In case you use "Clear history when Firefox closes".

• do not clear the Browsing History

• Options/Preferences -> Privacy -> Firefox will: "Use custom settings for history": [X] "Clear history when Firefox closes" -> Settings
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/remove-recent-browsing-search-and-download-history

• clearing "Site Preferences" clears exceptions for cookies, images, pop-up windows, and software installation and exception for password and other website specific data
• clearing cookies will remove all selected cookies including cookies with an "Allow" exception you may want to keep

Adelaa said

1. “Restore Previous Session” disappeared from my Firefox home page and I tried finding it with the help of some kind souls on this site but no luck.

In our last discussion, you set Firefox to restore previous tabs and windows automatically. Did that ever work? If you restore automatically, the menu item "Restore Previous Session" will be grayed out, and instead you could check whether you can restore previously closed tabs in the current window, or other previously closed windows.

For reference: My Firefox home page does not show anymore this: "Get back the past page" or smething.

Adelaa said

2. When I click on FF button to search, it keeps showing other files I had worked on before (NOT searches!). I repeatedly tried to close them by clicking on the upper right corner red X, by the individual files right above the task bar, by Right Clicking to Close...but the files remained even after an all night shut off!

If you mean that when you start up Firefox using your shortcut you get tabs that you had visited before rather than getting your home page, that's probably a result of setting Firefox to restore your previous tabs and windows automatically. So if that is annoying, you could switch back to starting with your home page. It's on the Options page as described in this article: Startup, home page, tabs, and download settings.

You can close open tabs that you do not want to keep for the next session before closing Firefox. If you use "Show my windows and tabs from last time" then tabs you leave open will be restored automatically on the next start.

You can find the home page setting here:

• Options/Preferences -> General -> Startup: Home page
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/How+to+set+the+home+page

Note that Firefox supports multiple home pages separated by '|' (pipe) symbols.

jscher2000 said

Adelaa said

1. “Restore Previous Session” disappeared from my Firefox home page and I tried finding it with the help of some kind souls on this site but no luck.

In our last discussion, you set Firefox to restore previous tabs and windows automatically. Did that ever work? If you restore automatically, the menu item "Restore Previous Session" will be grayed out, and instead you could check whether you can restore previously closed tabs in the current window, or other previously closed windows.

For reference: My Firefox home page does not show anymore this: "Get back the past page" or smething.

Thank you jscher, yes the last time I went to find "Show my windows and tabs from last time" and saw that it was there from before. So it must be something else.....

cor-el said

In case you use "Clear history when Firefox closes".

• do not clear the Browsing History

• Options/Preferences -> Privacy -> Firefox will: "Use custom settings for history": [X] "Clear history when Firefox closes" -> Settings
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/remove-recent-browsing-search-and-download-history

• clearing "Site Preferences" clears exceptions for cookies, images, pop-up windows, and software installation and exception for password and other website specific data
• clearing cookies will remove all selected cookies including cookies with an "Allow" exception you may want to keep

Thank you cor-el, but I don't use "Clear history when Firefox closes".

cor-el said

You can close open tabs that you do not want to keep for the next session before closing Firefox. If you use "Show my windows and tabs from last time" then tabs you leave open will be restored automatically on the next start. You can find the home page setting here:

• Options/Preferences -> General -> Startup: Home page
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/How+to+set+the+home+page

Note that Firefox supports multiple home pages separated by '|' (pipe) symbols.

Thanks again cor-el, I just learned that "Show my windows and tabs from last time" was bringing all my files back...it's funny. So I'll go and change it back.  :)

cor-el said

In case you use "Clear history when Firefox closes".

• do not clear the Browsing History

• Options/Preferences -> Privacy -> Firefox will: "Use custom settings for history": [X] "Clear history when Firefox closes" -> Settings
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/remove-recent-browsing-search-and-download-history

• clearing "Site Preferences" clears exceptions for cookies, images, pop-up windows, and software installation and exception for password and other website specific data
• clearing cookies will remove all selected cookies including cookies with an "Allow" exception you may want to keep

Thanks again cor-el, but I don't use "Clear history when Firefox closes".

To All, am I losing my mind? I answered the posts then I didn't see my answers so I repeated some, thinking I had forgotten to click "Post Reply". But now I'm not sure if I answered all of you wonderful techies! Would you let me know if I skipped answering a post by my confusion? Thank you all so much!

jscher2000 said

Adelaa said

2. When I click on FF button to search, it keeps showing other files I had worked on before (NOT searches!). I repeatedly tried to close them by clicking on the upper right corner red X, by the individual files right above the task bar, by Right Clicking to Close...but the files remained even after an all night shut off!

If you mean that when you start up Firefox using your shortcut you get tabs that you had visited before rather than getting your home page, that's probably a result of setting Firefox to restore your previous tabs and windows automatically. So if that is annoying, you could switch back to starting with your home page. It's on the Options page as described in this article: Startup, home page, tabs, and download settings.

Exactly jscher! I never thought of that. I'll go and change it back. It hadn't helped the absence of "Restore Previous Session" anyway. Thank you!

cor-el said

You can close open tabs that you do not want to keep for the next session before closing Firefox. If you use "Show my windows and tabs from last time" then tabs you leave open will be restored automatically on the next start. You can find the home page setting here:

• Options/Preferences -> General -> Startup: Home page
• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/How+to+set+the+home+page

Note that Firefox supports multiple home pages separated by '|' (pipe) symbols.

