Firefox Community Forum

Suddenly I cannot search from the search bar. It defaults to the address bar. why "fix" something that was not broken. Being forced to use the address bar is frustrating. If you go directly to the address bar, it tells you it cannot find that site.

not really a request for help since release 147.0.3 searches handoff to awesome and can't be changed by using about:config dropping back to 145.0.2 allows prevention

How do I get searches (my default is Google) to STOP going to the address bar? This started out of the blue and it is making me crazy. I don't want to be asked which search to use, and I don't want it to search in the address bar. I want it in the search box. Thanks.

This is the 3rd time I have had to post this. I am getting very frustrated. I DO NOT want the search engine within my address bar. Nothing anyone from you "community" helped to disable the search engine in my address bar. Opera, Edge, Chrome, the user can disable the search engine in the address bar. Why is Firefox so different? And difficult?

I am reopening the question from 2020 as the solution described no longer seems to apply. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1284577

I am running Windows 11. Firefox 144.0 (64-bit)

When entering search terms into the search bar in the centre of the page, the information typed appears in the address bar, even after following the fix described in 1284577.

Treating the address bar as the search bar appears to be the default. While the user can additionally deselect the search engine in the address bar, that is an unnecessary and undesired additional step for every search (the primary reason I am using Firefox)

Is there a way to permanently set the default for what I enter into the search bar to remain in the search bar and not to be managed by the address bar? Thanks, Rich

Following a recent Firefox update, 1.48.0 I think, the search box in the middle of the page no longer works, any attempt to type there ends up in the address bar. I have tried setting "browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.improvesearch.handoffToAwesomebar" to false and other suggested fixes on the internet but it made no difference. I am running Windows 11 Pro, fully updated. Hope you can help Regards Keith

Hello,

I have a situation - which I had previously researched and resolved - that has come back to haunt me.

I use an ultra-widescreen monitor and searching/browsing obviously necessitates a center-screen search box which, up until now, Firefox has provided cleanly and with simplicity. However, I see that (once again) despite cursor placement in the center-screen box the search text is being entered in the address bar which is wholly impractical for me since I have to look about 60 degrees left and upwards to see what I am typing.

I say "again" because when this happened previously I was able to make a config change and resolve it but despite that still being in effect - the ".handoffToAwesomebar" is still set to FALSE - search text now has moved back to the address bar.

A brief search of this community yielded no answers. Is there any other known fix or has this now be thrust upon us permanently and thou shalt adapt?

Thanks in advance....

I don't like to use the address bar to type searches. I like using the SEARCH BOX in Firefox's New Tab instead. But, with each update, I once again have to try to figure out how to set Firefox searches to be typed in the search box. Is there any way to set this so it doesn't get changed with every update?

Version 148 recently installed as auto update and problem seems contemperaneous to that.

My Home page is set to show only the Firefox "search the web" as an entry box in the screen centre, but will no longer allow any input: instead the awesomebar (aka address bar) shows on the tool bars at top of screen and accepts/displays the entry. I wish to revert to the simpler display.

I thought the solution lay within the advanced preferences that can be accessed (via app:config) and the value of the awesome bar changed. However tthe awesomebar preference is the only one shown for which there is no setting at all. Edit brings nothing up. There is a delete bin symbol available.

Can anybody explain what is going on and how to rectify this situation, please?

Previous solution: switch browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.improvesearch.handoffToAwesomebar to false does not work anymore.

Please help.

Regards, Victor

Hi! So I just installed firefox and I got onto annoying issue. I like using shortcuts on my homepage, but I started to get some shortcuts added automatically and they bother me a lot. I tried removing them or deleting from history, but as soon as I click the button, one shortcuts gets removed and immediately gets swityched with another one automatically. So I'm stuck in the infinite loop of removing shortcuts and my manually added ones just get lost in all this mess.

There is a perfectly functional search bar in the middle of my homepage. why do I have to search with the anything but "awesomebar"? I have made so many changes to about:config true to false false to true firefox will probably never work again properly. There should be a check box somewhere in settings to toggle this on and off. Newer is not always better

I would like to remove the search options from the address bar because I preferred the old setup with a separate search window (and the address bar was just unable to perform searches). How can I set this up?