Hypertext – text on a web page that has a contextual link to another web page (often referred to simply as a “link”) is a remarkable invention that has contributed to the development and popularity of research on the Internet. But the convenience of hypertext can also mislead us. We all remember how many times we started looking for information on a particular topic, and then tangentially left links – and links within links – often losing sight of the starting point.

The problem is that once you’ve moved on to exploring additional topics related to your first search, it will be difficult for you to return to the original query unless you type it in again (assuming you can even remember it), press and hold the back button to see every URL you visited from that tab, or view the entire history. I recently found out that there is a better way that has been hiding in Safari’s History menu for years.

Foundry

To find it, go to Safari History > SnapBack Search Results (or type Command-Option-S) and the browser will immediately jump to the original search results page. Note that in order for SnapBack to track all of your additional pageviews, you need to stay on the original tab that you started your search from. If a new tab is opened on another page, this feature will be disabled until you navigate to the new page.

Just a note: This is purely a search feature, so your browsing must start from the address bar of Safari or the home page of a search engine like DuckDuckGo, Google, Bing, or Yahoo. this feature will not work if you start your journey from a bookmarked page or directly from a URL.

Today I Learned is a Macworld column that highlights lesser-known but helpful tips and tricks for Apple users. If you have ideas for future columns, please send an email to michael_simon@idg.com.