Safari browser options

[expat]

I use Safari on a Mac. In general I like it. But I would like to remove the Google search field from the toolbar (I am trying to eliminate Google completely as a default for anything). ISTM that View/Customize Toolbar... only allows me to include or exclude the Address field and the Search field together (I would like to keep the Address field!). And the Search field can only be Google, not, as in say Opera, your own choice.

Does anyone know how to do this? (Yes, I know I can simply not use it).

[OrangeHopper]

It looks like you can do it if you have the developer tools installed.

Do a search - presumably not via goggle - for "remove google from safari".

[expat]

It looks like you can do it if you have the developer tools installed.

Do a search - presumably not via goggle - for "remove google from safari".

Thanks. I had thought that I had done some such, but obviously my "mac safari remove google" or whatever was not at all the same thing. Yours turned up some very relevant hits.

Hmm, this is reminiscent of Linux, you have to be a developer to do the simplest things......

[pigbreath]

Hmm, this is reminiscent of Linux, you have to be a developer to do the simplest things......

Technically speaking, Apple should have seprarated the Addresss and Search objects in the Toolbar Editor which would allow you to easily select just the components you want.

However, Google pay Apple for each search done from Safari - so Apple really doesn't want to you start removing that search field - hence Apple attaching it to the pretty much obligatory Address object and making it far too awkward for most people to bother :-/

[Sysman]

Bump. What does the panel suggest as an alternative to Gurgle?

[NickFitz]

Bump. What does the panel suggest as an alternative to Gurgle?

Yahoo! is probably the next best.

[expat]

Technically speaking, Apple should have seprarated the Addresss and Search objects in the Toolbar Editor which would allow you to easily select just the components you want.

However, Google pay Apple for each search done from Safari - so Apple really doesn't want to you start removing that search field - hence Apple attaching it to the pretty much obligatory Address object and making it far too awkward for most people to bother :-/

You are right to mention that, since readers may not have known that.

I did know that: that's why I want rid of it!

[NickFitz]

You are right to mention that, since readers may not have known that.

I did know that: that's why I want rid of it!

Is there any reason why you care about a commercial arrangement between two companies that doesn't affect you in any way? Just curious - I've never been able to understand why people get worked up about such things.

FWIW, I just did a search for "banana" from Google's home page, and then again from the Safari toolbar, whilst monitoring the HTTP traffic. The only difference of any note between the two requests is that the search from the toolbar includes "client=Safari" in the query string.

From the toolbar:

GET /search?client=safari&rls=en&q=banana&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 HTTP/1.1

From Google home page:

GET /search?hl=en&q=banana&btnG=Google+Search&meta=&aq=f&oq= HTTP/1.1

The only difference in the HTTP headers was that the search from the page included the HTTP-Referer (sic - nice spelling, TBL) header, which obviously isn't relevant to the toolbar search. No additional headers were sent, and no additional cookies set.

So there seems to be no reason to avoid the toolbar search, given that the User-Agent header already specifies that you are using Safari, and therefore no extra information is made available to Google beyond the fact that you searched from the toolbar.

[expat]

Is there any reason why you care about a commercial arrangement between two companies that doesn't affect you in any way? Just curious - I've never been able to understand why people get worked up about such things.

FWIW, I just did a search for "banana" from Google's home page, and then again from the Safari toolbar, whilst monitoring the HTTP traffic. The only difference of any note between the two requests is that the search from the toolbar includes "client=Safari" in the query string.

From the toolbar:

GET /search?client=safari&rls=en&q=banana&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 HTTP/1.1

From Google home page:

GET /search?hl=en&q=banana&btnG=Google+Search&meta=&aq=f&oq= HTTP/1.1

The only difference in the HTTP headers was that the search from the page included the HTTP-Referer (sic - nice spelling, TBL) header, which obviously isn't relevant to the toolbar search. No additional headers were sent, and no additional cookies set.

So there seems to be no reason to avoid the toolbar search, given that the User-Agent header already specifies that you are using Safari, and therefore no extra information is made available to Google beyond the fact that you searched from the toolbar.

My aim is not to use Google by default for anything: so it is not the case that I avoid the toolbar search and type in Google's URL instead (otherwise your info is interesting). Rather, I don't use Google at all; so it irritates me to have the option in my face all the time. Further, it is not just a search bar that I have to have, it is Google search (I can't put my preferred search engine in the search bar).

I would like to have the option to configure my browser as I like (as I can with Opera, for example). Obviously I can just refrain from using the Google search, but I do like the idea that my browsing experience is mine, so to speak.

Yes it's just a case of my being stroppy. I almost didn't bother, but when I found the tie-in between the address bar and the Google search bar, it go my goat!

I suppose it's a question of Mac philosophy: the whole point is that you just give in and do it their way, then it all works great and I like it. The other side of that is when they do something that I don't like; it's not easy to opt out.