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Input control acts as if it is readonly

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 12 views
  • Last reply by bogdan_mabo

bogdan_mabo
bogdan_mabo
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Hello,

I have an HTML input control in a page that acts as if it is read-only until I activate a different window and then switch back to Firefox and my control - at that point it behaves as expected. In this initial state I can select with my mouse content. However, I cannot input or modify existing content. Right click > Select All has not effect. Copy does not work. I checked using document.elementsFromPoint() and is the top most element. I checked and in javascript it reports that it does not have readonly or disabled attribute. Trying to use the developer tools does not help because as soon as I activate that window, the control starts behaving as expected. This Windows 11, Firefox 96.0.3 (64-bit). Could you please tell me how can I investigate this any further?

Thank you, Bogdan

Hello, I have an HTML input control in a page that acts as if it is read-only until I activate a different window and then switch back to Firefox and my control - at that point it behaves as expected. In this initial state I can select with my mouse content. However, I cannot input or modify existing content. Right click > Select All has not effect. Copy does not work. I checked using document.elementsFromPoint() and is the top most element. I checked and in javascript it reports that it does not have readonly or disabled attribute. Trying to use the developer tools does not help because as soon as I activate that window, the control starts behaving as expected. This Windows 11, Firefox 96.0.3 (64-bit). Could you please tell me how can I investigate this any further? Thank you, Bogdan

All Replies (2)

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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If you use extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) that can block content (Adblock Plus, NoScript, DuckDuckGo PE, Disconnect, Ghostery, Privacy Badger, uBlock Origin) always make sure such extensions do not block content.

Firefox shows a purple shield instead of a gray shield at the left end of the location/address bar in case Enhanced Tracking Protection is blocking content. You can click shield icon for more detail and possibly disable the protection. You can check the Web Console for relevant-looking messages about blocked content.

You can try these steps in case of issues with webpages:

You can reload webpage(s) and bypass the cache to refresh possibly outdated or corrupted files.

  • hold down the Shift key and left-click the Reload button
  • press "Ctrl + F5" or press "Ctrl + Shift + R" (Windows,Linux)
  • press "Command + Shift + R" (Mac)

Clear the Cache and remove the Cookies for websites that cause problems via the "3-bar" Firefox menu button (Settings).

"Remove the Cookies" for websites that cause problems:

  • Settings -> Privacy & Security
    Cookies and Site Data: "Manage Data"

"Clear the Cache":

  • Settings -> Privacy & Security
    Cookies and Site Data -> Clear Data -> [X] Cached Web Content -> Clear

Start Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration or userChrome.css is causing the problem.

  • switch to the DEFAULT theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Themes
  • do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Troubleshoot Mode start window
bogdan_mabo
bogdan_mabo Question owner
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Hi @co-rel,

Thank you very much for taking the time to look into this. In Troubleshoot Mode the problem does not happen. However none of the possible troubleshooting actions made any difference (disabled the hardware acceleration, tried to change theme - could not find any named default so I tried the main ones; no Colorways, confirmed that I don't have any extension). This problem happens on multiple systems with very different configurations: (desktop with Windows 11, laptop with Ubuntu, etc).

Some more details about the issue: This page opens from another page through a link that has the target "_blank". In this scenario the input is 'disabled'. If I refresh the page while in this state it continues to have the behavior. If I click on a different tab and then move back to the tab with the problematic page it starts working. If I activate any window other than Firefox and then go back to my page it start working. If I copy the link and open the page in a new tab it works ok.

Could you please tell me if you happen to know how can I get in touch with someone that has knowledge of the inner workings of Firefox?

Thank you, Bogdan