Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Cuireadh an snáithe seo sa chartlann. Cuir ceist nua má tá cabhair uait.

how to force firefox to search from web page on a new tab, not the address bar, not search bar.

more options

Considering how many closed/archived threads there are about this, you'd think it'd be fixed by now.

There have been add-ons like "New Tab Homepage" that worked to correct this but every time there is a solution, an 'update' corrects the 'problem' by forcing the search engine back to the toolbar.

After many years of trying solutions I've come to the conclusion that this is a deliberate 'feature', much like the many completely useless 'features' added to Windows for reasons known only to Microsoft, and the companies they share your data with.

Someone prove me wrong, please.

Considering how many closed/archived threads there are about this, you'd think it'd be fixed by now. There have been add-ons like "New Tab Homepage" that worked to correct this but every time there is a solution, an 'update' corrects the 'problem' by forcing the search engine back to the toolbar. After many years of trying solutions I've come to the conclusion that this is a deliberate 'feature', much like the many completely useless 'features' added to Windows for reasons known only to Microsoft, and the companies they share your data with. Someone prove me wrong, please.

Réiteach roghnaithe

justmehereathome said

Does not do that for me, if I set new tabs to blank, I get a blank page with the cursor in the top bar. If I set new tabs to "Firefox Home (default)" with Firefox Home Page the same and the "web search" option ticked I get a homepage with a google search box with the cursor on the page as a homepage but if I open a new tab the cursor is back in the top bar not on the page.

Aha, yes, the cursor is ALWAYS placed in the address bar when you open a new tab. There is no setting for that, and the handoff setting controls what happens after you click in the search box in the new tab page and start typing. It is not relevant to the initial location of the cursor.

The following extension has an option to move the cursor into the page. However, I don't know what pages that works with: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/new-tab-override/

Read this answer in context 👍 1

All Replies (12)

more options

I gather that you want to stop your search moving from the search bar on the page to the address bar. Search in about:config for handoff and change this preference to false. browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.improvesearch.handoffToAwesomebar

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/about-config-editor-firefox

more options

Sorry but I've been down that road already,

Droppa, that's exactly what I have now, I simply have Google as my HomePage but opening a new Tab is what I'm trying to fix and yes it opens a new Tab with Google as the search engine but Firefox still puts the cursor on the address bar and not the search box on the page.

Terry, changing the handoff only works when you open Firefox itself, it doesn't work when opening a new tab.

more options

Hi,

If you want to leave feedback for developers, you can go to the Firefox Help menu and select either Share ideas and feedback… or Submit feedback…, depending on your Firefox version. Alternatively, you can use this link.

Your feedback gets collected by a team of people who read it and gather data about the most common issues. Very recently, Mozilla staff started a conversation in that platform looking at the very issue you are asking about here, looking at how to improve the new tab experience.

more options

Paul said

Hi, If you want to leave feedback for developers, you can go to the Firefox Help menu and select either Share ideas and feedback… or Submit feedback…, depending on your Firefox version. Alternatively, you can use this link. Your feedback gets collected by a team of people who read it and gather data about the most common issues. Very recently, Mozilla staff started a conversation in that platform looking at the very issue you are asking about here, looking at how to improve the new tab experience.

Paul, thanks for the info, I'm more than happy to close this thread when the problem is corrected, until then I'd like to keep this active, if for on other reason other than to get input from others on this topic.

more options

justmehereathome, I am not sure that I understand. Is the issue that new tabs open with the keyboard focus inside the location bar, whereas you'd prefer new tabs to open with the focus starting on an element of the page itself? (more specifically, the Google search box, if Google.com is set as the new tab page?)

more options

TechHorse said

justmehereathome, I am not sure that I understand. Is the issue that new tabs open with the keyboard focus inside the location bar, whereas you'd prefer new tabs to open with the focus starting on an element of the page itself? (more specifically, the Google search box, if Google.com is set as the new tab page?)

That is exactly what I want.

more options

justmehereathome said

Terry, changing the handoff only works when you open Firefox itself, it doesn't work when opening a new tab.

It works on new tabs in regular windows.

It does not work on new tabs in private windows -- those use a different page than the "Firefox Home" page.

more options

justmehereathome, thanks for clarifying. You asked for feedback and mine is that I prefer new tabs to open with the typing focus in the location bar, as is the current situation.

But of course it would be great if they allowed user choice as to where the focus starts. Just as long as they allow us to choose to keep the status quo!

more options

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer said

justmehereathome said

Terry, changing the handoff only works when you open Firefox itself, it doesn't work when opening a new tab.

It works on new tabs in regular windows.

It does not work on new tabs in private windows -- those use a different page than the "Firefox Home" page.

Does not do that for me, if I set new tabs to blank, I get a blank page with the cursor in the top bar.

If I set new tabs to "Firefox Home (default)" with Firefox Home Page the same and the "web search" option ticked I get a homepage with a google search box with the cursor on the page as a homepage but if I open a new tab the cursor is back in the top bar not on the page.

If I set my home page to anything else, like just www.google.com, a new tab still opens with the cursor on the top bar not on the page.

Clearly I'm missing something if you can get it to do otherwise.

more options

TechHorse said

justmehereathome, thanks for clarifying. You asked for feedback and mine is that I prefer new tabs to open with the typing focus in the location bar, as is the current situation. But of course it would be great if they allowed user choice as to where the focus starts. Just as long as they allow us to choose to keep the status quo!

Fair enough, thanks.

more options

Réiteach Roghnaithe

justmehereathome said

Does not do that for me, if I set new tabs to blank, I get a blank page with the cursor in the top bar. If I set new tabs to "Firefox Home (default)" with Firefox Home Page the same and the "web search" option ticked I get a homepage with a google search box with the cursor on the page as a homepage but if I open a new tab the cursor is back in the top bar not on the page.

Aha, yes, the cursor is ALWAYS placed in the address bar when you open a new tab. There is no setting for that, and the handoff setting controls what happens after you click in the search box in the new tab page and start typing. It is not relevant to the initial location of the cursor.

The following extension has an option to move the cursor into the page. However, I don't know what pages that works with: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/new-tab-override/

more options

jscher2000,

That's done the trick, I'd forgot about that one as I've been using "New Tab Homepage" for years since "New Tab Override" stopped working. Now it works again and the former has a support ticket for an API change for exactly the same problem.

Thanks.

Athraithe ag justmehereathome ar