Editing Search plugin (section)

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A '''search plugin''' provides the ability to access a [[search engine]] from a [[web browser]], without having to go to the engine's [[website]] first.

Technically, a search plugin is a small [[text file]] that tells the browser what information to send to a search engine and how the results are to be retrieved. The ease with which search plugins can be created has led to archives where public contributions can be downloaded, and these can be important in software [[personalization]].

With the introduction of [[Mozilla Firefox 2|Firefox 2.0]] in 2006, search plugins started to offer [[search suggestions]], where terms would appear as the user typed. These are laid out in a menu, and are predicted based on the most likely ending to a word that was midway through being typed. This uses [[Ajax (programming)|Ajax]] technology to query the remote website's database for most common search terms, and so differs from traditional browser [[autofill]], where the form would typically be completed based on information the user had entered previously.

Most search engines now offer search plugins and these are often paired with download of related software. Among those offering search plugins are [[Amazon (company)]], [[Google]], [[Ebay]], [[Google Maps]], and [[Reddit]], among others.