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ReadMe File for v. 2.0 (updated May 2007)

What is IntelliWebSearch?
IntelliWebSearch is an AutoHotkey (www.autohotkey.com) script compiled with Ahk2Exe.

What does IntelliWebSearch do?
Pressing a convenient shortcut key combination (CTRL+ALT+B by default, but this may be changed by the user):
  1. copies highlighted text from a Windows application (MS Word, Déjà Vu, SDLX, etc.) by simulating the copy function shortcut key combination (CTRL+C by default);
  2. strips the text of paragraph marks, line breaks, tabs, double spaces, punctuation marks and various other superfluous characters (customizable);
  3. opens your default browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, etc.) and sends the copied text to one of up to ten user preset search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc.), on-line dictionaries (Dictionary.com, KudoZ Glossary Search, etc.) or on-line encyclopaedias (Wikipedia, etc.) together with other customizable instructions which limit the search according to the advanced search options available for the engine/dictionary/encyclopaedia chosen.
Another convenient shortcut key combination (CTRL+ALT+C by default) copies any text highlighted in your browser and returns to the original application, where you can choose to paste it in using the application's own paste function (usually CTRL+V).
IntelliWebSearch is designed to be highly customizable, and to work (in theory) with any browser and any Windows application that has a copy function which can be accessed through a shortcut key combination.

Known problems
  1. Problem: to prevent any keystrokes physically typed by the user from disrupting the simulated copy command IntelliWebSearch sends to the Windows application, IntelliWebSearch blocks the keyboard and mouse for up to nearly two seconds (see Settings, Clipboard timeout). If something happens, during that time, that interrupts IntelliWebSearch, such as a software firewall (e.g. ZoneAlarm) warning the user that IntelliWebSearch is accessing resources, the PC freezes.
Solution (only tested in Windows XP): press CTRL+ALT+DEL. The keyboard and mouse are unblocked. Close Windows Task Manager (which pops up) and instruct the software firewall to let IntelliWebSearch do its job without interruption. Then try again.
  1. Problem: very rarely and sporadically the Windows application misinterprets the copy shortcut key combination IntelliWebSearch simulates. For example, in the case of CTRL+C, it misses the "CTRL" and only sees the "C". The effect, in this case, is that the highlighted text is overwritten with the letter C and the Search Window comes up empty.
Solution: close the Search Window, return to the original application and press "undo" (normally CTRL+Z) enough times to restore the original text. Then try again.
So far this has never happened twice in a row and seems to depend on a bug in AutoHotkey (i.e. beyond my control).
  1. Problem: in some applications, if the highlighted text includes paragraph marks, the last few letters are clipped in the search string.
Solution: type the missing letters into the Search Window manually. This seems to depend on a bug in the way AutoHotkey reads the clipboard (i.e. beyond my control).
  1. Problem: the Search Window does not appear until the program activation shortcut key (by default CTRL+ALT+B) is released.
Solution: this is not a bug. It is intentional. It prevents the keys pressed from accidentally being seen by the application as part of the copy shortcut key simulated by IntelliWebSearch.
  1. Problem: AutoHotkey (and therefore IntelliWebSearch) cannot block input devices under Windows 95, Windows NT 4 prior to Service Pack 6, Windows 98 and Windows Me.
Solution: with these operating systems, it is important not to touch the keyboard or mouse:
1) after releasing the shortcut key combination that launches IntelliWebSearch (by default CTRL+ALT+B) until the Search Window appears (up to nearly two seconds later, according to settings);
2) after releasing the Express shortcut key combination until the browser window appears;
3) after releasing the Return shortcut key until the original application appears.
If any keys are touched during these times, they may be interpreted by the application/browser as part of the copy shortcut keys simulated by IntelliWebSearch and give rise to unpredictable and potentially dangerous effects. Use of IntelliWebSearch with these operating systems is therefore not recommended.
  1. Problem: during search string editing on the Search Window, the IME language bar used for multi-byte language input (Chinese, Japanese, etc.) does not display characters as they are typed .
Solution: unfortunately this seems to depend on a bug in AutoHotkey (i.e. beyond my control). Windows XP users have reported that the characters typed are in any case buffered and multi-byte language characters appears when the spacebar is pressed. It is however a bit like typing in the dark. Luckily it is not often necessary to edit the search string.

How to use IntelliWebSearch
  1. If you chose not to run IntelliWebSearch at Windows start-up, the first time you decide to use it you need to run it from the Start>Programs menu or the desktop icon (if created during installation). IntelliWebSearch opens in the background and a red "i" icon appears in the system tray.
  2. Highlight the words you wish to search for on the Internet in the application you are using and press the shortcut key which launches IntelliWebSearch (by default CTRL+ALT+B). If you wish to search for words which are not on the screen right click the IntelliWebSearch icon in the system tray and choose "Search". You can also simply press CTRL+ALT+B without highlighting any text, but this method is not recommended if you have set an Alternative Copy Key (see Settings).
  3. The Search Window appears.
 
