Web browser extension for improved doc searches

JKSH

Hi all,

Have you ever tried to use a search engine (like Google) for the Qt documentation? Perhaps you wanted to look up a Qt feature during development, or to find a link to back up your post in this forum. I do both of these a lot, but often get poor results -- pages based on Qt 4.7 or Harmattan development are displayed more regularly than pages based on Qt 5.2.

Enter Qt Doc Search, a little extension for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox that makes searching more pleasant. It lets you quickly search the official Qt docs, while telling the search engine of your choice to only return results for a particular Qt version.

Enjoy!

Links

Google Chrome Extension
- (also usable on Microsoft Edge as of 2020-01-15)
Mozilla Firefox Add-On
Source code (Public domain)

How do I use it?
Type [q] [d] [space] into the address bar, then enter your search term. Done.

To choose a different Qt version, click on the Qt button next to the address bar.

What about other browsers?
I have no plans to support other browsers at the moment, mainly because I don't use them and don't know how to write extensions/plug-ins for them.

However, feel free to study the source code and make your own extension. The important file is background.js.

Why [q] [d] [space]?
Because this combination lets me comfortably initiate a search using just one hand.

[EDIT, 2016-03-20: Removed references to Doc Notes and other Chrome extensions, which were only valid for the old qt-project.org site -- JKSH]
[EDIT, 2018-01-25: Added support for Firefox, and various search engines! -- JKSH]

JKSH

A version for Mozilla Firefox is now available! https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/qt-documentation-search/

Also, you can now choose from a variety of search engines. The default is now DuckDuckGo, the search engine that doesn't track you.

JKSH

v1.2.0 released. New features:

Added ability to automatically open the top search result (thanks, @VRonin!)
- Google's "I'm Feeling Lucky"
- DuckDuckGo's "Ducky"
Added ability to search the documentation of Qt for Python and tools like Qt Creator, Qt 3D Studio, GammaRay, etc.
Added ability to choose whether to open results in the current tab or a new tab