The search function integrated in the Start menu is probably one of the best features in Windows Vista. I use it all the time to search for files on my computer and even as a launcher to launch applications.

It also gives an option to search the Internet from the same search box, but the only problem is that using this option will by default use MSN as the search engine which is not what I am used to.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the search box could give me an option to search using Google and wikipedia instead of MSN. This post will help you add Google and wikipedia to the Start menu search.

Go to the start menu search box and type GPEDIT.MSC and press enter. This will launch the Group policy editor.

Now, to add custom search engines to the list, you’ll need to edit the following key:

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Instant Search > Custom Instant Search Internet Search Provider

Double on the “Custom Instant Search Internet Search Provider” property and set it to enabled. Now, in the text box marked “String or DLL resource” type “Search Wikipedia” and for the URL to load use the following URL:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%w

This is how the dialogue box should look like.

Now, if you look at the search box, you’ll see “Search Wikipedia” in the list.

You can also add providers like Google and Yahoo instead of wikipedia to the list. To add Google use the following URL string:

http://www.google.com/search?q=%w

Similarly, to use Yahoo use the following URL string:

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%w

Hope you guys found this article useful. Let me know if you have any secret Windows Vista tips that you’d like to share with our readers.

Sharninder: Programmer, blogger and a geek making a living shifting bits around the Internet. Sharninder is the owner of Geeky Ninja