hello TezB, in essence the changes to the search bar have been done to allow users to set a default engine but to make it easy to use different search engines one-time as well (those are the icons you were referring to). please refer to this article to see what changed and how to adjust the new searchbar interface: Search bar - add, change and manage search engines on Firefox

Further to my initial query, I notice that the previous facility to click 'Manage Search Engines...', thus allowing you to rearrange or add to/subtract from available searches (all within the dropdown from the search box), has gone.

Clicking 'Change Search Settings' now opens up a new tab in the main preferences panel -- and as far as I can see doesn't even allow reordering or permanent deletion of search items.

Whoever thought this would be an improvement? It isn't!!!

Open up about:config and toggle this preference to false

browser.search.showOneOffButtons

Thanks philipp (my additional posting overlapped with yours) but this doesn't answer my core complaint.

I just want an easily legible text list of names of search engines. I don't want a panel of anonymous and unrecognisable icons.

The article you reference doesn't tell me how I can achieve this, as far as I can see. If I've missed something, I'd be grateful if you could direct me further...

Many thanks, the-edmeister. That's sorted the listing, just as I wished.

But I can't be the only user to have been thrown by this. I'm using a beta version of Firefox and I don't know if the change is so far limited to this update -- but I sincerely hope the preference option will be made explicit and obvious in the full public release. Many non-techie users will surely want the convenience of the text listing without having to poke around in about:config

You're right, but the "$hit won't hit the fan" until Tuesday when Firefox 34 is actually released. You must have the Firefox 34 Beta channel version installed, where that "questionable" new feature landed on 11-21, a week ago.

Correct. Again, grateful for your help & feedback.

Note that you can probably revert the search engine change in the current beta (34.0.5) by toggling browser.search.isUS

• about:config page: browser.search.isUS = false

Thanks for responding, cor-el. NB the-edmeister's suggestion posted above gives exactly the result I'd asked for. For everyone's sake I just hope there's a simple preference option in the final release...

And the "Source Comment" for that pref is Hack for Firefox 34. Honesty in programming!

Nope, adding a simple pref for that isn't Mozilla style. Be thankful for the hidden pref they gave us, and hope it lasts as far as Firefox 40 when I think it will disappear, as Mozilla is wont to do. As with the "tabs on Top" pref (userset to false) that eventually disappeared.

You'd made my day -- and now you've spoiled it again...

Currently keeping my tabs where I want them (i.e. NOT on top) using the Classic Theme Restorer add-on but I expect you're going to tell me that 'they' are going to break that soon...

No, CTR "fixed" the removal of 'Tabs on Top' from the default Firefox code.

Tabs on top is only a matter of changing the toolbar order via -moz-box-ordinal-group: 999 (i.e a larger value). This won't get broken as it is only support for the browser.tabs.onTop pref that has been removed, so you can no longer do it by modifying a pref.

Note that you can move the tabs to the lower position just above the browsing area without using an extension with code in userChrome.css because you only need to give the Tab bar a higher -moz-box-ordinal-group value (most toolbars have a default -moz-box-ordinal-group:1 to show them in DOM order).

Add code to the userChrome.css file below the default @namespace line.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/userChrome.css

@namespace url("http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul"); /* only needed once */

#TabsToolbar{-moz-box-ordinal-group:10000!important}

The customization files userChrome.css (user interface) and userContent.css (websites) are located in the chrome folder in the Firefox profile folder.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Editing_configuration

Guys, thanks for all your input.

cor-el, will try to digest your info re changing tabs-on-top in the morning. Have no knowledge of interventions with userChrome.css -- do I access this via the about:config settings? Sorry if that's an incredibly naive question but this is beyond my minimal level of tech expertise and my tired brain won't process what you're saying right now (it's past midnight here in London).

I need to get sleep now. Have a good day & best of luck with the project in future... Tez

You need to create a chrome folder in the Firefox profile folder and in this folder the userChrome.css file (name are case sensitive).

• Create the chrome folder (lowercase) in the <xxxxxxxx>.default profile folder if this folder doesn't exist
• Use a plain text editor like Notepad to create a (new) userChrome.css file in the chrome folder (file name is case sensitive)
• Paste the code in the userChrome.css file in the editor window
• Make sure that the userChrome.css file starts with the default @namespace line
• Make sure that you select "All files" and not "Text files" when you save the file via "Save file as" in the text editor as userChrome.css.
  Otherwise Windows may add a hidden .txt file extension and you end up with a not working userChrome.css.txt file

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

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

Thank you again. You've made it very understandable.

I will have a crack at doing it that way when I have a little time to spare sometime soon.

Best wishes, T

Strange strange... Under my Linux, this is true by default, and false on my Windows.

This is another of the "new" improvements seeking a need. We could do all of this before with out have to deal with about:config. What is the mentality that drives unnecessary changes? Now we have to go into Options to select the default search engine.

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

How do I get rid of all the firefox "suggestions" and get the logo of my default search back instead of the automatic Firefox search? Is there an add-on out yet that undoes the search change also?

The answer to all the format changes seems to be someone providing an add-on to undo it. Doesn't that indicate something?

Late to the party but I only encountered the new search list yesterday, when I decided to give Firefox Beta a try. Before that, the search menu was the usual drop-down list. What I have to say is that the new search menu is hardly usable. It might be okay for the average joe who only uses a few generic engines, but imagine someone who really customized his search bar and who has, for example, 5 different YouTube searches, dictionaries, etc. The result will be 5 times the same icon. Another problem is that icons are very small and often hard to recognize. Some search engines may only have a generic icon like a little globe or looking glass. All in all, this idea is far from practical and should have an easily accessible setting.

Mozilla should keep in mind that for many users, the search bar is a vital part of Firefox and that some even use it for their jobs, not just for casual searches.