{"id":4320,"date":"2016-10-10T15:20:00","date_gmt":"2016-10-10T15:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=4320"},"modified":"2021-05-25T23:15:08","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T17:45:08","slug":"cortana-web-results-google-search-default-browser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/cortana-web-results-google-search-default-browser\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Cortana Web Search Results in Google and Default Browser"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Clicking on a web search result in Cortana would always launch Microsoft Edge regardless of your default browser. However, you can configure Cortana web search links to open with your default web browser. Additionally, you can automatically redirect the search query to Google search instead of Bing.<\/p>\n<p>In April 2018, Microsoft <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.windows.com\/windowsexperience\/2016\/04\/28\/delivering-personalized-search-experiences-in-windows-10-through-cortana\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announced<\/a> that Edge would be the browser that would launch when searching from Cortana, no matter what your default web browser or <code>https<\/code> protocol association setting is.<\/p>\n<p>While the user interface doesn&#8217;t have an option to change the search engine or browser, there is still a way to make Cortana search using Google instead of Bing, using the new <code>microsoft-edge:<\/code> URL protocol.<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>Make Cortana Search with Google Using the Default Browser<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Option 1 uses the EdgeDeflector tool. It redirects Cortana web searches to your default browser.<\/li>\n<li>Option 2 uses a custom script that redirects Cortana web searches to your default browser and Google Search.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Option 1: Using EdgeDeflector utility<\/h3>\n<p>EdgeDeflector is a small helper application that redirects Cortana search URLs to the default web browser. It registers itself as a <code>microsoft-edge:<\/code> URL protocol handler in the registry. EdgeDeflector doesn&#8217;t have a UI. The program runs only when you click on Cortana web search results and doesn&#8217;t run in the background permanently.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Download <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/da2x\/EdgeDeflector\/releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">EdgeDeflector<\/a> and install it.<\/li>\n<li>After you install the program, do a Cortana web search. Click on a search result to see the Open with dialog below:<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9326\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/edgedeflector-openwith.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"395\" height=\"335\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Select EdgeDeflector from the list, select click <strong>Always use this app<\/strong> and click OK.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>EdgeDeflector is now the default handler for <strong>microsoft-edge:<\/strong> URL protocol.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-9189\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/information-icon.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" \/><strong>Note:<\/strong> This program <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/da2x\/EdgeDeflector\/wiki\/Not-replacing-your-search-engine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">doesn&#8217;t redirect<\/a> Bing to Google search. It just passes on the link to your default browser instead of Microsoft Edge. If you want to redirect to Google search as well as use the default web browser, see <a href=\"#method_2\">Method 2<\/a> (using a script) below.<\/p>\n<p><em>For a detailed note on how the program works, check out the author&#8217;s blog post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctrl.blog\/entry\/edgedeflector-default-browser.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow noreferrer\">Open links force-opened in Microsoft Edge in your default browser | Ctrl blog<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><a id=\"method_2\"><\/a>Option 2: Using a custom Windows Script<\/h3>\n<p>This method uses the same idea as EdgeDeflector. The script registers as the handler for <code>microsoft-edge:<\/code> protocol, just like how EdgeDeflector works. The script below has been tested in Windows 10 v1809 &amp; v1903.<\/p>\n<p><em>If you&#8217;re using Windows 10 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/find-windows-10-build-version-edition-bit\/\">build<\/a> v1803 and lower, make sure to turn off the <strong>Optimize taskbar web search results for screen readers<\/strong> option in Microsoft Edge. Turning off that option would cause <code><strong>microsoft-edge:<\/strong><\/code> protocol to be used when clicking Cortana web search results.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>By associating our custom script\u00a0<code>Cortana2Google.vbs<\/code> with <code>microsoft-edge:<\/code> URL protocol, you can redirect the results to your default browser and Google search (if you prefer) instead of Bing.<\/p>\n<h4>Steps<\/h4>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ol>\n<li>Download <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cortana2google.zip\">cortana2google.zip<\/a>, unzip, and extract the contents to a folder.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9258\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cortana2google-files.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"434\" height=\"200\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Double-click <strong>Cortana2Google.reg<\/strong> to run it.<\/li>\n<li>Move the file <strong>Cortana2Google.vbs<\/strong> to your Windows directory.<\/li>\n<li>Type a search phrase in the Cortana box and click on a web search result. The following &#8220;How do you want to open this?&#8221; dialog would appear for the first time.<\/li>\n<li>Select &#8220;Microsoft Windows Based Script Host&#8221;, enable &#8220;Always use this app,&#8221; and click OK.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4366\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cortana-default-browser-6.png\" alt=\"open cortana web search in default browser\" width=\"392\" height=\"330\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em>While the REG file adds contents to the current user registry keys only, you need administrator privileges to move the script file to C:\\Windows initially. That&#8217;s optional as well. If you decide to host the script within your user profile if you&#8217;re a standard user, then update the script file path in the REG file and then apply it.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The <code>microsoft-edge:<\/code> URL protocol is now handled by the script.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9257\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cortana-search-results.png\" alt=\"open cortana search results in default browser\" width=\"700\" height=\"663\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Cortana results would be redirected to your default browser and use Google search engine instead of Bing.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4323\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cortana-default-browser-4.png\" alt=\"open cortana search results in default browser\" width=\"574\" height=\"272\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"qt\">\n<p>By default, the Cortana search query looks like this:<\/p>\n<pre>microsoft-edge:?launchContext1=Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dsticky%2Bnotes%2Bfor%2Bwindows%2B10%26form%3DWNSGPH%26qs%3DHS%26cvid%3D0df6e21cb6184f1d8f16ed0ca2405bba%26pq%3Dsticky%2Bnotes%2Bfor%2Bwindows%2B10%26cc%3DIN%26setlang%3Den-US%26nclid%3D2725A7589AC9D1A17FFF42A1%26ts%3D15DD788921488%26nclidts%3D1557674921%26tsms%3D488%26wsso%3DModerate<\/pre>\n<p>Our custom script\u00a0<code>Cortana2Google.vbs<\/code> extracts only the search query from the URL and redirects to Google &amp; the default browser.