A c t i o n f o r L i b r a r i e s — A u g u s t 2 0 0 2

The Internet Connection

By Michael Sauers

Free Google Toolbar a Useful Tool If you love the Google Web site for searching as much as I do, you should be aware of the new Google Toolbar. The Google Toolbar, which can be downloaded for free, can be easily added to your copy of Internet Explorer (sorry, no version for Netscape) and gives you instant access to many of Google's features.

The main use for the toolbar is to give you a Google search box right in your browser. This allows you to enter a Google search without having to go to the site first. The toolbar will also remember the 20 previous searches you have done, allowing you to reproduce their results quickly. The toolbar also gives you the choice of searching the Web via Google or using Google to search only the site at which you are currently looking.

If you install the toolbar with the advanced features you also get the following useful utilities:

Page Rank: Gives you the popularity rating of the site on the Web.
Page Info: Allows you to view a cached version of the page, view similar pages, view pages that link to the current page and access a translation service.
Up: An automatic utility that moves you up through the directory structure of the site. (Just like manually removing the ends from the URL.)

Installing the Google Toolbar is as simple as clicking on a link at the Google site. The toolbar will install itself and appear once you restart the browser. You can find the Google Toolbar at toolbar.google.com.

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