Matching Anything From Chrome’s Address Bar
Searching for directions on Google Maps on the desktop is a little awkward. You must choose your starting point, destination and mode of travel. But if you’re using Chrome, you can create three shortcuts to get directions right from the address bar without a single click.
Map Any Place
In Chrome, go to Settings and select Manage Search Engines. Next to “Other Search Engines” click “ADD”. Fill out the form like this:
- Search engine:
Google Maps - Keyword:
map - URL with% s instead of request:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/%s
Click “Save”. From now on, you can enter “map” and a location in the address bar and Google will display that. For example: map 11 Wall St, New York, NY :
%s in this url is a placeholder for whatever you enter after the keyword.
Directions from home
You can do the same for directions anywhere from your home. Add a new search engine as above, but use this URL with your home address instead of our sample URL:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=11+Wall+St,+New+York,+NY+10005&daddr=%s
Enter a new keyword for this search, such as mh or maphome .
You can make up as many keywords as you like, each of which indicates a different starting point, such as your job or another place you travel from frequently.
How to get home
All of the above applies, but instead start with this line:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=%s&daddr=11+Wall+St,+New+York,+NY+10005
Transport / Cycling / Hiking Trails
Google Maps often tries to guess your ideal mode of transport. Add one of these lines to get results for a specific mode:
- By car:
&dirflg=d - Public transport:
&dirflg=r - Cycling:
&dirflg=b - On foot:
&dirflg=w
You can embed a myriad of shortcuts into Chrome’s address bar, including specialized bookmarks, image searches, and site-specific searches. Keep up the good work and you never have to take your hands off the keyboard.