It has been said many times already. They restricted the editing of default searches to prevent malicious attacks by browser hijackers. They are looking for a robust solution — if/when they find one users will be able to modify the default search engine.

I think it's more likely that you were told a fib. I think it's more likely that google, etc paid Opera to force people to use their search engine.

Maybe Opera should also force people to use a specific home page for fear someone might hi-jack that? Or better yet, maybe someone from Opera should surf the internet for me because I might download some malware onto my computer?

it is CRUCIAL I get Google off the default search engine, and add DuckDuckgo. I cannot believe Opera currently doesn't allow switching to a different search engine by default, this is pretty ridiculous.

How would I use Speeddialpatch to add duckduckgo?

Thanks

@Sverrimohrolsen, and Miarffi:
If you don't want to use the default search engines (except Google, which will remain untouched anyway), then you can try thisworkaround[/URL" target="_blank">http://my.opera.com/community/forums/topic.dml?id=1765552&t=1382011293&page=1#comment14843772]workaround[/URL] - I just checked it again in the latest Operas: 18, Next 19, and in Developer 20, and it still works without problems.

However, if you would like to change default search engine (like Google), then you can try to apply thepatch[/URL" target="_blank">http://my.opera.com/dqdb1/blog/2013/07/22/more-columns-in-speed-dial]patch[/URL] bydqdb1[/URL" target="_blank">http://my.opera.com/dqdb1/about/]dqdb1[/URL], in which one of the options is the "default search engine editor".

Alternatively, you can experiment a little, and try to edit the settings for the default search engine in two files: "Preferences", and "Web Data", which are located in the profile directory (you can check the path to your profile in O-Menu->About Opera->Paths->Profile). You should be also aware, that in my case, this only works, when I do the same changes in both files (and don't forget to close the Opera, prior to start editing the files).
Note: to view, and edit the second file (Web Data), you can use one of two, free applications: theSQLite" target="_blank">http://sourceforge.net/projects/sqlitebrowser/]SQLite Browser, or theSqliteman[/URL" target="_blank">http://sourceforge.net/projects/sqliteman/]Sqliteman[/URL].

The first workaround works great. Thank you for bringing it to our attention :cheers:

@Sverrimohrolsen, and Miarffi:
If you don't want to use the default search engines (except Google, which will remain untouched anyway), then you can try thisworkaround - I just checked it again in the latest Operas: 18, Next 19, and in Developer 20, and it still works without problems.

However, if you would like to change default search engine (like Google), then you can try to apply thepatch bydqdb1, in which one of the options is the "default search engine editor".

Alternatively, you can experiment a little, and try to edit the settings for the default search engine in two files: "Preferences", and "Web Data", which are located in the profile directory (you can check the path to your profile in O-Menu->About Opera->Paths->Profile). You should be also aware, that in my case, this only works, when I do the same changes in both files (and don't forget to close the Opera, prior to start editing the files).
Note: to view, and edit the second file (Web Data), you can use one of two, free applications: theSQLite Browser, or theSqliteman.

Thanks for this. Must have typoed the search for default_partner_content.json or something.

However, if you would like to change default search engine (like Google), then you can try to apply thepatch bydqdb1, in which one of the options is the "default search engine editor".

Alternatively, you can experiment a little, and try to edit the settings for the default search engine in two files: "Preferences", and "Web Data", which are located in the profile directory (you can check the path to your profile in O-Menu->About Opera->Paths->Profile). You should be also aware, that in my case, this only works, when I do the same changes in both files (and don't forget to close the Opera, prior to start editing the files).
Note: to view, and edit the second file (Web Data), you can use one of two, free applications: theSQLite Browser, or theSqliteman.

But I wonder if browser hijackers changing custom search keywords is really that big of a risk? Comparing the inconvenience with the type of attack it supposedly prevents, it sounds like nothing but an excuse for shoving partner content to users' faces. (That said, malware changing browsers' start pages is, of course, a thing.) Secure extension installation from a controlled repository and malware domain blocking go a long way. If Joe Average's computer has already been infected elsewhere, having fixed keywords isn't going to be of much protection.

Also, reasonable defaults may be subjective, but removing the option altogether is crippling the product. Maybe one instance of this kind of design isn't a big deal, but it is telling of the design philosophy, if what you said really is what the developers are after. To use a bad slippery slope of an analogy, making the user unable to change the start page would also protect him, or only allowing safe sites (as deemed by the developers, in this case) to be visited

Well, here's hoping the developers allow changing them in future releases, or at least introduce the possibility in a configuration file.

(P.S. How would making the default search engine KEYWORDS changeable make anything less secure, especially when you can define custom ones anyway? You could still have a hardcoded list of Yahoo, Bing, Altavista from which to select the navigation bar search.)

Keywords are case-sensitive — try "W" for the Wikipedia search that you want to use.

This is good to know, thanks.

However, being accustomed to using certain keyword for years makes the extra shift-pressing quite annoying. I wonder if it would be possible to bind the default partners' keywords to uppercase?

Being able to set your custom keywords without a hassle should be pretty basic stuff. Other than that, the new Opera seems quite nifty.

The fact that it chooses the language for you is okay, but only if you are able to override it.