101 Google Tips and Tricks

Techradar has compiled a bunch of very useful (ok, some are not that useful) tips and tricks for Google services.

From which I choose the following:

13. Synonym search looks for words that mean similar things. Use the tilde symbol before your keyword, like this: ~eggplant

18. You can also ask Google to fill in a blank. Try: Christopher Columbus discovered *
19. Search for a numerical range using the numrange operator. For example, search for Sony TV between £300 and £500 with the string Sony TV £300..£500

25. If you're looking for files rather than pages – give index of as the intitle: parameter. It helps you find web and FTP directories.
26. The modifier inurl only searches the web address of a page: give inurl:spices a go.

29. Want to know how many links there are to a site? Try link:sitename – for example link:www.mozilla.org
31. The modifier info:site_name returns information about the specified page.


=movie specific=

43. The general search engine can get very specific indeed. Try movie: to look for movie reviews.
44. The modifier film: works just as well!
45. Enter showtimes and Google will prompt you for your postcode. Enter it and it'll tell you when and where local films are showing.

48. Google really likes movies. Try typing director: The Dark Knight into the main search box.
49. For cast lists, try cast: name_of_film
=end movie specific section=

50. The modifier music: followed by a band, song or album returns music reviews.
51. Try searching for weather London – you'll get a full 4-day forecast.
52. There's also a built-in dictionary. Try define: in the search box.

54. Alternatively, enter cache:site_url into Google's search box to be taken direct to the stored site.

=calculation and conversions=
55. No calculator handy? Use Google's built in features. Try typing 12*15 and hitting "Google Search".
56. Google's calculator converts measurements and understands natural language. Type in 14 stones in kilos, for example.
57. It does currency conversion too. Try 200 pounds in euros
58. If you know the currency code you can type 200 GBP in EUR instead for more reliable results.
59. And temperature! Just type: 98 f to c to convert Fahrenheit to Centigrade.
60. Want to know how clever Google really is? Type 2476 in roman numerals, then hit "Google Search"...
=end calc and conversion section=

69. An active, useful service missing from the list is "Personalised Search" – but you can access it via www.google.com/psearch when you're logged in.

75. Search locally by appending your postcode to the end of query. For example Indian food BA1 2BW finds restaurants in Bath, with addresses and phone numbers!

 78. Google Image Search recognises faces... add &imgtype=face to the end of the returned URL in the location bar, then hit enter to filter out pictures that aren't people.

81. What time is it? Find out anywhere by typing time then the name of a place.

83. You can invoke the spell checker directly by using spell: followed by your keyword.

85. Enter a statistics-based query like population of Britain into Google, and it will show you the answer at the top of its results.

95. Want to see what others are searching for or improve your page rank? Go to www.google.com/zeitgeist
96. Another useful, experimental search can be found at www.google.com/trends – where you can find the hottest search terms.
97. To compare the performance of two or more terms, enter them into the trends search box separated by commas.

98. Fancy searching Google in Klingon? Go to www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon
99. Perhaps the Swedish chef from the muppets is your role model instead? Check www.google.com/intl/xx-bork
100. Type answer to life, the universe and everything into Google. You may be surprised by the result...
101. It will also tell you the number of horns on a unicorn

For the full list, check Techradar's 101 Tips Tricks and Hints for Google .