Independent search box toolbar no longer lets you hit enter to go to your default search provider

[shin0bi272]

I just noticed in firefox 128.0 that I can no longer click in the search box and hit enter to go to my default search provider's homepage.  That was the way I got to that page for years and now all of a sudden it doesnt work.  While sure I can just search using that search provider in that box, that box also keeps a record of my searches while going to the search provider homepage doesnt. 

[RHimadiiev]

Yes, it was. Great! I will not update until it's fixed.

[FF-gets-worse]

They will not "fix" it, as they intentionally broke it in the first place. This is by design, by arrogance and self entitlement. Unfortunately the chance this will bereverted are zero as this is maybe also one of the moves to monetize FF. You should not simply go to a search engine without leaving data to the new data-mining company Mozilla has transformed into. So please use their **bleep**ty "default" page and if you search let them collect information about you. You can decide for yourself: evil arrogance by some braindead developer or evil greed by a foundation which tries to be a company and doesn't get where the no-gos lies and why chrome and chromium is eating their marketshares. Maybe if you are like them we have no use for you, Mozilla!

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

And take a look https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/using-older-versions/m-p/52750/highlight/true#M18762 about, firefox.exe --allow-downgrade

Other info https://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=14982199#p14982199

[RHimadiiev]

Thanks, it was really helpful!

[LogUserFX]

FX Search Box

If it can be useful. Thanks to the efforts of the guy who made the script one can keep on as before hoping that as soon as possible this feature (not a bug) will be restored. I wouldn't recommend doing the downgrade based on how long one has to wait, but in case there are group policies to block updates.

As far as I am concerned, there is no viable, faster, and more attractive alternative to a search box where more than 100 search engines fit easily because of the icons with the ability to organize them. A user maybe already has the most visited sites organized into bookmarks, but here we are talking about sites where more searches are made. Moreover not necessarily said to be talking about homepages, maybe one has set to open Starpage to use the POST method or in another site opens the search page with free images already selected or according to different language to be translated or whatever the imagination to make faster. I really don't think typing a few letters on the address bar will help.

[Brianb253]

Firefox has updated to 129.0.1, but this fixed a bug which maybe 1% of users use. The rest of us must wait for 130.0 before seeing our beloved search box normality return. I will see if it returns or not. If not, I will downgrade and turn off automatic updates, or if that option is removed, then I have to rethink which browser to use. I have been with Firefox since its inception, and used Mozilla before Firefox. I want to stay with Firefox.

[Muraters]

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1894910

[Muraters]

Here's the brain surgeon that made this decision.

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/user_profile?user_id=112088

[Pasqui]

@ Mozzila team, revert this stupid change already, instead of making it even worse! Now with the most recent update, I cannot even click the search engine to go to it in the search bar, which at least was one way to still go to it after you already made the stupid change of enter no longer doing it! What an absolute bull**bleep** move.

[HarlockHr]

One more vote for bringing this functionality back.

[HarlockHr]

Shame Mozilla lost track of what got them in spotlight in first place. It wasn't marketing or appeal to masses it was being embraced by powerusers who would than spread their love for it to less experienced users, family and friends and that is the thing they are missing in recent times. Yes this search is a small feature, maybe not used by large numbers of people, but those that knew about it are usually more experienced users who use (used) a lot of these tiny tricks until Mozilla shut them down and now you lose free word of mouth recommendations from same people that made you.

[moznewbie]

It wasn't working for me either, but now it is. I'm using 129.0.1. Thanks for listening and changing it back. If you didn't, well, the only change i've made recently was to add luxxle as a 6th choice search engine, (which doesn't currently have an icon). Maybe adding that changed something. Either way it's back working for me.

[skizlock]

nope no changes on my end.

[moznewbie]

Please disregard my previous post. It wasn't luxxle that changed anything. If you move the cursor to the mozilla search area and tap the space bar the search icons works as they should. I would delete my previous post but it has been replied to, so I can't. I hope that helps.

