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I use firefox since ages.

I think about switching to chrome.

One thing I am missing:

In firefox the autocomplete in the address bar is great.

Example: If I enter "foo_bar" firefox shows me the last URLs which contain this pattern.

This does not work in chrome.

Is there a way to tell chrome to search in the browser history if I enter characters in the address bar?

Some prediction does happen. Words get predicted. If I type "Stacko" I see "Stackoverflow" in a list below the address bar.

Example:

I visited https://example.com/foo_company_p/ with chrome yesterday. Today I enter "company_p" into the address bar and get no matching autocomplete result. That's sad. I need to stay with firefox since I need this feature often.

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  • Is Use prediction service to help complete searches and URLs typed in the address bar in Settings -> Privacy enabled ?
    – Jimmy_A
    Commented Jun 14, 2017 at 11:07
  • @D.A I have not changed the default config of chrome. I have only the german settings before my eyes. I guess the setting you mention is enabled. Some prediction does happen. But only words get predicted, not URLs.
    – guettli
    Commented Jun 14, 2017 at 11:58
  • There are two options about predictions. So one of them might be disabled. In English it's the 2nd and 3rd box. If they are enabled try cleaning cache and cookies and try again. Otherwise, log off the account and then on again. Or reinstall chrome. If you have tried any of that and doesn't work, update it on your question.
    – Jimmy_A
    Commented Jun 14, 2017 at 12:03

3 Answers 3

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+50

I have a theory. Any text linked with an underscore is treated by Chrome as a single word. So it can only find what you're looking for if you type it from the beginning. Example:

URL: https://github.com/Diaoul/subliminal/blob/master/docs/cassettes/test_usage.yaml

Can be found by searching:

  • tes
  • test_
  • test_usa

Cannot be found when searching:

  • usage
  • _usage
  • est_usage

It's worth noticing that this does not happen with dashes.

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  • thank you for finding the root of the problem. Yes, if I type "foo_comp" then autocomplete does work. But if I type "pany_p" it does not suggest "foo_company_p". Is this a bug or feature? Is there a setting to disable this behaviour of chrome?
    – guettli
    Commented Jul 28, 2017 at 6:45
  • my guess is that it has something to to do with SEO. Google favors the use of dashes in URL's over underscore. Don't know of any setting related to this, though.
    – andromeda947
    Commented Jul 28, 2017 at 17:09
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  • Open Chrome menu on the browser toolbar.
  • Type chrome://settings/privacy in address bar.
  • In the Privacy section, select the "Use a prediction service to help complete searches and URLs typed in the address bar" checkbox .

Chrome_Auto_Complete

The address bar shows matches from your browsing history, in addition to predictions. Suggestions and autocomplete are the same service.

Quote from Chrome Help:Choose your privacy settings::

Use a prediction service to help complete searches and URLs typed in the address bar: These suggestions are based on related web searches, your browsing history, and popular websites. If your default search engine provides a suggestion service, the browser might send the text you type in the address bar to the search engine.

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  • I have enabled both options of your screenshot. Some prediction does happen. Words get predicted. If I type "Stacko" I see "Stackoverflow" in a list below the address bar. But .... see question.
    – guettli
    Commented Jul 27, 2017 at 8:13
  • You can search browsing history in chrome://history. There is a search box in that page.
    – Biswapriyo
    Commented Jul 27, 2017 at 14:29
  • it worked. I don't know how or why it was disabled.. Thanks
    – Ivan Ferrer Villa
    Commented Jul 5, 2018 at 17:34
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  • Type chrome://flags in address bar
  • find Experimental contextual omnibox suggestion set it to Enable
  • find New omnibox answers in suggest types set it to Enable
  • find Omnibox entity suggestions set it to Enable
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1
  • Sorry, this does not help. Maybe it is because the string I enter contains underscores. I type "foo_bar_p" which addresses our systems I work with. The URLs contain it. The URLs look like this https://example.com/foo_bar_p/
    – guettli
    Commented Jun 15, 2017 at 9:32

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