important update: Since the introduction of User Account Control (UAC) in Windows® Vista/7/8/10 you will need permission to create/edit a file in the folder in which Keyword Merge is run. If you chose the default folder during installation you will not likely have permission. To avoid problems move KeyMerge.exe to a new folder for which you have permission.
Tip Messages
To receive tip messages, ensure that 'Display Tip Messages' is checked on the Help menu. Tip messages are displayed when you need them. You may or may not receive tip messages depending on what features of Keyword Merge you use.
Some text boxes, buttons and check boxes have ToolTips which describe their function. To view a ToolTip, simply position your mouse over the text box, button or check box.
important update: Since the introduction of User Account Control (UAC) in Windows® Vista/7/8/10 you will need permission to create/edit a file in the folder in which Keyword Merge is run. If you chose the default folder during installation you will not likely have permission. To avoid problems move KeyMerge.exe to a new folder for which you have permission.
LOAD DATA FILE: To load a data file into Keyword Merge; select 'Load Data File' from the File menu, or use the Ctrl+L shortcut. Keyword Merge can load any CSV (Comma Separated Values) text file. Typically the CSV text file will have been created by an application such as a spreadsheet or database program. Keyword Merge will also load plain text files that contain a single column (field) of data. For example, you could copy a list from a web site, paste the text into Notepad, save the file, then load the list into Keyword Merge. If you have previously loaded a file, your preferences (search terms, field widths, and current record) will be saved in a corresponding .km file. To reload the same data file in the future you can either select the .km file, or the data file.
RELOAD DATA FILE: Use this feature to refresh the data in the data file grid. To reload a data file; select 'Reload Data File' from the File menu, or use the Ctrl+R shortcut.
GO TO: To go to a specific record number in the data file; select 'Go To' from the Tools menu, or use the Ctrl+G shortcut.
SHORTCUTS: Pressing Enter when the data file grid has the focus executes the Search/Search Next button. Also, when the data file grid has the focus, you can use the Ctrl+C shortcut to copy the highlighted field data to the clipboard, or if the highlighted field is a URL, you can use the Ctrl+U shortcut to open the URL in your browser.
OVERVIEW:
There are two methods of using the Keyword Merge search box a.) you can
simply enter your
search terms, then the 'Default Search Engine URL' (Options dialog box)
will be used preceding your search terms when the search is submitted, or b.) you can override the 'Default Search Engine URL' by
pasting a URL directly into the Keyword Merge search box along with your search
terms (using Ctrl+V).
This is the method used when performing an advanced search.
The search box ToolTip displays the URL/search terms with merged field
data (if any), so you can preview the final URL that will be sent to your browser.
Pressing Enter when the search box has the focus executes the Search/Search Next button.
Once an initial search has been made, the "Search" button changes to
"Search Next" allowing you to cycle through the records of the data file.
FIELD INSERT SYNTAX:
The following are the inserts used for merging field data (keywords) with the
rest of the search terms in the Keyword Merge search box. The header of the specified
field will be highlighted when one of these is correctly entered into the search box.
These inserts can be typed in, or you can use the 'Tools' menu.
| <Field1> | This will merge the data from <Field1> of the data file. | |
| "<Field1>" | This will merge the data from <Field1> of the data file. Since it is encased in double quotes; if the merged data contains more than one word, the words will be treated as a phrase (note: this only applies if the search engine being used supports the double quote syntax for a phrase search). | |
| <Field1:URL> | This will treat the data in <Field1> as a list of URLs. A <Field:URL> insert is designed to be used alone, without any other text. Any text entered before a <Field:URL> insert will cause the insert to be invalid (the insert will be treated as a keyword, not a URL). Any text entered after a valid <Field:URL> insert will be ignored. | |
| <Field1:CLIP> | This will merge the data from <Field1> of the data file. During each search, the data of <Field1> will be copied to the clipboard. With this feature, when you are browsing the search engine results, you can search a web page for the keyword by pasting the keyword into the Find dialog box of your browser (using Ctrl+V). Note: Only one <Field1:CLIP> insert can be used in the search box at one time. |
ADVANCED SEARCH:
To use Keyword Merge to submit an advanced search to a search
engine, use the following steps: 1.) go to the advanced search page of the search engine
2.) perform a sample search with all the keyword(s) and search options you
require 3.) once the search has been submitted, copy the resulting URL to the clipboard
(using Ctrl+C), and paste it into the Keyword Merge search box (using Ctrl+V) 4.) locate the
keyword(s) you would like to merge from the data
file, and replace them with <Field?>.
Assign a hot key to the Search/Search Next button.