[mick1235]

I'll add myself to the list of frustrated users due to this pointless change. Please revert the change back. If the devs are so stubborn to leave it as is instead of listening to users' demands, it's no wonder why Firefox market share is now so low compared to all the chromium-based browsers....

[WitheredWombat]

Here's another chump who made an account because of this issue. Please roll it back, quit taking away functionality and convenience for no reason.

Does the guy who made this decision even use the browser he's coding for? Does he know how many more clicks and key strokes it now takes to do the same thing as before, the formerly simple task of opening a search engine's main page? It's ridiculous, the hell is wrong with your brain. And no, I don't want to type into the search bar first. I want the search engine in question to show me its suggestions while I type my query. I want to search for something without the query sentence being stuck there afterwards until I click into it again and backspace it. And I want the option to use the menu as a more convenient bookmarks tab if I so wish.

Firefox used to be all about customisability and letting you do what you want. Sad to see that credo is long dead and buried among the dev staff.

[Anguish]

Please bring back this function.

[Foyer9013]

I lost this functionality after an update yesterday. If a machine didn't have the search button bar selected, it is not an option now. Machines that had that search bar selected no longer can click on the icons to bring up that particular search site. If you right-click on an icon there is an open to open in a new tab.

Don't like the change

[mozikep]

I found another thread where there is an admin is calling for votes:  https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/search-bar-bring-back-return-key-click-to-default-search-engine...

Go tell them that we want it back!

[Alpredator]

Revert it back. Being able to just hit enter to go straight to google's homepage was very useful. This change was unnecessary, unusual, and very dumb frankly.

[Brianb253]

New Release 129.0.2 did not fix this bug. Yes, it is a bug, not a feature. 129.0.2 fixed other minor issues like drag and drop. No one cares about drag and drop, we do care about the search bar getting fixed.

Everyone, submit a bug report. Remember, annoying bugs get squashed (same as squeaky wheels get oiled).

[robg]

Adding my voice to the disappointment over this decision, please restore this important functionality.

[Standard8]

Thank you for all the feedback on this issue for being able to use an empty search in the separate search bar to go to the default search provider. The details of specific use cases and reasons for requiring the feature have been especially useful in analysing the feedback.

The team that originally made the decision has reviewed the feedback and has decided to experiment with making the feature available again via shift-click/shift-enter. We acknowledge that this will be a change to the workflow, however the reason for the change is that in future we will be changing how the search bar works to be more similar to the new search mode functionality coming to the address bar.  

We will make the additional change in the next practical release which will probably be Firefox 130 or 131.

The original poster to this thread also mentioned that the search bar keeps a record of searches. We wanted to note that it is possible to turn this off, by going into Settings, selecting "Privacy and Security" and then under history selecting custom and turning off "Remember search and form history". The team has realised that it is a separate setting to the one currently on search preferences ("Show recent searches") and we will be reviewing those soon.

[jonda]

Thanks very much for the response. However the proposed "solution" is no different or better, from a user perspective.

The issue is that previously you would use a single mouse click to select a specific search group, whether it be Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo etc.

For example, FF is my default browser. Previously if I wished to open Google Maps, which I do a number of times on a daily basis, I opened a new Tab, clicked in my Search Box selecting Google Search, clicked on the Google Apps icon and selected Maps from the drop down. Voila, Google Maps on a Tab in  my FF browser, without having to touch my keyboard.

The new proposal means that you will still need to select a keys on the keyboard. No change.

Having previously worked in ICT managing Teams for 30+ years, the "reason" given by the FF development team doesn't really say anything, or make anything clearer as to why we cannot have the original functionality. It sounds very clunky, to use a technical term.

[skizlock]

Its obvious what's happening here. Though the logic of it being done now and not with the actual feature, feels malicious to me.

They are going to change the underlying code to make it compatible with the new search interface they are implementing in the address bar, which either means there is going to be further disappointments and changes from longstanding behaviour, or this search function altogether is getting merged into the address bar. This is a stepping stone of sorts.

[Standard8]

As I mentioned originally, we do appreciate this will be a change, unfortunately to bring better workflows, we must sometimes change things. Once we're able to demonstrate the new address bar functionality, it'll be become more obvious as to why - we're also planning to make the shift-click available there as well.

