I know I’ve had a few times when I wish I could search for something or define a word quickly; I’m sure you did too. Now, this task is made even simpler to complete thanks to TextSearchPro, a jailbreak tweak designed to do just that swiftly.
TextSearchPro, as the name suggests, is a tweak that allows users to search the web from anywhere on the iOS interface. Users can also define a word quickly using the same tweak; this is a handy feature to have if you find a foreign word whilst reading and you need to find a definition for it quickly.
The tweak itself works with two other jailbreak extensions: the Activator and FlipSwitch. The combination allows a modal popup to be invoked from anywhere on your device. You can then input the word or the query directly to the search field.
TextSearchPro can the do one of two things. It can search the web using the query or word you have entered. The search feature works with popular search engines, including:
- Yahoo!
- Bing
- Baidu
Alternatively, you can also have it search the built-in iOS dictionary for the definition (or definitions) of the word.
Configuring TextSearchPro
TextSearchPro must be configured with Activator or FlipSwitch before you can start using it. A good way of using the tweak is to bind it with the double-tap on Status Bar option in Activator. This way, you can always invoke the search interface from anywhere.
I use Google as my default search engine, but you can set TextSearchPro to work with other search engines mentioned before. The button on the left of the modal popup will say the search engine you are using.
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On the other hand, setting TextSearchPro to find the definition of a word you type in will change the right button to Define. The result will come from iOS built-in dictionary. I have to say, I love the simplicity of this jailbreak tweak so much.
Want to have more than one search engines? Actually, you can do that too. Instead of having a search button on the right and a cancel button on the left, the tweak will list the selected search engines for you to use.
Custom Search Engines
Another great feature about the TextSearchPro is its support for custom search engines. You can actually define up to two custom search engines to work with this tweak. If you are using a search engine that isn’t natively supported by TextSearchPro, you can access the Settings pane of this tweak and configure custom search URLs to work with it.
For example, you can set “http://www.twitter.com” as a custom URL. When you search for a word, such as “apple”, TextSearchPro will open “http://www.twitter.com/apple” instead. With the Twitter app installed, a search will open the native app and direct it to the right page seamlessly.
There is no doubt that TextSearchPro is a neat jailbreak tweak to have. Do you find its features useful? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the Comments section below.