Directions Card in Google Search

You don't have to go to Google Maps for driving directions. A simple Google search can provide an answer much faster. Just search for [directions from START_ADDRESS to END_ADDRESS] or [from START_ADDRESS to END_ADDRESS] and you'll get a small map and the distance between the two locations. Expand the card and you'll find the driving directions. This also works in the mobile search interface for both smartphones and tablets.

Here's an example for [from London to Dublin].

Click the big arrow icon to see the driving directions right on the Google search results page:

You can open Google Maps by clicking the map thumbnail. This way, you can find alternate routes, walking directions, transit directions and more.

"These directions are for planning purposes only. You may find that construction projects, traffic, weather, or other events may cause conditions to differ from the map results, and you should plan your route accordingly. You must obey all signs or notices regarding your route," informs Google.

This feature is also useful to find the distance between two places, as well as the driving time in current traffic.

Google Tests Card-Style News OneBox

Google tests a card-style interface for the Google News OneBox. It's bigger, snippets are shorter, there's a lot of white space and the link to Google News search results is placed at the bottom of the card.

Here's a screenshot of a Google France search results page:

{ Thanks, Frédéric. }

Google Updates the Dictionary OneBox

Google updated the dictionary OneBox with etymological information, a translation box and a graph that shows the use of a word over time. The graph is based on the Google Books Ngram Viewer and it shows the number of mentions of a word over time in a corpus of millions of books. You need to click the arrow icon at the bottom of the box to see the new features.

Here's the expanded definition box for [sophist definition]:

Google offers a lot of useful information about the origin of a word and it shows how it has evolved. Here's a more complex example for "engine".

If you pick a language in the translate box, Google remembers the language and it translates your keywords automatically.

Google now shows synonyms, antonyms and usage examples for each meaning of the word and links to the synonyms, antonyms and some words from the definitions:

Search for [define top] to see a huge list of definitions and 2 distinct dictionary entries. If you search for [define draught], Google shows the definitions for "draft". Search for [define a] to see a long list of prefixes, suffixes and abbreviations.

Sometimes Google also shows a topic like "geometry" next to a definition:

Unfortunately, the dictionary option from the search tools is no longer available. This means that Google's definitions from the web are only displayed if the words can't be found in the dictionary used by Google (Oxford Dictionary).

Another drawback: Google no longer links to Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Answers.com, Merriam-Webster, The Free Dictionary and other sites that provide definitions.

{ Thanks, James Sacuan. }

Google News OneBox With Bigger Photos

Google tests an updated version of the Google News OneBox, with bigger thumbnails. The images are really big and I find them distracting. Another change is that the first link no longer sends you to a Google News search results page, it points to a news article and borrows its title.

Here's the existing interface:

{ Thanks, Michel. }

Card-Style Google Translate OneBox

After the instant results for definitions and local time, Google's translation OneBox has a new card-style interface inspired by Google Now.

To trigger this OneBox, search for "translate", followed by the text you want to translate. For example: [translate mein luftkissenfahrzeug ist voller aale]. You could also add the destination language: [translate mein luftkissenfahrzeug ist voller aale into french].

You can also search for [word in language] or [word to language]. For example: [breakfast in Spanish], [estrella to English]. This also works for short phrases and expressions.

{ Thanks, Arpit. }

New Google Weather OneBox for Desktop

Google updated the weather OneBox from the desktop search interface to match the tablet interface. The new OneBox is huge, it includes more information and it's more interactive. While the old OneBox only displayed the weather forecast for 4 days, the new one has an hourly and an 8-day forecast for temperature, precipitation and wind.

Here's the old interface (I've managed to take this screenshot by pretending I'm using IE7 and changing the user-agent):

It's interesting that many search features are first added to the mobile/tablet interface and a few months later to the desktop UI.

{ Thanks, Mikhail. }

The Old Image Search, Still Available

The old Google Image Search interface is still available in the OneBox result that's displayed for some Google searches like [tropical birds] or [europe map]. If you add "image", "images", "photo" or "photos" to your query, Google will show 4 times more image results. It's like a simplified image search interface inside the regular Google Search.

Google's Card-Style OneBoxes

Google updated the desktop OneBoxes for definitions and local time to match the card layout from Google Now. The same layout is also used in the mobile search UI for most Google OneBoxes.

What's unique about the cards? They're much bigger, they include a lot more information, more white space and more distinctive headers. They stand out more and they're harder to ignore.

{ Thanks, Milivella, Arpit, Mikhail. }