Search

Search queries can also be sent to a search engine via the address field. All entries that cannot be interpreted as an address are automatically sent to a search engine.

iCab Mobile has a list of known search engines, which you can also expand yourself. When the address field is activated, the icon of the currently set default search engine is displayed, which you can change by tapping the icon.

Each search engine can be assigned a shortcut string. If you enter this shortcut first in the address field, followed by a space and the search term, the search engine specified by the shortcut is used for the search. This makes it very easy to specify the search engine without having to change the default search engine.

Search Suggestions

When entering addresses or search requests in the address field, suggestions are displayed based on the text typed. You can simply select suitable suggestions to avoid having to enter large amounts of text. The suggestions can come from various sources (bookmarks, history, tabs, etc.), including search engines. You can specify whether and which search engine should provide suggestions. This setting is completely independent of the search engine used for the actual searches.

Search History

The search history saves all searches and makes them available again as suggestions for future searches. You can specify the maximum number of searches to be saved in the search history. If you set this to 0, no more searches are saved.

Searches in private tabs are never saved in the search history, nor are searches that take place when private mode is active.

Search Engine

In the list of search engines, you can edit an entry by tapping on it. Here you can also define the shortcut for the search engine. Any character strings can be used as shortcuts, but you should keep them as short as possible (preferably only 1-2 characters) so that they do not become part of regular searches.

The URL for the search engines must be the URL that is also used for the actual search requests. The placeholder '%@' can be used in the URL, which is then later replaced by the real search term. If this placeholder is missing, iCab appends the search term to the end of the URL during a search. This means that when defining the URL manually, you must ensure that this URL corresponds exactly to what the search engine expects and can process in both cases.

In general you can also add new search engines (or search features of websites) to the list of search engines via the context menu and the menu item Save as search engine. iCab automatically determines this URL so that you do not have to enter it manually. To do this, you must visit exactly the website that contains the search field so that iCab can automatically determine the necessary parameters.