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How to stop the address bar from getting large and hiding parts of my favorites

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I do not care for how the address bar swells in size. I find it annoying and not useful as I use a separate search bar which is the ONLY reason I use Firefox instead of Chrome. Please tell me how to revert back to the previous was this worked. This is one new feature that I find annoying as it hides part of the items underneath it.

I do not care for how the address bar swells in size. I find it annoying and not useful as I use a separate search bar which is the ONLY reason I use Firefox instead of Chrome. Please tell me how to revert back to the previous was this worked. This is one new feature that I find annoying as it hides part of the items underneath it.

الحل المُختار

Hello cjancola,

Just in case you don't want to add userChrome.css code,
and in addition to jscher2000's post :

This is a temporary fix, but I am optimistically hoping that they will give us the opportunity to permanently disable this new feature.

Would you do this please :

Type in the address bar about:config and press Enter. (ignore the warning)

Type in the search bar and look for the preference :

browser.urlbar.openViewOnFocus

and set its value to false

Do the same with these preferences :

browser.urlbar.update1 (already mentioned by jscher2000)

browser.urlbar.update1.interventions

browser.urlbar.update1.searchTips

Then close and restart Firefox.

(edit : typo)

Read this answer in context 👍 2

All Replies (20)

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I've created some userChrome.css code to address the annoying growing and shrinking of the address bar, if that's a feature that you don't like. You can download the code from here.

If you've never used userChrome styling modifications before, refer to How to Create a userChrome.css File for more information.

Hope this helps.

NOTE: A couple of people have tried this code adn it doesn't work for them. If that's the case for you as well, I'm working on fixing it.
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Not sure I understand as this is not Chrome, it's Firefox.

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It's a common misunderstanding.

"Chrome" is a term in the technology industry that's been used long before Google Chrome was invented. It just refers to the visible parts of the browser that aren't part of the website you are viewing. That's why many of the internal files in Firefox (and other browsers) have references to "chrome".

For example, if you enter chrome://browser/content/browser.xhtml into the address bar in Firefox, it will open part of the Firefox interface like a regular website.

The technology term "chrome" is actually why Google Chrome has it's name: Because it's Google's version of a chrome.

So the userChrome.css file is a file where you (the user) can edit the style of (using CSS code) the chrome.

Modified by Wesley Branton

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Perhaps temporarily, there is a preference to revert the new megabar design back to the Firefox 74 design:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.

(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste URLB and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the browser.urlbar.update1 preference to switch the value from true to false

This doesn't change any currently displayed windows, but will take effect in new windows, or after the next time you exit and restart Firefox.


Update 4/13/2020

This preference to turn off the "Megabar" works in Firefox 75 and probably will work in Firefox 76. Eventually it will go away when the old code is removed. The other way to tame the enlargement problem would be custom style rules in a userChrome.css file (as discussed in other parts of this thread).

Modified by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer

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Wesley Branton said

I've created some userChrome.css code to address the annoying growing and shrinking of the address bar, if that's a feature that you don't like. You can download the code from here.

You might consider adding this to address complaints about the shadow cast on the Bookmarks Toolbar:

/* Use the default box shadow, not a huge one */
#urlbar[breakout][breakout-extend] > #urlbar-background {
    box-shadow: 0 1px 4px rgba(0,0,0,.05) !important;
}
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الحل المُختار

Hello cjancola,

Just in case you don't want to add userChrome.css code,
and in addition to jscher2000's post :

This is a temporary fix, but I am optimistically hoping that they will give us the opportunity to permanently disable this new feature.

Would you do this please :

Type in the address bar about:config and press Enter. (ignore the warning)

Type in the search bar and look for the preference :

browser.urlbar.openViewOnFocus

and set its value to false

Do the same with these preferences :

browser.urlbar.update1 (already mentioned by jscher2000)

browser.urlbar.update1.interventions

browser.urlbar.update1.searchTips

Then close and restart Firefox.

(edit : typo)

Modified by McCoy

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jscher2000 said

Wesley Branton said
I've created some userChrome.css code to address the annoying growing and shrinking of the address bar, if that's a feature that you don't like. You can download the code from here.

