Use Research Power Tool: ConQuery

ConQuery, created by Vasa Maximov, allows Mozilla Firefox users to highlight/select any text they see on a web page, right-click, and then automatically query that text in any one of a number of search engines.

Why should I care? You're reading a case, or an article on a web site, and you come across a reference to a book, a person, or a journal article. Is this book at Willamette? Is the article available online? With ConQuey and Willamette's search plugins installed, just select the relevant text, right-click and choose 'Query to...' from the pop-up menu. Your search results appear without extra typing or opening a new browser window.

The basic installation of ConQuery comes with several default search engine plugins (Amazon, Google, Creative Commons, etc.) The WU Libraries systems department has created additional search plugins for ConQuery that will allow you to:

* search the WU Libraries Catalog by title
* search the WU Libraries Journal Title List
* search the Summit Catalog by title
* search OpenWorldcat via Google


Installing ConQuery

1. Install ConQuery from the Mozilla Update Site. Choose the "Install Now" option.
2. Close Firefox.
3. Re-open Firefox to activate the ConQuery extension.
4. Visit the WU Libraries plugins page, and choose the plugins you would like to add.
5. From the Firefox program menu, choose Tools...Configure ConQuery, and confirm that the plugin you added appears and are checked in the "ConQueries" tab of detected plugins:
6. Optional: You can also choose the 'Preferences' tab in the ConQuery configuration dialog and choose where your search results will appear (e.g. in the same window, in a new tab, etc.). When you're done, close the configuration dialog, and start searching!