Figure 1 – Search Window

  1. Decide if you want to strip any numerals (0-9) in the search string (industrial revolution in the example in figure 1) with Strip numbers. If numerals have already been stripped by default (see Settings), this key is called Restore numbers and can be used to put the numbers back. Do this before doing any other search string editing. The key can be toggled with ALT+S/ALT+R.  To return to the edit box without using the mouse, press ALT+Z.
  2. Edit the search string if necessary. You can add Boolean operators (AND, OR, etc.) and field search limitations (intitle, inurl, etc.) if compatible with the search engine/dictionary/encyclopaedia concerned*. 
  3. Decide if the search string should be enclosed in quotation marks, i.e. "industrial revolution", rather than industrial revolution (Quotes?). Many search engines look for words enclosed in quotation marks as a fixed string rather than separate words. Do not enable this box if you have added Boolean operators or field limitations. In this case you will have to type in any quotes needed where appropriate "by hand". Quotes can also be toggled with ALT+Q. If you wish to return to the edit box after toggling quotes, use either the mouse or ALT+Z.
  4. If you do not like how the string has been processed by IntelliWebSearch, you can paste the original "raw" string into the search box with CTRL+V.
  5. Click one of the 10 user preset "searches" marked 1-10 (or press Alt+n, where n is a number from 0 to 9). If you want to use the default key (labelled in blue), just hit ENTER.
  6. Your browser automatically opens and the search engine results are displayed.
The whole process is in fact very quick and simple since often only two keystrokes are required, i.e. CTRL+ALT+B followed by ALT+n (or ENTER). If you wish to bypass the Search Window and look for the search string with your default search settings (see Settings), you can use the Express Shortcut key combination (CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+B by default).

* For further information see note under Settings, Search1-10:

From the Search Window you can also:
  1. Edit the archive and change the preset search engines (Archive / ALT+A).
  2. Edit the settings and change the default search key (Settings / ALT+E)
  3. Change your mind and cancel the search (ESC).
  4. Visit my web site if you have nothing better to do (click bottom panel).

Changing the preset "searches"
The preset "searches" can be changed in two ways:
  1. by swapping them with others from the archive (see Archive)
  2. by editing the preset key settings (see Settings).

Using the Archive

The archive can be reached:
  1. from the Search Window (figure 1);
  2. from the Settings Window (figures 3 and 4)
  3. by right clicking the IntelliWebSearch icon in the system tray and choosing "Archive".
 
Figure 2 – Archive window

The right hand column shows the search engines and types of search corresponding to the ten preset keys. The left hand column shows the contents of the archive.
  1. To swap a preset item with one from the archive, simply highlight the two items concerned and click "Swap" (ALT+W). For example clicking swap in figure 2 would exchange Google IT/IT sites with OneLook/Translations.
  2. To delete one of the items in the archive, click "Delete" in the archive column (ALT+L). For example clicking Delete in the archive column in figure 2 would delete OneLook/Translations. 
  3. To delete one of the items among the preset keys, click "Delete" in the preset keys column (ALT+D). For example clicking Delete in the preset keys column in figure 2 would delete Google IT/IT sites. 
  4. To change the order of the preset keys use the up/down arrows to the left of the Delete button under the preset keys column. For example clicking the up arrow in figure 2 would reverse the order of Google IT/IT sites and Google IT/IT language. 
  5. To change the order of the archive items use the up/down arrows to the left of the Delete button under the archive column. For example clicking the up arrow in figure 2 would reverse the order of OneLook/Translations and OneLook/Definition.
  6. To move an archive item into a preset key and delete the previous contents of that key, click "< Move <" (ALT+O). For example clicking "< Move <" in figure 2 would move OneLook/Translation into key 3 overwriting Google IT/IT sites, which will be lost.
  7. To move a preset item to the bottom of the archive list leaving the key empty, click "> Move >" (ALT+M). For example clicking "> Move >" in figure 2 would move Google IT/IT sites to the bottom of the archive leaving key 3 free.     
From the Archive Window you can also:
  1. Edit the settings and change the default search key (Settings / ALT+E)
  2. Leave the archive (Close / ALT+C).
Changing the Settings

 
Figure 3 – Settings Window (Search tab)

The settings window consists of 11 tabs.

