Change your default search settings in Firefox
Revision Information
- Revision id: 172126
- Created:
- Creator: AliceWyman
- Comment: minor (Caps)
- Reviewed: Yes
- Reviewed:
- Reviewed by: AliceWyman
- Is approved? Yes
- Is current revision? No
- Ready for localization: No
Revision Source
Revision Content
The Search panel in Firefox Settings lets you customize your search options. You can add or remove search engines, change your default search engine, turn the Search bar on or off and choose whether to display search suggestions first or not at all. To open the Search panel:
- In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, click and then select or , depending on your macOS version.Click the menu button and select .
- Select in the left pane.
Table of Contents
Search bar
- Use the address bar for search and navigation: This is the default setting. It provides a unified search and address bar.
- Add search bar in toolbar: Select this setting if you prefer a separate Search bar.
Default search engine
Use the drop down menu under Default Search Engine to choose the search engine you wish to use by default.
Provide search suggestions
As you type into the Search bar or the address bar, your default search engine shows you suggestions based on popular searches or on your previous searches. See Search suggestions in Firefox for more information.
- Provide search suggestions: Select this setting to turn search suggestions on or off.
- Show search suggestions in address bar results: When search suggestions are turned on, select this setting to also include search suggestions in the results that are listed when you search from the Firefox address bar.
- Show search suggestions ahead of browsing history in address bar results: Select this setting to show search suggestions before your browsing history.
One-click search engines
When you start typing in the Search bar or address bar, you'll see icons for other search engines you can search with:
You can choose an alternate search engine and use it for your search with one click, if you don't want to use the current default.
To remove alternate search engines you don't want to be displayed in the Search bar or address bar, remove the check mark next to the search engine listed in the Search panel under One-click Search Engines. This will not remove the search engines themselves.
Remove search engines
To remove a search engine, follow these steps:
- Click on the search engine you don't want to highlight it.
- Click the button to take it off your list.
If you remove a search engine that you added yourself and you change your mind, you'll have to add it back again (see below). If you remove any of the search engines that come with Firefox by default, click to bring them back.
Add more search engines
Many providers also offer add-ons that let you add even more search engines:
- Click Add more search engines.
- Hover over the add-ons you want to add and click .
See Add or remove a search engine in Firefox to learn more about adding search engines.