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How do I change the default search engine in Internet Explorer 7 (IE7)?

I've been running Microsoft's new Internet Explorer 7.0 web browser and really like it overall, except for one problem: by default searches in the search box go to MSN Search, and I want to use Google. How do I change it?

Dave's Answer:

If you're lucky, you simply got the following prompt the very first time you ran IE7 on your computer:

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7: Search Defaults

But it sounds like you've already got your system running and have MSN Search locked in. Fortunately, it's not really locked in, as you can find out by going to Tools > Internet Options

Now you'll see this:

See 2/3 of the way down the section "change search defaults"? That's what you want. Click on the button "Settings" right next to that and you'll see:

Click on the small text link "find more providers" on the lower left corner (funny how they don't make it a big visible button) and you'll go to this page: Add Search Providers to Internet Explorer 7. The page looks like this:

You can't see it, but most of the work is done behind the scenes. Indeed, all the URLs are the same. Open up the source and you'll find that, for example, you add Google search to your copy of IE7 with the following code;

<a href="#" onClick="window.external.AddSearchProvider("http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/3/C/A3C89D63- E2F0-460D-9F5F-23B51EA52B5E/Google.xml");">Google</a><br>Google Web Search

Yow. Not for the faint of heart, I'd say!

Fortunately, you can just click away and add as many of the search engines listed on this page to your copy of IE7 as your heart desires. Each time, you'll get the following confirmation:

Click on "Add Provider" if you just want to add it to your options list, or check the box labeled "Make this my default search provider" if you want to go ahead and change the default at the same time.

One very cool feature is that you can specify ANY search engine, so you can even add Ask Dave Taylor to your IE7 search toolbar. You just do a search on the site you desire for the pattern TEST then cut and paste the resultant URL. On my site it'd be:

http://limbo1.intercast-media.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=7&Template=linksearch&search=TEST

Finally, once you add a bunch of choices, you can now go to that same option in Internet Options and see lots of choices:

What's really cool is that you can now click the tiny downward triangle button on the far, far right and instantly switch which search engine you're using:

Now that's a genuinely valuable capability and one well worth learning how to configure if you're going to be using Internet Explorer 7.0.

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Categorized: Windows Help (Article 7046)
Tagged: default search engine, microsoft internet explorer 7, msie7, search engines
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Comments

How can you remove the default search entirely? For example suppose you enter a URL and mistype it - previously you would get an error message and you could easily click back into the URL and change it. Now with search you can't do that any more, you have to type the whole URL out all over again.

Posted by: fred fish at January 15, 2007 1:10 AM

Hey Dave...how do I change the default email program to Yahoo mail or G mail? - I only see MS choices in the programs tab. Is there a reg change that can be made?

you rock as always

Posted by: Rion at May 11, 2007 11:25 PM

Dave
Your site was recommended by Microsoft, although they disavow any responsibility. I see where you have many Google ads on your page. May I assume that although you start out this page with Google, you are not owned by them? Anyway, I want to keep GoodSearch as my default setting for search engine. I have added GoodSearch to the list in the search pull down, made it my default and eliminated Google, however Google has a strangle hold on the page and each time I re-enter my home page, which is msn, Google is back as the default setting. Is there any way I can defeat Google permanently? Or have they paid Microsoft too much to stay there as the default? When I contacted Microsoft with the message seen below, they misunderstood my question and thought I wanted Google as the default. I don’t. I want the permanent default to be GoodSearch – Help!
The message I sent Microsoft that got me to your site is as follows:
In the upper right hand corner of the home page (msn) is the search engine to be used - the default is ALWAYS Google, even when I change the default setting. It has done me no good to try making the default some other engine, Google has some how been cemented permanently into the guts of the explorer so that if I wish to use someone else as the default I have to go in each time I access the home page and change the engine.
Why haven't you allowed me to keep a different engine in as a default - what is a default anyway if it isn't a default?
Thank you
Pierre

Posted by: Pierre at May 23, 2007 12:45 AM

everything was fine until I clicked find more providers. I get sent to a Google search page. http://www.google.com/search?q={searchTerms}&rls=com.microsoft:{language}:{referrer:source?}&ie={inputEncoding}&oe={outputEncoding}&sourceid=ie7. I do not want anything related to google, but google won't let me change it. How do I force another search provider around the evil google? :)

Posted by: Ron Reale at May 24, 2007 6:42 PM

I would like to remove Internet explorer and switch to Google/Firefox.Is this possible since IE is tied to so many programs ?

Posted by: Trude at February 15, 2008 5:25 AM

Can you tell me if it is possible to "change" windows live search to google? Whem I am in my MSN email and I click on the magnifying glass I would like to have google come up. Any help appreciated.
KC

I have Google listed as the IE 7 choice already

Posted by: KC at February 22, 2008 8:08 AM

I am trying to get rid of msn livesearch page, but my xp internet connection page is different from your example. Mine has same tab headers above, but only Home Page, Temporary Internet Files, and History sections below. In other words, I don't have the critical Search section on which I could change search defaults as your tutorial suggests.

Any other way? Is my Windows XP just strange? (It came with Dell computer in 2003)
thanks
Jean

Posted by: Jean Zaniewski at May 6, 2008 8:03 AM

I have a lot to say, but ...

I have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but most of all I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a chai!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!