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Next up in our continuing look at the new features available via [Google Experimental][2] is the keyboard navigation experiment. The beta version of [keyboard navigation][1] adds GMail-like keyboard shortcuts to the Google Search results page.
When using the new shortcuts page you'll see an arrow icon to left of the active result and you can scroll up and down through the results, as well as jump in and out of the search box and open links all without leaving the keyboard (screenshots after the jump).
The keyboard shortcut navigation options are summarized in the table below.
<table style="text-align:left; padding: 5px;" border="0">
<thead>
<th>Key</th><th>Action</th>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr><td><code>J</code> </td><td> Selects the next result.</td></tr>
<tr><td><code>K</code> </td><td> Selects the previous result.</td></tr>
<tr><td><code>O</code> </td><td> Opens the selected result.</td></tr>
<tr><td><code>Enter</code> </td><td> Opens the selected result.</td></tr>
<tr><td><code>/</code> </td><td> Puts the cursor in the search box.</td></tr>
<tr><td><code>Esc</code> </td><td> Removes the cursor from the search box.</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Unfortunately this feature isn't as easy to get to as the [Timeline and Maps tools][3] with their operator shortcuts. In order to land on the keyboard beta page you'll have to go through the Google Experimental page or append the param <code>&esrch=BetaShortcuts</code> to the end of your search URL.
So far I haven't been able to locate one, but this seems like the perfect place for a new Google Search plugin for Firefox.
All that's necessary is to take the existing Firefox Google Search tool and modify it so that it appends the above param to the URL. If you run across such a thing be sure to let us know.
The biggest downfall to the new shortcuts is that they don't seem to follow the preference setting to open results in a new window. A quick glance at the code shows that the links carry a <code>target=nw</code> which means at least some of the page is aware of the new window setting. Unless someone can explain otherwise I would call that a bug.
Still, for keyboard junkies like myself, the new options are a godsend. Hopefully Google will sort out a way for the open command to respect the new window setting in the near future.
Be sure to check out the previous Google Experimental coverage of [Maps and Timelines][3].
[1]: http://www.google.com/webhp?esrch=BetaShortcuts&hl=en&newwindow=1&btnG=Search "keyboard Shortcuts"
[2]: http://www.google.com/experimental/ "Google Experimental"
[3]: http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/05/google_experime.html "Google Experimental: Maps View Adds Geo Context To Searches"
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