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Make Bing your default search provider in IE

Jun. 1, 2009 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

Thanks to Alan B. for this tip: You can make Bing your default search provider in Internet Explorer 7 or 8 by visiting Microsoft's Create Your Own Search Provider page and entering the following information:

URL: http://www.bing.com/search?q=TEST

Name: Bing

Then, click Install Search Provider. (And be sure to check the box to make it your default provider.) You'll even get the Bing logo in the search box. Nice!

Discuss this Article 31

mikegalos@msn.com
on Jun 1, 2009
A few quick notes: This will add Bing to your search list but you need to check "Make this my default search provider" for it to be the default. This is the generic way to add any site's search to your IE search provider list. It will not add search suggestions or visual search. That will have to wait for Bing to add a link that installs the extra linkage code. For those of you reading this before 10AM PDT on June 1, there will be a Bing Q&A webcast at that time at http://ms.istreamplanet.com/search/
cbmcclosk
on Jun 1, 2009
I found an add on for Bing at Firefox which works nicely.
kent909
on Jun 1, 2009
Finally a search engine that works the way I need it to. Very nice job by MS.
gfryesc1
on Jun 1, 2009
or if you buy Win7 Starter, you CAN'T change the search provider away from bing. :)
mdsharpe
on Jun 1, 2009
So why haven't they enabled stuff like the Explore pane for countries outside the US? Lame.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jun 1, 2009
mdsharpe A little perspective, Bing doesn't even officially go into public preview until Wednesday. It might be a bit early to complain about missing features in some markets.
RaaJ
on Jun 1, 2009
Our friend Long Zheng created a Firefox add-on to add Bing to your list of search engines.. and you will get the bing icon too.. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/12205 Upon preliminary examination of Bing, the presentation is great, but Google still beats it in terms of usefulness of search results. For example, try searching for 'Spam testing A record' on both search engines. (That was what I was researching this morning...) Google still gave better search results. Bing wins on the cool factor and nifty presentation.
jtdennis
on Jun 1, 2009
This also works in Firefox, though you don't get the icon.
shark47
on Jun 1, 2009
My Live Search goes to Bing anyway.
whiplash55
on Jun 1, 2009
I'm pleasantly surprised by bing. I did a number of searches for things I normally use Google for by default. Removing specific spyware apps, racks for my old Volvo, water conditions in my favorite streams and so on. The result were very similar or the same as Google, in some cases a little better, I'll keep using Bing as my default until I find I'm consistently needing Google for a second opinion. Good job to MS for this one, I really didn't expect it to be that great.
Dipsh t Admin
on Jun 1, 2009
For Firefox, the Bing home page offered to add itself to the search providers page. Worked fine.
Dipsh t Admin
on Jun 1, 2009
Alternatively, you can much easier go to http://www.ieaddons.com/en/details/searchhelpers/Bing_Search/ and install the Bing search provider from there.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jun 1, 2009
Dipsh Now that it's live and they've added the proper link on ieaddons that's the way to go because it adds the visual search and preview.
techfan
on Jun 1, 2009
@Dipsh t Admin: Thanks for the link! I had added Bing to IE8 before I came to the SuperSite blog but it didn't have suggested search (one of IE8's strongest features). I didn't think the option was on the IE's addon gallery yet. It's strange that when I went to Bing.com IE8 didn't recognize the search and suggested adding it to the search engines. I tried Bing but I don't, I'm going to keep Google as my default search engine. I'm a Microsoft fan (obviously since I'm here (I don't get those that spend their time on a Windows/MS-centric site bashing the company/product)) but Bing isn't offering too much to me. It might not be geared toward my kind of search. I just did a news search and it produced old news stories. The site looks nice though.
Toddimous
on Jun 1, 2009
The link just took me to the Bing page with the search results for Test. You might want to fix that Paul.
Toddimous
on Jun 1, 2009
Disregard my previous comment. My reading comprehension sucks today.
lotsamystuff
on Jun 1, 2009
Maybe Microsoft will just helpfully do it for you in their next service pack. That would be quite helpful. http://tinyurl.com/nmb32n
shark47
on Jun 1, 2009
