eg: typing “linux @l” should search “linux lemmy” and “beatles @mb” should search “beatles musicbrainz”,
where I define these shortcuts

  • noodlejetski@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    you’re looking for text expander software.

    or you could use DuckDuckGo, its !bang feature lets you directly search on a website you want. searching “Beatles !mb” will redirect you to MusicBrainz’ search results, for example.

    • kevincox
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      1 year ago

      Firefox has keyword bookmarks which is basically identical to bangs but you can customize them to your preference and they don’t require sending your query to a third-party remote service.

      Just set the “Keyword” option in a bookmark and type mykeyword foo in the URL bar to search using your bookmark mykeyword. I use a lot of one-character keywords such as m for https://www.google.ca/maps?q=%s, g for https://www.google.com/search?q=%s, d for https://www.dndbeyond.com/search?q=%s and similar. I also have a keyword e which runs a bookmarklet that fills in a one-time email into the currently focused input field.

        • kevincox
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          1 year ago

          IDK, maybe I have a particularly bad memory but it is basically as easy for me to bookmark a URL as it is to lookup and remember a bang that they defined. Plus local will always be faster, more private and more secure.