Google ramps up customisable features on toolbar

The new versions of Google Toolbar now offer customisable buttons and online bookmarks, along with extra search features, sharing capabilities and an open API. Additionally, Google Toolbar for Enterprise beta also includes administration and control for business users.

The new ‘Custom Buttons’ feature enable users to run search queries directly on any website, receive alerts, and subscribe to feeds from their Toolbar. For example, news enthusiasts can now add Custom Buttons to search selected news and see top news stories directly from their Toolbar.

Users can create their own custom buttons by right clicking the search box on any website and selecting "Generate Custom Search".   Alternatively, they can install a Toolbar button offered on a website or they can select ready made buttons from Google's new ‘Button Gallery’.

In addition, an XML API is available for content publishers to create more advanced Custom Buttons for their sites.

Bookmarks can now be saved to a user's Google account making them accessible from any computer. For example, if a user bookmarks an interesting news article at work that they want to read later, they can now easily access it from their home computer.

Additional product enhancements include expanded search functionality that offer users query suggestions and spelling corrections as they type in the search box.

Enhanced sharing capabilities allow users to send and share web page content via Gmail, SMS, or a blog by selecting the section of page they want to share and clicking the new "Send To" button.

Meanwhile, Google Toolbar for Enterprise beta  aimed at business users, includes group policy for administrative control of features, as well as Microsoft System Installer for corporate deployment.

For example, an enterprise could distribute customised Toolbars to their users pre-loaded with Custom Buttons for Intranet sites, employee directories, and frequently used information sources.