Search1-10

Key Label (ALT+K) is the label which appears under the key on the Search Window.
Encoding (ALT+E) is the type of character into which special characters are converted. If the search engine/on-line dictionary does not recognize the special characters (above ASCII code 127) sent by IntelliWebSearch, try changing this parameter.
Quotes always off (ALT+Q) overrides the quotes setting on the Search Window. Some search engines/on-line dictionaries do not accept quotation marks (Wikipedia for example).
Start (ALT+T) is the result page address (see "Finding the URL" below) up to where the search terms start. It is not necessary to include http://, since it is added automatically if missing.
Finish (ALT+F) is the result page address (see "Finding the URL" below) after the search terms.
Description (ALT+D) is an optional description which is seen when selecting items on the Archive window.
Contributor (ALT+O) is an optional place to put your name. It is useful if you swap "searches" with other IntelliWebSearch users. If the name is there, you know who to get in touch with if the "search" doesn't work or stops working.
Press Save and close (ALT+S) to save changes. Press Close without saving (ALT+C) to leave the Settings window without saving any changes made.

Finding the URL (address)
Search engines, on-line dictionaries and on-line encyclopaedias use one of two methods to submit the search terms you input: GET or POST. Luckily it is very easy to tell which method is used. With the GET method, the search terms are visible somewhere in the result page address string (URL). If the POST method is used, they are hidden. Here is what to do in each case:

GET method (e.g. Google UK)
This is the most widely used method.
  1. Type the Google UK address into your browser: www.google.co.uk
  2. Type hello into the Google search box, choose "pages from the UK" and click the "Google Search" button.
  3. the URL of the page which appears is:
    http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=hello&btnG=Google+Search&meta=cr%3DcountryUK%7CcountryGB
  4. Open IntelliWebSearch's settings window (right click the red "i" icon in the system tray and choose "Settings")
  5. Copy the part up to the word hello (shown in red above) and put it in IntelliWebSearch's Start string
  6. Copy the part after the word hello (shown in blue above) and put it in IntelliWebSearch's Finish string. In this case, experiments have shown that &btnG=Google+Search is superfluous (see figure 3).
  7. Add a Key Label and Description of your choice
  8. Click "Save and close"
    9.

POST method (e.g. IATE)
These are more difficult to find since you will have to use a third party freeware application such as Slim Browser or the Firefox add-on NeedleSearch. Fortunately this method is much less commonly used. Here is what to do using Slim Browser:
  1. Install and run Slim Browser: www.flashpeak.com
  2. Type the IATE address into Slim Browser: http://iate.europa.eu/iatediff
  3. Select the IATE languages and options you are interested in (e.g. IT>EN and "Type of search")
  4. Put the cursor in the IATE "You are searching for" box
  5. Choose "extract search engine data" from Slim Browser's "Tools" menu
  6. A message box appears with the URL you need:
    http://iate.europa.eu/iatediff/SearchByQuery.do;jsessionid=999?method=search&saveStats=true&query=$key&valid=Search+&sourceLanguage=it&targetLanguages=en&domain=0&typeOfSearch=t
  7. Open IntelliWebSearch's settings window (right click the red "i" icon in the system tray and choose "Settings")
  8. Copy the part up to "$key" (shown in red above) and put it in IntelliWebSearch's Start string. In this case, experiments have shown that ;jsessionid=999 is superfluous. 
  9. Copy the part after "$key" (shown in blue above) and put it in IntelliWebSearch's Finish string.
  10. Add a Key Label and Description of your choice
  11. Click "Save and close"
  12. Close Slim Browser
Even after following the above instructions correctly, IntelliWebSearch may not be able to access certain sites due to their use of java-script-driven frames, server settings (at least in theory) or encoding different from those supported by IntelliWebSearch. A brute-force method may be used to deal with these infrequent cases called Form Fill mode (v. 2.0.5 or later). This method should only be used as a last resort when the normal method fails: it is slower and more susceptible to the whims of other software installed on the system (especially the browser).

Form Fill mode (e.g. Le Grand Dictionnaire)
  1. Copy the Le Grand Dictionnaire address into IntelliWebSearch's Start string: http://www.granddictionnaire.com
  2. Put what you would normally type into Le Grand Dictionnaire into IntelliWebSearch's Finish string using this convention:
    @ = the word(s) to look up
    {Special key} = a special key, e.g. {Enter} or {Tab}
    For example @{Tab}{Tab}{Tab}{Tab}{Down}{Enter} sets français>anglais and starts the search (this works in Opera and probably in other browsers too, but it does not work in Internet Explorer 7). For a simple Le Grand Dictionnaire search with the default parameters, just write @{Enter} in the Finish string.
  3. Add a Key Label and Description of your choice
  4. Click "Save and close"
  5. After launching the search, Le Grand Dictionnaire opens in your browser, shortly followed by a message showing the string of keystrokes IntelliWebSearch would like to type into the page. Only hit Enter (or click OK) when the Grand Dictionnaire page has completely finished loading.
    6.
IntelliWebSearch knows Form Fill mode is to be used when it finds an "@" in the Finish string, so make sure you include one.

