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Manage Smart Search in Safari for Mac
Customize searching in Safari on a Mac
By Scott Orgera Scott Orgera Writer Scott Orgera is a former Lifewire writer covering tech since 2007. He has 25+ years' experience as a programmer and QA leader, and holds several Microsoft certifications including MCSE, MCP+I, and MOUS. He is also A+ certified. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on November 20, 2020 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Apple Macs iPad The Smart Search field at the top of the Safari browser operates as an address field and a search field. Enter a web page name or URL to go to a web page, or enter a word or phrase to initiate a search. When you enter text into this field, Safari makes suggestions based on the entry. It modifies recommendations as you continue to type. Each suggestion comes from several sources, including your browsing and search history, favorite websites, and Apple Spotlight. Here's how to manage these sources. Information is this article applies to macOS Catalina (10.15), macOS Mojave (10.14), macOS High Sierra (10.13), macOS Sierra (10.12), OS X El Capitan (10.11), OS X Yosemite (10.10), OS X Mavericks (10.9), and OS X Mountain Lion (10.8). Manage the Safari Smart Search Default Search Engine
You can modify the sources Safari uses to make its suggestions as well as the browser's default search engine. Open the Safari browser by selecting its icon in the Dock. Select Safari in the menu bar at the top of the screen. When the drop-down menu appears, select Preferences. Select the Search tab at the top of the screen that opens to show Safari's Search preferences in two sections: Search engine and Smart Search Field. Select the Search engine drop-down menu and choose from Google, Bing, Yahoo, or DuckDuckGo to specify your preferred search engine. The default option is Google. If you aren't interested in the default search engine offering suggestions, which Safari includes in the Smart Search field results, disable this feature by clearing the Include search engine suggestions check box. Manage Safari Smart Search Field Preferences
The Smart Search Field section provides the opportunity to specify which data components the browser uses when making suggestions. Each of the four suggestion sources is enabled by default. To disable one, remove the check mark in the box next to it by clicking it once. The suggestion sources are: Include Safari Suggestions: The operating system's built-in search service, Spotlight, explores several areas, including the files on your hard drive, apps, and music files, along with Wikipedia content and more.Enable Quick Website Search: Many websites offer an integrated search engine that allows you to search for content within that site. Safari provides shortcuts to these searches in some cases, allowing you to search sites from the Smart Search field. To see which sites your Safari installation currently supports with this feature, select Manage Websites.Preload Top Hit in the Background: Safari can silently load the top result in the browser's default search engine for the search terms that you enter. Users browsing on limited data connections usually disable this function.Show Favorites: Your stored Favorites, formerly known as Bookmarks, can be included as a Smart Search field suggestion source. Show Full Website Address
Safari only displays the domain name of a website in the Smart Search field. Previous versions showed the full URL. If you want to revert to the old setting and view complete web addresses, take the following steps. Open the Safari Preferences dialog. Go to the Advanced tab. Select the Show full website address check box. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire Manage Search Engines and One-Click Search in Firefox How to Clear Your Search Bar History How to Make Google Your Default Search Engine How to Control iPhone Safari Settings and Security How to Activate and Use Responsive Design Mode in Safari How to Remove Safe Finder From Mac How to Manage Tabbed Browsing in Safari for macOS How to Change Search Engines on a Mac How to Activate the iPhone Debug Console or Web Inspector How to Install, Manage, and Delete Safari Extensions How to Send a Web Page With the Mac's Email Program How to Change Your Homepage in Safari How to Set the Home Page to Your Favorite Website How to Manage AutoComplete in Internet Explorer 11 How to Save Web Pages in Safari for OS X How to Turn off Incognito Mode Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies