Tip #247

Long press on selected text in Vivaldi on Android to do a web search with the selection.

We shared how to search with a snippet of text on a web page on the desktop version of Vivaldi in Tip #8. This time we’re sharing how to do the same on Android.

To search with selected text:

  1. Long press on a word you want to select.
    Drag the little bubbles at the bottom corners of the word to select more than one word.
  2. On the menu that appears, tap on the 3 dot menu to see additional options.
  3. Select Web search.

Results will be shown from your default search engine.

A web page in Vivaldi on Android with a few words selected and context menu open.

Tip #246

Use Forum’s Advanced Search to find the most relevant discussions.

Vivaldi Forum is full of discussion threads about all things Vivaldi and more. If you have a question or a request, it’s best to use the search function first. The odds are that your question has already been answered or a feature request is already collecting upvotes from the community.

To use Advanced Search, click on the 3 gear icons in the Search field in the top right corner of the Forum.

You can narrow down results by the following criteria:

  • Category
  • Post author
  • Tags
  • Number of replies
  • Post time
  • Whether the search term can be found only in the topic title or also in the content
  • Whether all or only some words in results need to match the search term
Vivaldi Forum's Advanced Search.

Tip #230

Make use of the browser’s Sync feature to add custom Search Engines to Vivaldi on Android

It’s currently not possible to add a new search engine to Vivaldi on Android directly in the app. That doesn’t mean that Custom Search Engines can’t be added to Vivaldi on your mobile devices. Just follow the steps below.

To add custom search engines in Vivaldi on Android:

  1. Add the Search Engines in a desktop version of Vivaldi.
  2. Log in to your Vivaldi account on desktop in Settings > Sync.
  3. Sync either all data or at least the settings.
  4. Log in to your Vivaldi account in the Android app in Settings > Sync.
  5. Sync the same data types you synced on desktop.

Then you can check Settings > General > Search Engines to see your custom search engines listed among the others.

Tip #218

Enable “Show Search Engine Suggestion” to see all available Search Engines in Vivaldi on Android during search.

In addition to the default Search Engine, you can also search with all other available ones in Vivaldi on Android. One option to switch search engines for a single search is to type the Search Engine Nickname in front of the search term, but you can also enable a toolbar that displays them all while you search and just tap on the one you want to use.

To see all available search engines while you search:

  1. Go to Settings > General.
  2. Enable Show Search Engine Suggestion.

To switch engines while searching:

  1. Enter the search term in the Address/Search Field.
  2. Tap on the Search Engine you want to see results from.

Swipe left and right on the list to see all search engines.

Vivaldi on Android, with a search term being entered in the Address Field and available search engines listed below it.

Tip #201

Enable “Search Page Selection in Background” to do a search, but check the results later.

While reading something on a web page you might come across something you’d like to know more about, but don’t want to drop what you’re doing on the current page to do a search. Vivaldi browser lets you search with highlighted text on a web page, and, by toggling on one little setting, the results will open in a new background tab instead of taking you away from the current tab.

To enable the setting:

  1. Go to Settings > Search > Search Options.
  2. Enable Search Page Selection in Background.

Tip #190

Enable search suggestions to get suggestions from the search engine as you type.

Search Engines can show you suggestions as you type the search query in the Address or Search Field. It can make searching faster. The way it works, however, is that everything you type is sent to the search engine. Since it can be quite revealing, in Vivaldi, the setting to show suggestions is not enabled by default. But since we are all about giving users options, you can choose to enable it if you prefer convenience over privacy.

To enable search suggestions:

  1. Go to Settings > Search > Allow Search Suggestions.
  2. Depending where you want to get suggestions, enable the setting for the Address Field and/or the Search Field.
    In the Address Field, to limit what you type from being sent to the search engine, you can enable suggestions to be shown only when you first enter the Search Engine Nickname.

Read more about Search Suggestions and their privacy implications on our blog.

Tip #171

Find similar images with reverse image search.

When you come across an image on a web page or have one saved and you want to find similar images or track down the original source and author of the image, you can use reverse image search.

To search with an image:

  1. Open the web page with the image or open an image stored on your computer from Vivaldi menu > File > Open File.
  2. Right-click on the image to open the context menu.
  3. Select Search for Image.

To change the Image Search Engine:

  1. Go to Settings > Search > Image Search Engine.
  2. Select your preferred search engine from the dropdown menu.

Currently, the search can be done using either Bing’s or Google’s image search. If you know any other search engines that offer searching with an image, you can add them as a new search engine. Make sure to fill out the Image Search URL and Image Search POST Parameters info.

A web page with an image in Vivaldi Browser. Right-click context menu is opened and highlighted.

Tip #165

Search for specific words on the open web page in Vivaldi on Android with Find in Page.

On desktop, Ctrl+F / ⌘ F is a well known Keyboard Shortcut for searching through the open web page. On mobile devices, where the screens fit even less content in the visible area, being able to just search for a keyword is even more useful.

To search in Vivaldi on Android:

  1. Open the Vivaldi menu.
  2. Select Find in Page.
  3. Enter your search keyword.

Search results will start showing as you type. Use the arrows in the top right corner to move to the ˄ previous and ˅ next results. Tap on the X, when you’re done with your search.

A web page in Vivaldi on Android with Find in Page active and search results for the entered keyword shown.

Tip #74

Add a new custom Search Engine to Vivaldi from the site search field’s context menu.

Adding a new Search Engine to Vivaldi lets you get to the site’s search results without needing to navigate to the page first. To add a new custom Search Engine:

  1. Go to the website where you often use the site’s search feature.
  2. Right-click on the search field.
  3. Select Add as Search Engine from the context menu.
  4. Review and, if needed, edit the name and nickname.
  5. Click Add.

To search with your new Search Engine, type its nickname before the search term in the Address Field or select it from the Search Field’s dropdown menu.

Tip #48

Add Vivaldi’s search widget to your mobile device’s home screen to start a search with just one tap.

With a search widget on your Android phone’s or tablet’s home screen you can get to what you’re looking for in no time.

To add Vivaldi’s search widget to the home screen:

  1. Long press on an empty space on the devise’s home screen.
  2. Select Widgets.
  3. Find Vivaldi search from the list.
  4. Long press on the widget and drag it to where you want to have it on the home screen.
Vivaldi's search widget on Android's home screen

Once the widget has been added, just tap on it whenever you want to start a new search. It’ll open Vivaldi and focus on the Address Field, so you could start entering the search term or web link right away.

You can also open the QR code scanner from the widget.

Tip #8

Highlight text on a web page, right-click on the selection and select “Search…” to get results in an instant.

Instead of copying and pasting or, heaven forbid, manually typing a search term from a web page to the Address or Search Field,

  1. Highlight the text you want to search with.
  2. Right-click on the highlighted text.
  3. Select Search [your default search engine] for [highlighted text].
    To search with a different search engine, hover over Search With and choose a search engine.