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Q: Eliminating search drop-down listings ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   1 Comment )
Question  
Subject: Eliminating search drop-down listings
Category: Miscellaneous
Asked by: fatdon-ga
List Price: $2.00
Posted: 22 Apr 2005 13:38 PDT
Expires: 22 May 2005 13:38 PDT
Question ID: 512836
When I begin normal Google Search and type in the first letter a
drop-down box opens listing every item I've searched that begins with
that letter.  This is disconcerting.  How can I eliminate/delete these
drop-downs?
Answer  
Subject: Re: Eliminating search drop-down listings
Answered By: politicalguru-ga on 24 Apr 2005 05:28 PDT
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Dear Fatdon, 

"Remembering" search terms is not unique to Google. If you use the
Google Toolbar (as in the bar downloaded on
http://toolbar.google.com), it could remember your previous searches
(and it could be prevented from doing so). If you use Internet
Explorer 6.0 as a browser (which most users do), it could also
remember your previous searches.

If this appears on the Google Toolbar
=====================================
If you click the "Google" sign in the far left side of the bar, you
get several drop-down options:
- One is titled "Clear Search History" - hre you could clear the
history, if you want it to continue and save your previous search
history, but to erase those already done.
- One is titled "options". If you click on this one, you have an
option called "Drop Down Search History". If this option is checked,
un-check it. Consequently, future searches you make would not be
saved.


If this appears on the Google search line (as in the line on www.google.com)
=========================================
This could be your option on the Internet Explorer. 

You could remove this function, called "Auto Complete", like that:

(1) Go to Start  --->  "Settings" ----> Control Panel (or: click on
"Tools" on the top of your browser)

(2) Choose Internet Options 

(3) Choose "Content", in the folders beginning with "General" and
ending with "Advanced" (with
Security-privacy-content-connections-programmes in the middle).

(4) Click on "Auto Complete" and remove approvals next to "forms". 

(5) Click OK, then "Apply"/OK. 

[Note: If your computer is not in English, the names might change, but
not the way to remove Auto Complete].

In addition, you could also delete your history, that is - the sites
that you've visited in the past, by doing another process:

(1) Repeat stages 1-2 in the first instructions. 
(2) Choose the folder "General"
(3) Click on "delete cookies" (if you haven't done it for a while, it
might take some time)
(4) Click on "delete files" and approve deletion also of off-line content. 
(5) Click on "clear history" - you could decide how many days you
would like your computer to keep history in the first place.

Marcy Zitz from About.com provides here more information on the "Auto
Complete" feature and how to disable it:
<http://familyinternet.about.com/library/weekly/aa072501a.htm>

I hope this answered your question. Please contact me if you need any
clarification on this answer before you rate it.
fatdon-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars and gave an additional tip of: $10.00
Great answer.  Comprehensive and detailed.  It worked.  Thanks.  Fatdon

Comments  
Subject: Re: Eliminating search drop-down listings
From: politicalguru-ga on 24 Apr 2005 12:33 PDT
 
Thank you for the rating and the tip!

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