All web browsers now feature a search option at the top of the program window, and many have reduced the address bar and search box into a single entity. This is the case with Firefox, creating the unashamedly name Awesome Bar. Combining searching and URL typing into a single location not only reduces clutter, but also helps to keep things intuitive. If you would like to take things a little further, AwesomeBar HD is a free Firefox extension that grants you control over your searches.

Now, rather than just typing in a search term and pressing Enter, the extension makes it possible to construct powerful custom searches using a range of different search engines. Start to type a search term into the Awesome Bar and a series of labels will appear. These cover common search topic such as news, books, weather and many more. Rather than searching the entire web for your chosen term, click one of the tags to limit your search to this topic.

Each topic has a web site or search engine that is used for customised searches by default. In the case of the news category, for example, the CNN web site is the AwesomeBar HD’s first port of call. However, from the pop-up menu that appears when selecting the category, it is also possible to opt to use a different site or search engine – such as BBC news or the New York Times. This is the case for each category that is available.

On first use, the categories that pop up can appear ugly and intrusive, but they prove their worth very quickly. If there are any categories of searches that you feel you will never use, they can be hidden from view entirely, and the overall look of the category selection can also be improved by choosing to display site favicons instead of category labels.

This is all very useful stuff, but AwesomeBar HD also improves the way in which Firefox handles searches of your browsing history. The extension constantly monitors the sites you visit, and records how often you re-visit them. Using this information, when you use the Awesome Bar to search for a web site you have previously visited, the results can be ordered in the most useful way, so the sites you are most likely to be looking for – i.e. those that you visit most often or have visited most recently – will be listed at the top of the results.

You can find out more and download a copy of the free Firefox extension by paying a visit to the AwesomeBar HD review page.