To customize the search channels that are listed in the search bar's menu, simply choose "Edit Search Channels..." You will be presented with a panel listing all of your channels. Simply drag the channels around to reorder them, or select a channel and press the delete key to remove the channel from the list. If you drag a channel onto a text view (such as your favorite word processor), a text representation of the channel will be created. Drag this text back onto the edit panel to create a new channel. This is an easy way to send channels you have created to your friends.
Click the "New Channel" button to create a new channel. AcidSearch attempts to automatically create the channel based on the current web page. Double-click on the channel's name in the list to rename it, and press return to save your changes.
Tips and Tricks:In AcidSearch 0.2, a new "advanced options" section was added to the channel edit window. Click on the "Advanced Options" button to show it.
Using Key EquivalentsTo set a key equivalent for a channel, simply select the channel in the edit window and click on the box labeled "Key Equivalent:". Type a combination of keys to set the equivalent, or press the delete key to remove a key equivalent. The command key is implied, so it will be a part of the equivalent regardless of whether or not it is held down. To use the delete key in an equivalent, hold down the command key. Once a key is set, you can type it anytime while browsing a page to select the search field and the channel which has the equivalent. Note: it is possible to override many (but not all) of Safari's key equivalents! Of course, you should still be able to select the original item from the menu.
Using a Default ChannelIf the Default Channel is set (check the "Default Channel" checkbox to enable this feature), the search channel will revert back to the Default Channel every time a search is completed. For example, say you set the Google channel as your default channel. You can select the Apple channel and do a search, but right after you do, the Google channel will be selected again.
Importing and Exporting ChannelsIf you click the "Import Channels" button, AcidSearch will show an open panel with several options in it. Select an import source from the radio buttons on the left. If you select "iSeek," AcidSearch will attempt to import all of your iSeek search sites and convert them to Search Channels. Please note that the HotKey settings from iSeek will not be imported (iSeek will always override AcidSearch's key equivalents anyway). Click the "File" radio button to import a plist file containing search channels. Select the "Butler" button to import Butler Search Engines. You can also select the "LaunchBar" button to import your LaunchBar search templates. If you ever want to revert to the original AcidSearch channels, select AcidSearch. If the "Overwrite existing channels" button is checked in the open panel, all your old channels will be erased and the new channels will replace them. If this box is not checked, the new channels will be added to the end of the list, and all your old channels will be saved. Check the Download All Images box to download the channel images for all channels being imported. Click the Export Channels button to export your channels as a plist. Unexpected behavior may occur if you try to import a plist that was not created by AcidSearch.
Using ShortcutsWhen a you add a "shortcut" to a selected channel, typing that shortcut before a search term will search that channel (and won't include the shortcut in the search). For example, if you set the MacUpdate channel's shortcut to "mu," searching for "mu AcidSearch" would search MacUpdate for "AcidSearch," even if, say, the Google channel is selected.
Using Auto-TabIf you select a folder of channels in the edit panel, you can check the "Auto-Tab" checkbox to make that folder into an Auto-Tab folder. An Auto-Tab folder behaves a lot like a regular channel—you can set a key equivalent or shortcut for it, and it can be selected in the menu next to the search box. However, if you do a search on an Auto-Tab folder, a search, in a new tab, will open for each channel in the Auto-Tab folder. This allows you to search multiple engines at the same time. The Auto-Tab popup menu allows you to change the action performed when you do an Auto-Tab search. Normally, the new tabs are simply added to the window (preserving all other tabs in the window), but you can make the tabs replace all the tabs in the window or open a new window if you so desire.
Using Find As You TypeClick the "Change Preferences..." button labelled "Find As You Type" to open the Find As You Type preferences. Check the enabled box to enable Find As You Type. Then, when you are browsing a page, simply start typing to find some text on a page. Press the backslash key to find the next result on the page. For example, say you are browsing a long mailing list archive for information on bats, but the archives are pages long. Just type the word "bats" and it will be selected on the page, then press backslash (\) until the entry you are interested in appears. You can also press | (shift-backslash) to find the previous item. It is quite easy to change these keys in the Find As You Type preference window. If the "Press to Enable" checkbox is checked, you must press this key (the slash key by default) to begin searching, then type the text you are looking for. Check the "Audio Feedback" box to turn on audio feedback. It will make a clicking noise when you start performing a search and beep when it is unable to find the search phrase. Check the Input Box checkbox to enable a Find As You Type bar at the bottom of the search window which appears when you begin a search (much like Mozilla Firefox).
Using Channel ImagesSelect Enabled from the "Channel Images" popup to enable this feature. A sheet will appear asking you if you want to download the images now. Unless you aren't connected to the internet, click OK—it usually doesn't take that long to download the images. You will need to close the panel for the images to appear. If AcidSearch is unable to download an image, you can drag your own image into the little box in the "Selected Channel" section of the Advanced Options. You can also attempt to download an image for a selected channel by simply clicking the Download button in the panel.