For a full list of the special keys you can include in the Finish string, see the Key Names table found here: http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/commands/Send.htm

As you can see from these examples, defining your own customized "search" is in fact extremely simple*.  In any case, if you need help, there is also an IntelliWebSearch Users' Group on the Internet, hosted by Yahoo! Groups, with a database for search configurations contributed by group members.

* For further information and illustration of advanced search options see:
General
http://www.searchengineshowdown.com/features
Specifically for translators
http://xoomer.virgilio.it/hellmutriediger/Term-minator-en.htm
http://web.ticino.com/multilingual/Search_Interfaces.htm

General

 
Figure 4 – Settings Window (General tab)

Quotes by default? (ALT+Q) toggles the default setting of Quotes? on the Search Window.
Keep genitive apostrophe? (ALT+K) keeps the apostrophe in the search string in the combinations 's + space and s' + space even if the apostrophe is one of the characters in the Strip string (see Strip string). It also changes curly apostrophes into straight apostrophes in the same cases. Note that this option does not work with most multi-byte languages (Japanese, Chinese, etc.).
Strip numbers by default? (ALT+I) deletes all occurrences of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 in the search string. For example, if you select this item and highlight "Windows 2000 and XP", the Search Window will display "Windows and XP".
Load on Windows Startup? (ALT+L) preloads IntelliWebSearch every time the computer is started up.
Default search n.: (ALT+F) the user may associate a search with the Express Shortcut Key. It is set to 10 by default.
Copy Key (ALT+O) is the shortcut key combination simulated by IntelliWebSearch to copy text from your Windows applications. CTRL+C is now standard for English language programs.
Shortcut Key (ALT+H) is the key combination used to open the Search Window. CTRL+ALT+B is default (B for browser).
Express Shortcut Key (ALT+E) is the key combination used to bypass the Search Window and send the search string to the default search engine (see Default search n.). CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+B by default.
Return Shortcut Key (ALT+R) is the key combination used to copy any highlighted text in your browser and return to the original application. CTRL+ALT+C by default (C for copy).  The text may then be pasted into your application using the usual paste shortcut key (usually CTRL+V).
 Strip string (ALT+T) is a string of characters which are automatically removed from the search string. For example if the Strip string is as shown in figure 4 and you highlight "Windows© (Me or XP)", the search string in the Search Window will be "Windows Me or XP".

Advanced Options

Alternative Copy Key (ALT+N) is a second shortcut key combination simulated by IntelliWebSearch to copy text from your Windows applications. It is useful if you want to use IntelliWebSearch with other applications that do not use the standard copy key combination to copy text (some legacy MS DOS applications, for example, use CTRL+Insert). IntelliWebSearch simulates this combination only if the first combination does not put anything into the clipboard within the clipboard timeout setting (see below). Note that this combination will be simulated even if the reason the first combination did not put anything into the clipboard was that you forgot to highlight any text. It is therefore a good idea to make sure that the alternative copy key combination does not have undesirable effects in the other applications you will be using IntelliWebSearch with. By default there is no Alternative Copy Key.
Cmd before returning (ALT+M): the user may set an optional keystroke (CTRL+F4, CTRL+W, ALT+F4, or anything else) which is simulated immediately before leaving the browser with CTRL+ALT+C. By default it is not set.
Browser (ALT+B): the user may choose the browser IntelliWebSearch will use to open the search engines/on-line dictionaries/on-line encyclopaedias. If it is left blank, IntelliWebSearch will use your default Browser. To choose Internet Explorer, simply type iexplore.exe.
Clipboard timeout (ALT+U) may be set by the user (in tenths of a second). Setting a lower value (even zero) will cause CTRL+ALT+B and CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+B to work faster if an Alternative Copy Key (see above) has been set, otherwise it will make no speed difference. Setting a lower value will also cause CTRL+ALT+C to work faster if no text is selected for copying back, otherwise it makes no difference to the speed of this function either. However a low value may cause CTRL+ALT+B, CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+B and CTRL+ALT+C to malfunction if you have a slow or particularly taxed system. If you want to speed up the functions described here, try tweaking it until you find the lowest value which causes no errors.

Press Save and close (ALT+S) to save changes. Press Close without saving (ALT+C) to leave the Settings window without saving any changes made.
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