Firefox’s address bar just got a lot smarter with new features

Late last week, Mozilla noted in an announcement blog post that the address bar in Firefox has been upgraded with new improvements over past versions. It’s a lot smarter now and designed to give you more control over how you search and browse.

Firstly, you can now switch search engines directly in the address bar, thanks to a new button that lets you switch between Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, as well as certain marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, plus information resources like Wikipedia.

Secondly, when you perform a search in the address bar, Firefox no longer wipes out your search query. Previously, the search query was replaced by the search engine’s query URL. But now, your search query remains, making it easier to repeat or tweak further searches.

Thirdly, you can now use special keywords like @bookmarks, @tabs, @history, and @wikipedia to perform specific types of searches right from the address bar. For example, @bookmarks dog will search only your bookmarks for dog-related content, whereas @wikipedia charlie will search only Wikipedia for that term.

Fourthly, the address bar now also lets you perform actions, turning it into a productivity aid that lets you quickly do what you need to do without navigating through numerous menus. For example, you can type clear history to clear your browsing history, or take a screenshot to snap a screengrab of the current tab.

It’s the latest update in a line of updates that have seriously leveled up Firefox, including ones from last month that brought tab grouping functionality as well as native profile switching.