18

Since Google Search switched to the new layout, two things have been bothering me immensely. One is the absence of "cached version" links which are ocasionally very useful. How do I bring them back? (I know about archive.org, but sometimes this doesn't cut it.)

Another related thing is the live previews of websites which take up the right 1/2 of the results page and I don't want to use them. They steal screen space which I need for actual site text snippets. How can I turn them off?

Improve this question
0

6 Answers 6

Reset to default
13

Actually, the pages previews you dislike so much are your ticket to the cached page version – the link to the cached page has been moved into the preview area:

screenshot of Google cached page link in live preview

As to the preview itself, there is no way to completely disable it I am aware of. However, if you close a preview by clicking the small closing cross in its right upper corner, previews should only pop up when you hover over the >> area to the right of the search results.

Improve this answer
3
  • 1
    Wow, I never noticed the link, thanks! I know about the close button, the problem is that even after closing the preview it still takes up all the precious screen space. I'll wait for more input on this issue and in case there's nothing useful I'll accept your question.
    – user46935
    Oct 27, 2011 at 16:35
  • 1
    Actually, I’d suggest you split off the second part of your question – that is an issue best addressed with browser extensions or UserScripts.
    – kopischke
    Oct 27, 2011 at 19:55
  • … and that part actually would belong on SU :P.
    – kopischke
    Oct 27, 2011 at 20:44
2

I guess the only way around it is by searching with cache: in the search field

Improve this answer
2
  • Actually, the link is still there – in the preview panel :). See my answer.
    – kopischke
    Oct 27, 2011 at 16:21
  • Oh I never saw that either, I hate those screenshots so I never really ever open them.
    – Sandeep Bansal
    Oct 27, 2011 at 18:35
1

If you are using Firefox or Pale Moon, this bit of code will work with your usercontent.css file.

@-moz-document domain(google.com) {
  .vshid { /* Cached links */
      display: block !important;
    }
}

Example

Improve this answer
0
1

More recently, the links with linktext "cached" are back, but in a form that requires JavaScript (for a popup, from .google.com domains). See the how-to below and the illustration below.

Howto

  1. First click on the green arrow to the right of the URL in the search result.

  2. Then click on Cached (in the popup with Cached and Similar).

Notes: The Cached item in the popup does work as a regular link (for instance, it is possible to open in a separate web tab/page). It opens a page on domain webcache.googleusercontent.com. In addition, Similar is absent for some search results.

 

Illustration

Enter image description here

Improve this answer
0

You can use the google cache comeback user script for Greasemonkey, Tampermonkey or similar browser extensions.

Appends link to cached version of page to each item in the search results list.

also affects cached pages in two ways:
1. replaces internal links with references inside the displayed page
2. for external links, adds references to their cached versions

Improve this answer
-2

There is a website that helps you get the cached version from the url. It is handy to have some times.

cachedview.com

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.