Use Google like a pro

Googling is one of the most important skills for every developer.

Let me show you how to get better at Googling.

Let's start!

1 . Use quotes to force an exact-match search:

"what is javascript"

2 . AND operator will return only results related to both terms:

html AND css

3 . You can use the OR operator to get the results related to one of the search terms

(javascript OR python) free course

4 . - operator will exclude results that contain a term or phrase:

javascript -css

5 . You can use the (*) wildcards as placeholders, which will be replaced by any word or phrase.

"how to start * in 6 months"

6 . Search inside a single website:

site:freecodecamp.org

7 . You can also use a very useful feature that helps to find a specific file type.

filetype:pdf learn css

8 . Search for a range of numbers:

ecmascript 2016..2018

If you liked this article, be sure to ❤️ it.

Happy coding! ❤️

Comments

[Habdul Hazeez]

In addition,

You can use | in place of OR. e.g JavaScript | HTML

The ext is also a substitute for filetype

Limit search to a domain e.g .com, .edu, .org e.t.c

You can go really weird by combining operators and search terms that will perform a pinpoint search.

JavaScript|HTML|CSS filetype:pdf -"framework" site:edu

When I have the time, I'll write a more comprehensive post about Google searching.

[stereobooster]

| is OR operation

[Habdul Hazeez]

Thanks for the correction. I updated my comment.

[Daniel Branco]

Will try to make a good Anki deck with all these tips, make it easy to everyone to study this.

[Martin Häusler]

Keep in mind that the - for exclusion can really bite you when you look for linux commands including flags (eg. ls -a) because you'll end up with all the pages that do NOT contain the flag you were looking for... 😂 A personal facepalm moment.

[Łukasz Kliś]

You can work around it and search for "ls -la". :D

[Martin Häusler]

That's true. I just didn't realize that when it happened the first time around. After things became clear, I was laughing like a maniac XD

[stereobooster]

coursebuilder.withgoogle.com/sampl...

[bravemaster619]

thanks for the links

[Daniel Leong 🇸🇬]

When you are setting up a new site, beware of any public accessible file that could be index by google.

In the past, that is how hackers are able to retrieve password files.
The google search is a double edge sword.

[Oskar Pietrucha]

I love the currency calculations tool as well with the time calculations. For example 100 USD to EUR and it will return you the valid value with latest exchange rate.
For time calculations I love to use it e.g. like this: '(1 hour 25 minutes + 33 minutes - 8 minutes) = '. Keep in mind that you need provide the "=" sign to make it work. It's also useful while converting the units eg '3 hours 44 minutes to minutes' or '8 inches to cm'

[HaxNet]

Switch to a privacy search engine instead.

[Andre Greeff]

oooh.... TBF, I did already know about many of these, but while reading this and a few of the comments, I just had the most amazing thought: imagine Google Search with syntax highlighting for the input field...

nothing quite like a little splash of colour for some user feedback while typing a search query, hey? (:

now I just wish I didn't have ideas like this while I was at work.. I have other things to do right now.

[Nguyen]

Thank you so much!!

[Marko Denic]

Glad you like it. Enjoy!

[Nilakandi]

test

[Designer Anna]

Using search queries under "quotes" for precise results is the best one and really a pro tip. ✌🏼
Thanks to share this. 🎁

[Se-ok Jeon]

Thx for this! This is really what I wanted. Helped A LOT.
Can I translate in Korean this article? If you don't mind, I wanna share this awesome information in Korean. Surely, There will be a link directing to this original one.