Monday, January 26, 2015

18 Tips and Tricks for Using Google Search

Everyone has heard of Google, but did you know all the really cool things it can do? Here are 18 helpful and fun tips and tricks for using the popular search engine that you may not know.

1.  Exclude from Search ResultsType "-X" replacing X with your word or phrase to exclude those results from your search results. For example, say you want to search for printables by not those on Pinterest.com type in  "-Pinterest"

2.  Definitions
To find the meaning of a word type "definition of X" replacing X with your work or phrase.

3.  Use Images to Search
Go to Google.com then click on Images without putting anything in the search area. Once on the images pages you will see a small camera near the search field. Click it. It will allow you to select an image from a website or you can upload one from your computer.

4.  Timer
Use Google as a timer. Enter "set timer to X" replacing the X with a number of hours or minutes. An example "set timer to 1 minute" or "set timer to 3 minutes 11 seconds".

5.  Holidays/Festivities
Find the day and date of holidays or festivities by typing in the name. For example, "Thanksgiving" will produce "Thursday, November 26 - Thanksgiving Day 2015".

6. Calculator
Don't have a calculator handy simply enter your math problem into the search results to get the answer.

7.  Tip Calculator
Out to eat at your favorite restaurant and need to figure out how much tip to leave. Just type in "tip calculator" which will let you enter the total bill before tip and select a percentage.

8.  Translate
Need to translate from one language to another. Perhaps there is a sign you need to understand but it's in another language - enter the words and it will show you the translation.

9.  Check the Weather
Wondering what the weather is in your hometown. Enter your city, state or city, country and forecast to get the weather for today and the next seven days.

10.  Movies
Find movies playing in your area. Enter "movies" and your zip code. You will see a visual image of the movies available. Just click on one and it will show you when and where it's being shown.

11.  Conversions
Do you need to convert feet to inches? What about Euros to Dollars? Type X "to" X for your results.

12.  Track a Package
If you're waiting for a package to arrive, enter the tracking number into the search bar and press enter to receive the status of your package.

13.  Tilt Screen
Type "tilt" in the search area and press enter to see your screen tilt at an angle.

14.  Barrel Roll
Type "do a barrel roll" to see your entire screen flip like a cartwheel.

15.  Atari Breakout
Play a game of Breakout on google by searching "Atari Breakout" without the quotation marks in Google Images. Trick is to keep the mouse within the playing area while moving it back and forth.

16.  Flip A Coin
Type "Flip a Coin" in the search field and a coin will rotate landing on either heads or tails.

17.  Roll a Six-Sided Die
Enter "roll a dice" into the search bar and press enter. Similar to flip a coin it will give you the results.

18.  Where Are You?
If you type in "Where Am I" it will bring up a map of your current location. Creepy and cool at the same time.

Some of these are useful and some are just for fun. Have fun and enjoy!



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