Web Search Tools

Ashampoo ClipFinder HD is a video search tool that searches some of the popular video sites for content that matches your query. It supports YouTube, MySpace, MetaCafe, iFilm and several German video sites. The results are returned as video thumbnails and can be viewed with the integrated player - no need to visit the website. Other features include an option to bookmark and/or download selected videos and access to advanced search options. Ashampoo ClipFinder requires a free registration after 10 days.

Twin Searching allows to to launch a search query in two search engines simultaneously and view the results in a split screen, using your default browser. The supported search engines include Google, Yahoo, MSN, Dogpile and several others. Simple tool, that can be useful for online research.

Clickster is a MP3 search engine that scours various online resources for MP3 files that match your keywords and allows you to listen to them without having to download the files first. Unlike P2P networks, Clickster searches for files that are publicly available on the Internet, which usually results in faster download speeds, and does not require you to share any files. You can either stream the selected song through the integrated media player controls or download it to your hard drive. In addition to individual songs, Clickster can also search for podcast that match a certain music genre, and rip/download music from MySpace.

Viewpoint Toolbar is a visual web search companion and Favorites manager that displays thumbnails of the current search result (web pages) along the top of your browser screen. You can also dog ear selected pages to visit them later, or hover your mouse over a thumbnail to get a larger view. The program allows you to manage your IE Favorites in the same way, by displaying a thumbnail image of the web site associated with the Favorite entry. Viewpoint Toolbar also includes a popup blocker that allows you to block and review popups from an unique popup bin. The only downside of the program is that the visual search engine results are limited to Yahoo results and cannot display thumbnails for any other search engine. However, this can also become handy as it automatically displays the Yahoo result thumbnails on top, even if you search a different search engine like Google, giving you a second opinion and twice the results.

JiveQ - InfoClick enables you to quickly research words or phrases from within any application, using a variety of popular online sources. You can Shift-click or right-click on any word in your browser or document, and the program will bring up a small dialog that allows you to start a web search and launches the results in a custom browser window (Answer Browser ). JiveQ also includes an option to capture a full-screen snapshot of the current website that can be printed, copied or emailed. Other features include customizable search buttons, keyword highlighting, Windows Explorer integration and more.

Transfz (pronounced transfuse) enables you to launch online searches from any document or application, by simply selecting the text and pressing a keyboard hotkey. In addition to standard web searches (Google, Yahoo etc.) you can also perform online dictionary lookups, Wikipedia searches or any other online query by creating custom entries for any site that offers a search feature. Transfz is also a clipboard manager and can keep track of the X last items copied to the clipboard. It can even process selected text, convert upper/lower case, count characters, insert dates and search/replace words in a selection. The processed text is automatically copied to the clipboard.

Fact200 is an Internet research tool that enables you to search multiple sources at once and create your custom search libraries by marking results, so that they will be included or ignored in subsequent searches. The program automatically downloads and saves a capture of the web pages behind the search results, so that you can preview the links without having to actually load the website. You can search for a term in several categories (news, Usenet, Images etc.) and customize which search engine source to use for each category. Fact200 has some interesting features and provides fast and relevant results, however it lacks proper documentation and the interface could use some improvements.

Auto Web Browser is a web search tool, that queries major search engines for the keywords you enter, and automatically downloads the resulting pages to your computer, and automatically surfs further, downloading other potentially interesting pages that were linked from the search engine results. The downloaded pages are organized in a tree view and by search engine, and you can quickly view them, since they are already pre-loaded. The program also allows you to load a list of URLs, and automatically pre-load all of them, so you can quickly browse through them.

SearchSites is a tool for software developers, that searches software sites for any given programs name, and allows you to check if your program is listed. It includes a list of more than 80 software sites and opens a (tabbed) browser window for each, displaying the results returned from the site`s search engine. The program displays a static advertising banner.

Wiki Clicky simplifies the process of looking up information through the Wiki network of websites (Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikisource,Wikinews etc.). Simply highlight a word in any document or web page and press F9 (or custom key) to view the instant search results for the selected word.

Auctionsearch Gadget adds an eBay search gadget to the Vista sidebar, which allows you to perform quick eBay searches without having to launch your browser first. It supports 13 international eBay sites.

VAST is a search add-on for Internet Explorer that allows for more efficient web searches. It provides access to dozens of search engines as well as Google`s advanced search features and allows you to save the search parameters to quickly access them later. Other features include an integrated RSS reader with options to group and generate custom feeds from search results, and integration with Google Desktop search.

FreshFind is a small utility, that enables you to start a search with your favorite search engine without having to launch your browser first. It opens a small input dialog whenever you press a keyboard hotkey (e.g Win+S) that lets you input the keywords and launch a search in a search engine of your choice. The program comes pre-configured with several popular search engines (Google, MSN, AOL etc.) and you can add your own search engines as well, allowing you to search almost any site that provides a search option.

termBlaster is a plain and simple, but efficient search tool that allows you to quickly look up the search engine results for various keywords. It uses a (customizable) list of search engines, and a list of keywords (terms) and you can quickly switch results between search engines and/or the terms that you are searching for. Advanced users can also add their own search engines, using the proper query string. The program comes with a built-in browser display, you can save/load a list of terms and more.

NetVue Image Finder is an easy to use tool to search the internet for images by keyword(s). It automatically downloads the found results and presents them to you in a slideshow presentation while they are downloading. The slideshow will start almost instantly after entering the keyword (may vary on slow connections). You can choose to stop it at any time and save all or selected images (or the entire slideshow). Additional features include an option to set selected images as wallpaper or email them and EXIF support. NetVue Image Finder does not include advanced options like filtering, but it is very easy to use and produces good results, fast.

ExactSeek Toolbar is an Internet Explorer add-on that provides quick access to searches on ExactSeek.com, MetaWebSearch.com, and GoArticles.com. It also includes a standard popup blocker an search word highlighting, as well as a number of links including Alexa stats, 3rd party spyware scanning (X-Cleaner), history/cookie cleaning and page zooming.

GGSearch is a handy tool for people who are spending lots of time searching the various newsgroups posts, images and links in Google. It provides quick access to all of those functions, without having to load the Google web page first. In addition, GGSearch makes it much easier to select advanced search options, filters and more.

iFind is a web search tool, that allows you to query the major search engines and produces the results in a unique way, that further categorizes the found pages into logical results with an assigned ranking score. The philosophy behind the product is is quiet sophisticated in theory - the program itself however only offers a rather simplistic interface that could use some major improvements. The results that are returned are fast, accurate and relevant to your search term. Give it a try, you'll either love it or hate it. Free for personal use only.