You might consider adding this to address complaints about the shadow cast on the Bookmarks Toolbar:

/* Use the default box shadow, not a huge one */
#urlbar[breakout][breakout-extend] > #urlbar-background {
    box-shadow: 0 1px 4px rgba(0,0,0,.05) 
I don't understand what you mean.  How can I add this to address complaints?
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Hi cjancola, sorry for the confusion, I was addressing that to Wesley Branton to consider adding to his set of userChrome.css rules.

If you reverted the address bar to its Firefox 74 behavior using the preference in about:config, then this isn't necessary for you at this time.

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Hi Wesley Branton, thanks for your code. Unfortunately I can confirm it doesn't work for me, neither.

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Is this the first time you've used a userChrome modification? If it is, you may need to change the toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets preference to true on the about:config page.

If you have other code in that userChrome.css file, my code may need to be at the top of the file with no other code before it in order to get it to work.

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I really dislike the new functionality, it's distracting and makes me lose focus of what I'm searching for (in those "I have a vague idea what I need here but not quite sure how to word it for DuckDuckGo yet" searches).

I don't need a blue trim around the address bar, I know it's there, I clicked it. I don't need it being elevated and expanded, I know it's there, I clicked it.

I'm not here to demand a toggle, or demand the old prefs back. As much as I like Firefox, there's a stack of browsers out there now, at the same price point as Firefox and that don't distract me. I can move.

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@ Matt :

I totally agree with you !

You could submit feedback;  let them know how you feel, using this link :

https://qsurvey.mozilla.com/s3/FirefoxInput/

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Thanks Wesley, it works now. Thank you for providing a solution. I really disliked the new URL megabar.

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Hey Wesley, thanks for the code. I was using the about:config method to stop the new URL bar but the update I got today made it not work anymore, your code stops the URL from popping out (I had to put it at the top of the chrome file for it to work btw).

Just wondering, it stopped the URL bar from popping out, but the drop-down list when typing into the URL bar is still the new-look, is there a way to revert that back with chrome code as well?

Modified by Xirix

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Xirix said

Just wondering, it stopped the URL bar from popping out, but the drop-down list when typing into the URL bar is still the new-look, is there a way to revert that back with chrome code as well?

Hi Xirix, the main changes I see in the drop-down are:

(1) The width matches the address bar itself instead of covering the entire width of the browser

(2) The "type" icon (bookmark star, open tab) is no longer at the left but instead is superimposed in the lower right corner of the site icon

Was one of those the thing that bothers you, or something else?

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Why does Firefox do this? I am not that great with this stuff so why do I have to struggle and spend time to fix something so annoying. I fixed this once before without changing the code and then read on that thread that it didn't work for the latest 77.0 release so I went ahead and stopped the updates so I am still OK with the bar but I get the annoying pop up often asking to update. I had already sent in feedback explaining that I hate the bloated search bar. There should also be a way to stop the updates along with the notifications. If I want to use a Firefox version for whatever reason I should be allowed to do so. I hope that Firefox never decides to copy Google with those annoying looking ovals and circles everywhere possible. Aaargh...

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Thanks but I could just about manage the user:config solution but userChrome styling is beyond my capabilities. I'll have to wait until someone does an extension or Firefox rolls this back. Why they never make these things opt-in. It's like every browser is doing its best trying to piss off most of it's user base with "features" that nobody asked for in the first place.

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Would somebody post here if Firefox ever removes the bloated search bar in a new release? Since I don't understand how to do the stylesheets I stopped updates so the about:config continues to solve this. Sadly since Firefox removed the option not to notify of updates I was getting the pop up every time I started the browser so I had to struggle and make a json file to stop the notifications :(

Where do these stylesheets go? If I manage to do this would it have to be done on every update?

The GUI of Firefox looks great, so WHY keep on messing with it? It's like what Toyota does to their cars. They get so desperate to keep the look fresh they come out with ridiculous looking design- which other idiots follow (unfortunately). Sure, keep it updated for security- that's different.

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Hi crankylandlord, the following reply has the steps: /questions/1283831?page=3#answer-1324907

Modified by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer

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Jsher- oh nooooo! So I just spend an hour setting up the css file and tried to ad that. It's even worse! Now the initial search bar is large and only goes small once a web page is accessed. I can't believe it, I should have just left it with the old version :(

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