As also have been mentioned elsewhere, there are other one or two click solutions available, like the bookmarks toolbar, or the "Bookmarks Menu" that can be added onto the main toolbar, and the new tab page.

[MWIchigo]

Making a workflow take more button presses isn't better, it's worse. I'm moving away from Firefox and ceasing donating to Mozilla until functionality is restored.

[117649]

You don't have any better work flow to bring to anywhere.

[jam0921]

it's not better.

bookmarks is not a real solution.

[HikesinRain]

I, too, thank you for the responses.  I find the new "solution", to keep making the situation worse, to be insulting.  I won't be seeing the  referenced new address bar, unless it's forced on us as was and is the changes to Thunderbird.  I find the easy way to move to a new search engine to be more valuable to me than a worrisome new address feature coming up.  As of now, I will cease to update; when I can find the time, I'll upgrade to a lower version to return the feature to it's useful self again.

I really have too much going on in my life right now to deal with bad "upgrades" to simple programs like browsers and email.

[jam0921]

BTW

If you set browser.search.openintab and browser.urlbar.openintab to true in about:config, you won’t have to manually create a new tab.

[iwannabeakiwi]

At least make it optional through settings. It's evident a lot of people feel strongly about this change, so why not listen to them? Even if you have future plans, functionality should come second to none.

[Standard8]

Unfortunately we can't add preferences for everything. Each preference adds additional complexity and maintenance.

As has been mentioned elsewhere, there are other alternatives (bookmarks, new tab) that give quick and easy access.

[skizlock]

I am sorry but you cannot use that as an argument, the preference was already there, your team opted to disregard it because it assumed that it was not being used as much. Please call spade a spade. If they knew they could have built the new features with this consideration, but our satisfaction was deemed a negligible sacrifice because of this false assumption.

As for how the new address bar will fare with the search changes, it remains to be seen. You could have rolled it out with all the changes rather risk half baked changes and face this backlash. It would have been great for us as well as we could have experienced the whole thing and made sense of the why.

[iwannabeakiwi]

Well in that case, I think you're alienating an already shrunk userbase.

[skizlock]

Well things do not bode well for Mozilla. Since, the default search engine feature they use to monetize their browser, will become truly optional, due to the recent court order making default search engines monopolistic behaviour. The one that declared Google Search a bona-fide monopoly.

It will be a miracle that Mozilla can come up with the almost 400 million USD revenue it gets from Google. So I can see why this indifference is so abundant.

[skizlock]

I seriously doubt your development team's assessment abilities.

It was the change in the flow that was being criticized in the first place and you opt to replace it with another change in the flow, how does that even remotely address the concern? 

Even worse you will make me use the keyboard as well!

At the end of the day, its not like we cannot have bookmarks to the same pages in the bookmarks toolbar, for most it will only be a click away. But it is still a change in the flow.

Thank you, but keep your change.

[NotAlex]

I'm disappointed to see that this change was more significant than it initially appeared. Removing the usability of the search bar in favor of achieving feature parity feels like the wrong decision. There were so many other alternatives, such as introducing a third bar for legacy users. This issue could have been resolved with a simple three-line bug fix, yet it seems there were ulterior motives.

It's disheartening to witness a change that has garnered more community pushback than any other in the past 130 versions of Firefox, and it’s unfortunate that Mozilla isn't willing to revert it. It's sad to see a company moving away from a focus on its customers like this.

[romanpaladino]

Making the feature available again via shift-click/shift-enter is not really a solution, is it..  Any so-call solution that will make you use the keyboard with multiple clicks thus disrupting workflow is not a real solution.

[LogUserFX]

If this is the solution I would rather stay as it is now before risking that even a script will not be able to put a patch on it. Let's wait for version 131 to evaluate whether some fork will keep the old feature.
About the 'complexity' at this point it almost comes to propose to remove the search box completely and give the opportunity to extension developers to integrate their own bar (which for obvious reasons will never happen).