URLs clicked in other programs won't load in Firefox
Just within the last 1-3 weeks (?) or so, I find that I can't click on links in other programs and have the URL load in Firefox, which is my default browser. They always used to load perfectly and switch me to the new tab in FF, but now they don't.
At first I tried disabling a couple of recent FF add-ons one at a time to see if one of them might have been the problem, but that didn't seem to solve it, though I may have missed one. Still, I can't imagine how an unrelated add-on could cause URLs not to load from other programs. I have tried loading URLs by clicking on them in Thunderbird, WordPad, MailWasher Pro, and even Libre Office, but all of them either just twitched the screen for an instant and then stopped, or else gave me a message such as "WordPad was unable to open the URL" or "There was a problem sending the command to the program" (Libre Office). However, when I copy and paste those same URLs into FF and hit Enter, those sites load perfectly.
I may be wrong in this, but it appears that something has changed within FF that now prevents links clicked in other programs from loading. My only other thought at the moment is that this may possibly have started about the time I upgraded from FF 10.0.2 to FF 11.0.1, but I have no firm evidence to support that theory.
This is really an annoying and inconvenient problem, so any help in resolving it will be hugely appreciated!
Thanks, Al
Chosen solution
The problem is fixed now as a result of some help I got on the WindowsSecrets forum. Once I realized that the problem was occurring not just with MWP and Thunderbird, but with other programs as well (I tried WordPad and Libre Office, both of which likewise failed to load the URL into Firefox), I posted the question on other forums, trying to see if others knew anything about this issue. I got the answer from a forum member on this page:
http://windowssecrets.com/forums/showthread.php/145441-URLs-clicked-in-other-programs-won-t-load-in-Firefox?p=847784#post847784
In case you're not a member there or can't load that page, here was his suggestion:
With FF closed type %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ in the start menu search box, click the item that appears and delete localstore.rdf FF will replace it on starting.
I did that and all four programs that had previous problems loading URLs, including MWP, now load them perfectly. The only (minor) problem with this solution was that localstore.rdf apparently stores all the info about such things as the Firefox toolbars and their customisation, so all that was lost when I deleted the file, but I got them re-customised fairly quickly and all is well. Any thoughts regarding what localstore.rdf does, why this problem happened, or how to prevent it from happening again will be appreciated.
I hope this info helps. Thanks again for all your help.
Regards, Al
Read this answer in context 👍 0All Replies (4)
Hi, Cor-el,
Thanks for the suggestion, but from what I can tell, that page refers in several places to situations "when Firefox is not running." In my situation, FF is already running and will load URLs that have been typed or pasted or clicked within FF, but will not load URLs clicked on in other programs. If I've missed something here, please correct me, but it doesn't appear that this page directly relates to the problem I'm experiencing.
Cheers, Al
Cheers, Al
If the external program is using DDE to send a link to Firefox then the article may still apply, but in Windows 7 it requires to use the Registry editor to inspect and edit registry keys.
Chosen Solution
The problem is fixed now as a result of some help I got on the WindowsSecrets forum. Once I realized that the problem was occurring not just with MWP and Thunderbird, but with other programs as well (I tried WordPad and Libre Office, both of which likewise failed to load the URL into Firefox), I posted the question on other forums, trying to see if others knew anything about this issue. I got the answer from a forum member on this page:
http://windowssecrets.com/forums/showthread.php/145441-URLs-clicked-in-other-programs-won-t-load-in-Firefox?p=847784#post847784
In case you're not a member there or can't load that page, here was his suggestion:
With FF closed type %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ in the start menu search box, click the item that appears and delete localstore.rdf FF will replace it on starting.
I did that and all four programs that had previous problems loading URLs, including MWP, now load them perfectly. The only (minor) problem with this solution was that localstore.rdf apparently stores all the info about such things as the Firefox toolbars and their customisation, so all that was lost when I deleted the file, but I got them re-customised fairly quickly and all is well. Any thoughts regarding what localstore.rdf does, why this problem happened, or how to prevent it from happening again will be appreciated.
I hope this info helps. Thanks again for all your help.
Regards, Al