sign-up page.
Chrome for Android ( www.snipca. com/24685) has just added a powerful Download option that lets you save videos, audio files and entire web pages for accessing offline. Common mistake: Installing extensions then forgetting about them. Free extension Extensions Update Notifier ( www.snipca.com/24672) alerts you if any of your installed extensions have been updated to include adware or hidden charges.