Browser toolbars deliver quick info, searches

Got a minute? That's about how long it will take to make your Web browser -- probably the most valuable tool on your PC -- even more useful.

An add-on for Web browsers, known as a browser toolbar, delivers quicker access to Internet searches, stock lookups, yellow pages and other information. Maybe you think you've already got easy access to this information, but once you install a toolbar, you're not likely to turn back.

The toolbar eliminates the need to visit a Web site to enter a search query. Instead, you enter your search terms straight from the toolbar -- a narrow horizontal bar integrated into the browser in the spot below the field for entering Web addresses.

Toolbars from Google, Infospace and Yahoo install in less than a minute. All require Internet Explorer for Windows. I favor Google's toolbar, but all three offer an easy way to customize the Web browsing experience.

Google recently introduced Google Toolbar 2.0 Beta, a test version of its toolbar. With the toolbar installed, you're able to enter your search term straight from the browser, press enter, and presto, you've got your search results -- all without first visiting Google.

This eliminates just one step, but if you search the Web frequently, as many of us do, the convenience is a real time-saver.

On its own, this would be a welcome addition, but the toolbar adds a number of other handy features. A pull-down menu, for instance, makes it possible to limit your search to the current site, discussion groups, or recent news. A dictionary is available, too, as well as stock quotes.

For those fed up with pop-up advertisements, Google's toolbar now allows you to block them. The option is easily disabled. Another new feature makes it easy to post to the online journals known as weblogs. (If you don't have a weblog, you're able to create one with Blogger, a company acquired by Google earlier this year.)

Yahoo's toolbar, known as Yahoo Companion, includes a number of the same features, but is probably best for people who use other Yahoo services, such as its personalized Yahoo home page or Yahoo email. The toolbar includes links to those services, as well as movie show times and games.

Another company, Infospace, offers the Dogpile Toolbar, linking users to a dictionary, thesaurus, horoscopes, white pages, and other features, as well as a variety of Internet searches.

All of the toolbars allow you to customize them, depending on what features you use most frequently.

Any hitches? Those with small screens may not like the space the toolbar takes up, but it is minimal. You're also able to disable the toolbar temporarily by selecting the Toolbars option available from Explorer's View menu.

But beware: Only download toolbars from reputable companies. Earlier this year, Wired News reported a toolbar from a company based in Hungary was wreaking havoc on users' machines: "Sneaky Toolbar Hijacks Browsers."

Macintosh fans should not expect these toolbars to become available for the Mac version of Microsoft's browser: Microsoft recently announced it was discontinuing development of Internet Explorer for the Mac. Macintosh fans looking for something comparable to these toolbars should consider downloading Safari, Apple's new browser for the Mac. A field for Google searches is built into Safari.

By Allan Hoffman
Last updated: Sunday, July 13, 2003, 9:04 am