How to disable smart search field in Safari 6

You can turn on the "Prevent search engine from providing suggestions" in the Privacy settings.

I find the most annoying part of the unified field is that if you type a URL without the "https://" then it searches on that URL instead of going to the URL. Turning on the above fixes this while still allowing it to be a search field.

I think this should be on by default but the cynic in me thinks it isn't for commercial reasons. Think of all the extra traffic being directed through the search engine sites.

This is a joke: I type 192.168.0.1 to connect to my router - and instead of going to my router, I get a bing search on 192.168.0.1.

Seems like I have to say "bye-bye Safari". That's a pity. Apple broke the most important feature any browser has.

I was able to restore expected behaviour with an extensions called AnySearch (https://github.com/mcs07/AnySearch-safari-extension). It has an option to disable search within the address bar.

This might not suit some people, because it would result in there being no constantly available search field in the browser window. I myself vastly prefer it, as I use a link to an advanced search page for all of my search activity.

Awesome - thank you! This just "repaired" my Safari :-) ... when I want to do a search, I type "www.google.com" ... or "www.bing.com" ... IMHO, having a search field in the browser is completely useless so I'm really glad I now have a way to disable it.

So, I was able to disable the search function using the Anysearch extension, thanks.....but how do I get a separate search field?

As I mentioned, the lack of a dedicated search field will not suit some people. I myself love it because I want to be able to see as much as possible of the current page's URL, so sharing horizontal real estate with a search bar definitely does not suit me.

I search by using a link to an advanced search page which I keep on my home page (which is an HTML page located on my machine for fast loading). There are many ways to configure a hot key that will load the search page of your choice, if that's more convenient.

Outstanding find and tip so, thanks very much.

I have seen many comments at various sites that rave about this change to Safari to integrate search and Location Bar with many of them belittling users who don't see it as a step forward in browser development. Perhaps it was a result of significant numbers of people making their opinion heard at Apple that prompted the change.

I have been very disappointed with this particular change in Safari 6, especially because Apple has provided zero options to customize that aspect of the toolbar/location bar.

Make your voice heard:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/safari.html