I just learned that "Show my windows and tabs from last time" was causing me the problem so I'll tgake it back. Thank you!

Adelaa said

jscher2000 said If you mean that when you start up Firefox using your shortcut you get tabs that you had visited before rather than getting your home page, that's probably a result of setting Firefox to restore your previous tabs and windows automatically. So if that is annoying, you could switch back to starting with your home page. It's on the Options page as described in this article: Startup, home page, tabs, and download settings.

Exactly jscher! I never thought of that. I'll go and change it back. It hadn't helped the absence of "Restore Previous Session" anyway. Thank you!

With that setting, you don't need Restore Previous Session because it was already restored, as you could see. But "on demand" restore sounds like it better suits your needs than "automatic" restore.

jscher2000 said

Adelaa said

jscher2000 said If you mean that when you start up Firefox using your shortcut you get tabs that you had visited before rather than getting your home page, that's probably a result of setting Firefox to restore your previous tabs and windows automatically. So if that is annoying, you could switch back to starting with your home page. It's on the Options page as described in this article: Startup, home page, tabs, and download settings.

Exactly jscher! I never thought of that. I'll go and change it back. It hadn't helped the absence of "Restore Previous Session" anyway. Thank you!

With that setting, you don't need Restore Previous Session because it was already restored, as you could see. But "on demand" restore sounds like it better suits your needs than "automatic" restore.

You are so right, I need "on demand" restore so that only IF I need the previous one I deleted or got lost, all I do is click on "Restore PS" and get it back. I'm so glad that you told me that the multiple files I couldn't delete at all, were just result of that change I made.

P.S. Why am I seeing several posts here "unanswered" though I know for a fact now that I did answer them? Again, I don't know if it's my sleepiness and tiredness or they are really unanswered? Just curious but confusing....

jscher, just wanted to answer this:

"With that setting, you don't need Restore Previous Session because it was already restored, as you could see. But "on demand" restore sounds like it better suits your needs than "automatic" restore."

You are very right as I said before, but how am I going to get back the "Restore Previous Session"? As you may remember, I had lost it, even though I never had the "Show my windows and tabs from last time" which caused me that avalanche of files that refused to get closed. So taking it out now is not going to bring back the 'Restore" no? Just wondering..... :)

You should have the button back on the home page. If not there, you should have the item on the History menu. Please check the next time.

Does Firefox create a sessionstore.js file in the Firefox profile folder when you exit Firefox?

Firefox uses sessionstore.js in the profile folder to store session data. Sessionstore.js is only present when Firefox is closed. The sessionstore.js file is created from recovery.js when you close Firefox and is removed and copied to previous.js when you start Firefox to make is possible to restore the session at any time.

Backup the session files in the sessionstore-backups folder in the Firefox Profile Folder to make sure not to lose possible important session data. Do NOT close Firefox when Firefox is already running.

You can use this button to go to the current Firefox profile folder:

• Help -> Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Directory:
  Windows: Show Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox

You will normally find these files in the sessionstore-backups folder:

previous.js (cleanBackup: copy of sessionstore.js from previous session that was loaded successfully)
recovery.js (latest version of the sessionstore written during runtime)
recovery.bak (previous version of the sessionstore written during runtime)
upgrade.js-<build_id> (backup created during an upgrade of Firefox)

You can copy a file from the sessionstore-backups folder to the main profile and rename the file to sessionstore.js to replace the current file (make a backup copy of the current sessionstore.js).

See also:

• http://www.ghacks.net/2014/06/27/mozilla-launches-improved-session-restore-firefox-33/

jscher2000 said

You should have the button back on the home page. If not there, you should have the item on the History menu. Please check the next time.

SURPRISE SURPRISE!!!  :) This morning I saw not only a clear Firefox home page but also with the "Restore Previous Session" phrase on it!

THANK YOU AND COR-EL for all the work you both did for me! Adela

cor-el said

Does Firefox create a sessionstore.js file in the Firefox profile folder when you exit Firefox? Firefox uses sessionstore.js in the profile folder to store session data. Sessionstore.js is only present when Firefox is closed. The sessionstore.js file is created from recovery.js when you close Firefox and is removed and copied to previous.js when you start Firefox to make is possible to restore the session at any time. Backup the session files in the sessionstore-backups folder in the Firefox Profile Folder to make sure not to lose possible important session data. Do NOT close Firefox when Firefox is already running. You can use this button to go to the current Firefox profile folder:

• Help -> Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Directory:
  Windows: Show Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox

You will normally find these files in the sessionstore-backups folder: previous.js (cleanBackup: copy of sessionstore.js from previous session that was loaded successfully) recovery.js (latest version of the sessionstore written during runtime) recovery.bak (previous version of the sessionstore written during runtime) upgrade.js-<build_id> (backup created during an upgrade of Firefox) You can copy a file from the sessionstore-backups folder to the main profile and rename the file to sessionstore.js to replace the current file (make a backup copy of the current sessionstore.js). See also:

• http://www.ghacks.net/2014/06/27/mozilla-launches-improved-session-restore-firefox-33/

THANK YOU AND JSCHER SO MUCH for all the work you both did for me! I now have back that blessed phrase I had lost and things are all clear. But I'll keep all the information given in case it happens again.