Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

How to search on Google using highlighting/right click and not Bing?

more options

Before upgrading Firefox, I could right click on any highlighted terms on a web page and do a search on Google for those words. Now Firefox is doing the search on Bing. I hate Bing and want to go back to Google.

I've already changed the keyword.url to be Google, not Bing, and have similarly done the same with browser.search.defaultenginename. Neither change has solved this problem.

Damn you, Firefox, for hijacking our settings with the upgrade! Really sucky and not Mozilla-like.

Before upgrading Firefox, I could right click on any highlighted terms on a web page and do a search on Google for those words. Now Firefox is doing the search on Bing. I hate Bing and want to go back to Google. I've already changed the keyword.url to be Google, not Bing, and have similarly done the same with browser.search.defaultenginename. Neither change has solved this problem. Damn you, Firefox, for hijacking our settings with the upgrade! Really sucky and not Mozilla-like.

All Replies (2)

more options

Change the search engine selection in the Search Bar (upper right). That is what controls the search engine used in the highlight/right-click search.

You can try this add-on. It will list all of your installed search engines for you to choose the one you want to use in highlight/right-click search:




You need to update the following. The Plugin version(s) shown below was/were submitted with your question and is/are out of date. You should update to avoid known security issues with the version(s) you have installed. Click on "More system info..." to the right of your question to see what was included with your question.

  • Adobe Shockwave for Director Netscape plug-in, version 11.5
  • Next Generation Java Plug-in 1.6.0_24 for Mozilla browsers
  1. Check your plugin versions on either of the following links':
  2. Update Shockwave for Director
    • NOTE: this is not the same as Shockwave Flash; this installs the Shockwave Player.
    • Use Firefox to download and SAVE the installer to your hard drive from the link in the article below (Desktop is a good place so you can find it).
    • When the download is complete, exit Firefox (File > Exit)
    • locate and double-click in the installer you just downloaded, let the install complete.
    • Restart Firefox and check your plugins again.
    • Download link and more information: http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Using+the+Shockwave+plugin+with+Firefox
  3. Update the Java plugin to the latest version.
more options

The answer above is really helpful so I'm not going to add anything but to propose a different solution. There is a tool called clickto which can be downloaded for free at http://www.clicktoapp.com. To launch a google search you highlight a word, this word can be part of a word document, of a PDF-file or it can also be a word on an internet site. You copy this word with CTRL+C and select the icon google search, which appears among others immediately after you pressed the keys. This way you can launch a google search. I installed it a few days ago and it's really speeding up my work.