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Microsoft doesn&#8217;t recommend any web search redirection methods, though, as that would disturb the personalized and integrated search experience in Windows 10, delivered by Cortana + Edge + Bing combo. Never mind!<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;ve made Cortana use your default web browser (instead of Edge) and search with Google instead of Bing search. I hope you liked these script tweaks!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Clicking on a web search result in Cortana would always launch Microsoft Edge regardless of your default browser. However, you can configure Cortana web search links to open with your default web browser. Additionally, you can automatically redirect the search query to Google search instead of Bing. In April 2018, Microsoft announced that Edge would &#8230; <a title=\"Open Cortana Web Search Results in Google and Default Browser\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/cortana-web-results-google-search-default-browser\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Open Cortana Web Search Results in Google and Default Browser\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9257,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[123,441,480],"class_list":["post-4320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-windows-10","tag-cortana","tag-registry","tag-scripts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cortana-search-results.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5746,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/installed-apps-not-find-start-menu-search-results-background-apps-off\/","url_meta":{"origin":4320,"position":0},"title":"Fix: Start Menu Cortana Search Not Finding Apps &#8211; Search Results Blank","author":"Ramesh","date":"November 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"When you use Cortana search to find an installed program, the program may not appear in Start menu search results although the shortcut exists in the Start menu folder. For example, with Word 2016 installed and its shortcut present in the Start menu folder, when you type in \"word\", the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Windows 10 Start (Cortana) Search Results Blank & White Screen","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cortana-blank-results-white-screen-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cortana-blank-results-white-screen-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cortana-blank-results-white-screen-3.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cortana-blank-results-white-screen-3.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4368,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/cortana-search-registry-tweaks-windows-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":4320,"position":1},"title":"Cortana Search Registry Tweaks in Windows 10","author":"Ramesh","date":"October 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"In Windows 10 Redstone 2 build and higher, you can move the Cortana search text box to the top, change the text box border color and thickness. Also, you can add a search glyph and submit button near the text box with some registry tweaks. Move Cortana Search Box to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"cortana floating window windows 10","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cortana-floating-full.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cortana-floating-full.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cortana-floating-full.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/cortana-floating-full.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5773,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/cortana-search-box-white-background-windows-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":4320,"position":2},"title":"Fix: Cortana Search Box White Background in Windows 10","author":"Ramesh","date":"November 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"For some strange reason, the Cortana \"Ask me anything\" search box in the Taskbar may turn white suddenly without even the user clicking on it. This may have to do with Microsoft's server settings and not a problem with your Windows 10 settings. Also, the search box registry tweak\u00a0(WhiteSearchBox registry\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"cortana search box white color","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/cortaba-turns-white.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/cortaba-turns-white.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/cortaba-turns-white.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/cortaba-turns-white.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1672,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/disable-web-results-windows-10-start-menu\/","url_meta":{"origin":4320,"position":3},"title":"How to Disable Web Search in Windows 10 Start menu","author":"Ramesh","date":"February 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When you type a keyword or phrase in the Search box in Windows 10 Start menu, it displays results from the local computer, the Windows Store as well as the Bing search results. This post tells you how to disable the Start menu from doing a Bing web search. To\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/w10\/w10-web-search-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24097,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/win32bridge-server-exe-incorrect-function-error-startup\/","url_meta":{"origin":4320,"position":4},"title":"Win32Bridge.Server.exe &#8220;Incorrect Function&#8221; Error at Startup","author":"Ramesh","date":"May 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"After installing the latest Windows 10 Feature Update (v21H1), I received the following error at startup: C:\\Program Files\\WindowsApps\\Microsoft.549981C3F5F10_2.2103.17603.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\\Win32Bridge.Server.exe Incorrect function. When I checked the mentioned directory via Command Prompt, I found that it's related to Cortana. The fix is simple. All I had to do was repair Cortana via Settings.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"incorrect function error at startup - cortana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/incorrect-function-error-startup.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/incorrect-function-error-startup.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/incorrect-function-error-startup.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4840,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/reset-microsoft-edge-browser-defaults\/","url_meta":{"origin":4320,"position":5},"title":"How to Reset, Repair or Reinstall Edge Web Browser","author":"Ramesh","date":"December 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Sometimes, web browsers may need a complete reset -- to revert to the default settings especially in the aftermath and removal of a browser-based attack, search hijack, PUA, PUP or Adware infection. We recently saw how to reset Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox manually. This post tells you how to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Microsoft Edge&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft Edge","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/edge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"reset edge chromium","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/reset-edge-chromium-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/reset-edge-chromium-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/reset-edge-chromium-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}