HOWZAT

Google serves up the web address (or URL) of each page shown in the list of search results. If the underlined blue link on one of the results proves to be dead when you click on it, look at the green line that gives the site’s address. You can type a shorter version of this URL directly into your browser, which sometimes takes you to a live part of the same site. Working from the end of the address, lop off sections after each slash (/). For example, if www.coca-cola.com/sodas/flavors/ideas.html doesn’t work, try www.coca-cola.com.

CACHED PAGES

As Google tracks web pages, it keeps copies of them on its servers in a repository called a cache. While the blue page-title link in a list of search results takes you to the current site, the “Cached” link (in light blue) delivers you to the copy Google made when it recorded the page. Google rerecords most pages every few weeks. If a page has changed recently, you can still see a slightly older version, which might include the nugget you’re looking for or information you remember from a pre- vious visit. The cache is also handy when a page you need has been deleted or its link is broken. The cache is not a cure-all for web staleness, however. The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine (web.archive.org) is a public archive of the web. Unlike Google, however, it keeps track of websites in perpetuity — great when you need to find a site that’s been defunct for more than a few weeks and has fallen off Google’s radar.

SIMILAR PAGES

The Similar pages link (light blue) searches the web for pages that fall into the same general category as that result (often, pages of a feather link together, which is partly how Google is able to determine similarity). For example, the pages related to www.which.net include the Office of Fair Trading (www.oft.gov.uk), www.tradingstandards.gov.uk and other consumer-advocacy groups and agencies.

READING DIFFERENT FILE FORMATS

Websites often store documents that you can download by clicking a link. Google searches those documents — provided they are in any of 12 common formats — but what if the page containing your critical gem is a document created in PowerPoint software, and you do not happen to own PowerPoint? You are in luck. Not only does Google keep track of documents on the web, it also converts them into HTML — a code your browser can read — and keeps a copy of the HTML version for your viewing pleasure. Below the page title, in blue, is the unassuming link View as HTML, which might as well be called Life-saver. Click the link, and in a split second, you are reading the file on your browser as a normal web page — ideal when you do not want to spend half the morning waiting for a file to download and open.

TWO COOL GOOGLE TRICKS

DEFINITIONS

When you cannot remember what sedulous means, or you want to find out why somebody called you a hellion, you do not have to bother opening the dictionary or calling your local lexicographer. Type define into Google’s blank search box, followed by your term — define sedulous — then press Enter to receive a definition at the top of your search results. The definitions come from websites Google tracks. If you want a list of definitions and no other results, type in define, followed by a colon and your terms, with no spaces on either side of the colon, like this: define:hellion. If Google fails you, try searching for your terms at www.onelook.com, which aggregates definitions from nearly 1,000 dictionaries. That ought to do it.

CALCULATOR

You can use the blank Google search box as a calculator. Simply enter an equation, such as 2+2, and press Enter or Google Search to have Google tell you 2 + 2 = 4. For multiplication, use the asterisk (*), like this: 2*3. For division, use the slash (/) like this: 10/3. The search box also performs unit conversions, such as 5 kilometres in miles or how many teaspoons in a cup? For a chart listing units of measurement that Google can convert, check out www.googleguide.com/calculator.html. You can find a rundown of the calculator’s capabilities at www.google.com/help/calculator.html.

WHEN NOT TO RELY ON GOOGLE

Is Google always the best search engine? No. It does not perform every search trick you might need. For example, it doesn’t search for audio or video clips. If you want to find those, try www.alltheweb.com, www.altavista.com or www. dogpile.com. Google does not cluster results, either. Clustering is a hugely helpful feature in which a search engine groups results by topic: vivisimo.com is the clustering king, while Acronym Finder (www.acronymfinder.com) generates a tidy list that is beyond Google’s capabilities.

Extracted from Google: The Missing Manual (first edition) by Sarah Milstein and Rael Dornfest, published tomorrow (O’Reilly Media £13.95). To buy it from The Sunday Times Books First at the reduced price of £11.16, plus £2.25 p&p, call 0870 165 8585 or visit www.timesonline.co.uk/booksfirstbuy

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