HOW TO SET A HOT KEY: For example, to set a single hot key (e.g. F8); 1.) with the General tab of the Options dialog box selected, select the first part of the hot key (the drop-down list box containing Alt/Ctrl/Shift/Windows) 2.) press Spacebar to clear it 3.) press Tab to go to the second part of the hot key 4.) press F8. The hot key will take effect when you close the Options dialog box, or click on the Apply button.
KEY COMBINATIONS THAT ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR USE AS A HOT KEY:
First, ensure that you are not attempting to use a hot key that is in use by another
program that uses system-wide hot keys. Second, you will not be able to use certain key combinations that are reserved by the Windows® operating
system, such as:
| Windows+Pause | (System Properties) | |
| Windows+F1 | (OS Help) | |
| Windows+F | (Find) | |
| Windows+E | (Explorer) | |
| Windows+R | (Run) | |
| Windows+M | (Minimize All) | |
| F12 - alone, as a single hot key | (has no apparent function, but is not available in Windows NT/2000 or later) | |
| Ctrl+Pause | (closes an open file dialog window) | |
| Ctrl+PrintScrn | (screen capture) | |
| Shift+PrintScrn | (screen capture) |
update: Key combinations that are reserved by the operating system in Windows® Vista/7/8/10 has grown to include
Windows+D,E,F,G,L,M,P,R,T,U,X,F1,Pause,UpArrow,DownArrow,0-9
Use this setting (View menu) to make Keyword Merge stay visible over other windows on the desktop.
Caution: Using the Always On Top setting can cause confusion; if you make Keyword Merge Always On Top, then later maximize Keyword Merge (or if it is sized too large), you will not be able to see any other windows on your desktop. Even if you select another window, using Alt+Tab for example, you will not be able to see the window you just selected. Technically, the window will have the 'focus', and you can type into the window, but you just wont see it!
The Options dialog box can be opened from the Tools menu, or by using the Ctrl+O shortcut.
GENERAL TAB:
In the Hot Key section you can assign a Hot Key
to the Search/Search Next button. With this hot key you can merge/search each record of the data file without having to leave your browser.
Use the option 'Default Search Engine URL' to specify a
default search engine.
If a valid URL (starting with http://) is not specified in the Keyword Merge search box, this option will be used as the portion of the URL
preceding the search terms. To
obtain a search engine URL for this option, use the following steps: 1.)
go to the home page of the search engine 2.) perform a search with the keyword "test"
3.) once the search has been submitted, copy the resulting URL to the clipboard (using Ctrl+C), and paste it into the 'Default Search Engine URL'
text box (using Ctrl+V) 4.) remove the keyword "test" from the
URL, and any
additional characters after the keyword "test". Here are some
examples of search engine URLs that could be used:
http://www.google.com/search?q=
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=
http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=
http://www.bing.com/search?q=
https://www.yandex.com/search/?text=
http://www.dogpile.com/search/web?&q=
DATA TAB:
In the Merged Fields section, there are two options that change merged field data (keywords) dynamically when the search is being submitted;
'Convert to lowercase', and 'Remove the following words'. The option
'Convert to lowercase' can be used
to perform searches that are not case sensitive (note: this only applies if the search engine being used supports
a case sensitive search). The option 'Remove the following words'
can be used to strip unwanted words or phrases from the merged field data.
The text in this box is read as CSV data. When entering words in this text box,
separate each word/phrase with a comma,
and put phrases in double quotes.
More than one installation can be used, for example, to create a
Keyword Merge icon on your desktop for each major search engine.
Creating a new installation is a two step process.
Step 1 - copy KeyMerge.exe to a folder (directory) of your choice
Keyword Merge is designed to be installed in multiple folders
(directories) simply by copying the application file (KeyMerge.exe) to as many folders as you wish. A .km file is created for each data file you
load. The .km file(s) contain preferences for each data file you have
loaded (search terms, field widths, and current record).
Step 2 - create a Shortcut to KeyMerge.exe
The Windows® operating system provides a variety of Shortcuts you can use to
launch applications. The following is a list of possible ways you can create a
Shortcut to KeyMerge.exe. Please refer to the Windows® operating system help documentation for further instructions.
| Shortcuts (icons) to your Keyword Merge installations can be placed... | ||||
| 1. | Directly on the desktop | |||
| 2. | In a desktop folder | |||
| 3. | At the top of the Start menu | |||
| 4. | On the Start menu under Programs | |||
| a. | in a custom folder | |||
| b. | in the Startup folder (this will run Keyword Merge when you start/reboot your computer) | |||
| 5. | As a Quick Launch icon on a toolbar on the Taskbar (not available in Windows® 95) | |||
| - | if desired, the toolbar can be detached from the Taskbar and put on the desktop. The desktop toolbar can be made to stay Always On Top | |||
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