So far, so good. I like it so far. Can you change the search provider on the iPod Touch or iPhone? Apple is not as evil as Microsoft, so I'm sure there's a very easy way to do it.
lotsamystuff
on Jun 1, 2009
"Can you change the search provider on the iPod Touch or iPhone?" Yes. http://www.exactmagic.com/products/iphone/search/index.html http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/2009/02/14/quicktip-change-default-sear...
shark47
on Jun 1, 2009
"Can you change the search provider on the iPod Touch or iPhone?" Yes. Oh, I meant to Bing.
lotsamystuff
on Jun 1, 2009
"Web Search has built in support for multiple providers like Yahoo! Search and Live Search from Microsoft. Just click the appropriate tab and your search is repeated in an alternate provider. " I would imagine that since Live Search is supported, Bing will be as well. If you're seriously curious (instead of just rhetorically snarky), I suppose you could ask the developer.
chuckb84
on Jun 1, 2009
@shark "So far, so good. I like it so far. Can you change the search provider on the iPod Touch or iPhone? Apple is not as evil as Microsoft, so I'm sure there's a very easy way to do it." There's an app for that, for google, I mean. All Microsoft has to do is distribute a similar free app. I assume they're hard at work on this, if they haven't done it already? Best comment to date on Bing, "Microsoft’s updated search engine launches. Not bad. Not really seeing how it’s any better than Live.com was, though, either. I wish Bing well, though. If not Microsoft, who else will even try to compete against Google?" And that's how it seems to me so far, on the basis of very limited trials. Kinda like google, I don't see the WOW differentiator, but I'm happy to see a competitor.
DRWAM
on Jun 1, 2009
I just added Bing to FF on Leopard by using the "Manage Search Engine" drop down menu on the Search bar, which took me to the page to add it. They are alphabetical order. Pretty slick. Bing looks nice. But, I will refrain from any other comment as you all know that I'm very biased about Google [which is Klingon for 'evil'].
RunTimeError
on Jun 1, 2009
Been playing with it for a little bit. I don't see that much difference from Google other than the shiny wallpaper. In fact some searches don't bring up half the hits (of the pages I'm looking for) I get in Google until I dig in a couple of pages deep. Seems nice but, so far, not enough to make me change over from Google. Time will tell I guess.
Waethorn
on Jun 1, 2009
I like that you can just mouseover on videos to play the previews without having to click on anything.
Waethorn
on Jun 1, 2009
Re: videos I also like that you can play videos directly from Bing, and not have to go directly to the site that hosts them. I think that content providers will probably get mad about this if they can't host their own ads. :) That's why I like it!
techfan
on Jun 1, 2009
@Waethorn: That feature was part of Live Search :-) It surprised me the first time I used it. I heard sound coming from my speakers but had no idea where it was coming from until I noticed the cursor had landed on one of the thumbnails. The endless image search thing is nice, too, but I hate that image info, like size, is only shown on mouse over. I'm going to give Bing a week of testing. I'm beginning to think that I'm using too many of Google's services (Web search, Gmail, Reader, News, YouTube, Google Earth, and Chrome until I uninstalled it) and switching to a new search engine might be due. I think I use Google News search more than I use Google Web search.
Lindy
on Jun 1, 2009
http://www.theonion.com/content/amvo/microsoft_launches_new_search hahaha. After using it at work today to do a couple dozen searches..... Better than Live...check. Better than Google...nope. Its close but Google still gave me better results and that was when searching for something like "Windows 2008 disable ip6", which Bing should have been all over. It looks cool. Google is sparse ugly, craigs list looking like. Progress it is and that is what is good about it.
techfan
on Jun 1, 2009
I just remembered: Google search in IE8 has a feature that Bing doesn't. When I type a search, i.e. "paul thurrott" (no quotes), the top search result will be the SuperSite and clicking on it will take me to the the. One of my top favorite features in IE8 with Google search. http://tinyurl.com/nr5znc
niyokochan
on Jun 1, 2009
OPERA, Adding new search engines: For those using Opera, just right click on the search field and select, "Create Search." Now you have Bing in your searches. That was easy.
Master3
on Jun 1, 2009
I am really liking the video search. Was very surprised that it played sound as well when it played. Also it is much nicer to view. The whole stark white thing has really become old.

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