Hack 27 GAPIS
 
A standalone Google search application for
Windows.
A lot of the hacks in this book have been either browser-based or
somehow integrated into other applications. There
haven't been too many standalone applications built
to take advantage of Google's search capacity. GAPIS
(Google API Searching in an Application) is a small standalone
application that performs Google searches on its own (and it can also
be set to browser searching).
GAPIS (http://www.searchenginelab.com/common/products/gapis/)
is available for free download either as an application executable,
complete with uninstaller, or as an plain executable file with no
uninstaller. GAPIS runs only under Windows 95 or later. Because it
uses the Google Web API, you'll need your own Google
API developer's key to run your queries.
The GAPIS interface is very simple, providing a basic window for
searching and another screen for options.
There's a field to enter your
developer's key alongside the query box. A pulldown
box allows you to access previous queries. You have two viewing
options: regular mode, which provides information about search
results that you'd usually see from a Google search,
and spreadsheet mode, which provides information in a table format
like you'd see in a spreadsheet. Figure 1-19 illustrates the GAPIS interface.
27.1 Options
The Options screen allows you to set several search parameters,
including SafeSearch filtering, filtering similar results, and the
maximum number of results returned. (GAPIS will return up to 30
results.) Figure 1-20 shows the Options page.
27.2 Searching
Once you run a search, GAPIS will return the list of results on the
main page in the format you specify (regular or spreadsheet mode,
shown in Figure 1-21).
To open an entry in your web browser, double-click on it. To go
directly to a web search in the browser (if you want more than 30
results, for example), click on the Search In Browser button.
If you need to create a set of your favorite searches, with more of
an eye toward an overview of the results instead of a deep browsing,
GAPIS is a quick and handy tool.
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