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Stop Firefox from changing %20 to space in URL.

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I pull data from facebook and for various reasons I need to use m.facebook.com. A tool I use to mine data relies on Firefox.

The problem is Firefox seems to replace %20 with spaces breaking the URL where chrome does not have this issue. Here is an example of the URL im using. Im hoping there is something in about:config that I can change to tell Firefox not to remove %20.

https://m.facebook.com/search/top/?q=posts%20by%20george%20takei

I pull data from facebook and for various reasons I need to use m.facebook.com. A tool I use to mine data relies on Firefox. The problem is Firefox seems to replace %20 with spaces breaking the URL where chrome does not have this issue. Here is an example of the URL im using. Im hoping there is something in about:config that I can change to tell Firefox not to remove %20. https://m.facebook.com/search/top/?q=posts%20by%20george%20takei

All Replies (5)

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Web links can't have spaces in the address portion. They can have spaces in the site location area.

I got to https://m.facebook.com/ with no problem.

Many site issues can be caused by corrupt cookies or cache.

  • Clear the Cache and
  • Remove Cookies
    Warning ! ! This will log you out of sites you're logged in to.

Type about:preferences<Enter> in the address bar.

  • Cookies; Select Privacy. Under History, select Firefox will Use Custom Settings. Press the button on the right side called Show Cookies. Use the search bar to look for the site. Note; There may be more than one entry. Remove All of them.
  • Cache; Select Advanced > Network. Across from Cached Web Content, Press Clear Now.

If there is still a problem, Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). While you are in safe mode;

Type about:preferences#advanced<Enter> in the address bar.

Under Advanced, Select General. Look for and turn off Use Hardware Acceleration.

Poke around safe websites. Are there any problems?

Then restart.

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Thanks for the reply. Tried all you said here and still ran into this problem. Im not having issues going to m.facebook.com. The problem is this one feature of facebook which gives you top posts from profiles requires %20 in the URL and firefox by default swaps the %20 for a space.

That url in firefox shows No results found in the search, where as if you open in chrome you will see full results. The difference is in the URL and how %20 stays in the URL in chrome.

I actually even downloaded the firefox app and didnt have this issue. The URL in firefox's app kept the %20 and did not swap for spaces.

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I don't know Mac's. I called for more help.

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Ive tested this on PC and Mac and both had the same issue.

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giantsmetsknicks said

The problem is this one feature of facebook which gives you top posts from profiles requires %20 in the URL and firefox by default swaps the %20 for a space.

Where are you seeing %20 changed to a space -- do you mean the appearance of the URL in the address bar? If you copy the address from the address bar or use JavaScript to grab the address, you do get %20 for spaces.

Maybe the problem is somewhere else?