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Google search top stories mark visited links

  • 14 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 16 views
  • Last reply by noel_envode

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I'm able to do it with the regular search links, but not the top stories.

I'm able to do it with the regular search links, but not the top stories.

Chosen solution

noel_envode said

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer said

You can use an add-on to color the links
I haven't found any that work for this

I see. Perhaps it's because the link is wrapped around a lot of other tags, so one of the interior tags may have styles that override the main style.

Do you use anything like Stylus? Stylus lets you inject rules to modify individual websites or all websites. For example:

a:visited, a:visited * {
    color: red !important;
}


By including the second selector (a:visited *) the rule applies to all the "child nodes" of the link. Screenshot attached.

Read this answer in context 👍 1

All Replies (14)

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I don't understand what you are saying. Please explain the problem in detail. What happens? What are the exact error messages?

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When you run a google search, sometimes the first results are rendered as "Top Stories".

When you select one of those links, the Firefox color setting are not recognized, but instead the default google search link colors; purple for visited; blue for not visited. For whatever logic was applied, google picked two colors that are barely distinguishable from each other.

However, the "regular" search links that follow these "Top Stories" do recognize the chosen Firefox settings in "Fonts & Colors." In my case, red.

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The following images should clarify the issue

Image #1: No links selected

Image #2: The "Top Stories" top left link selected. Notice the slight color change

Image #3: The first link below "Top Stories" now selected, distinctively red. Now, contrast that with the already selected/marked top left link in the same image

Modified by noel_envode

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Not sure if this is what you are talking about.

With most web browsers, the links you have not used are one color while links you have visited are changed to another.

If you want, you can select the colors you want the browser to use. [v56+] Type about:preferences#general<enter> in the address box. Under Language and Appearance find Fonts and Colors Press the Colors button and check the settings.

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FredMcD said

Not sure if this is what you are talking about. With most web browsers, the links you have not used are one color while links you have visited are changed to another. If you want, you can select the colors you want the browser to use. [v56+] Type about:preferences#general<enter> in the address box. Under Language and Appearance find Fonts and Colors Press the Colors button and check the settings.

Hi FredMcD

I've already done all that, as I explained earlier. It does not work for the google search "Top Stories" visited links.

The third image I posted show the "regular" search result link (below the "Top Stories") in red, and the "Top Stories" visited link in purple.

I want all visited links to display in red. Changing the options in Fonts and Colors has no effect on "Top Stories" visited links

Modified by noel_envode

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Firefox uses the link colors in Fonts and Colors as the default, but websites are able to override them with their own color scheme (unless you take the drastic step of totally overriding all website colors, which often gives poor results).

You can use an add-on to color the links, if you are comfortable with the permissions required. For example:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search/?q=visited%20link%20color&type=extension

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jscher2000 - Support Volunteer said

You can use an add-on to color the links
I haven't found any that work for this
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Google is known to specify a visit color that doesn't differ much from the not visited link color (i.e. is slightly more purplish and you may have to look more closely). Google might be using their own visit color only for the links under top sites and not for the results listed further down what would explain the difference in visit colors. When you make changes to the default colors then the result can be disappointing as some websites only specify either text color or background color and not both (i.e. they assume the default for the other: black text on light background), same for visit color.

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Chosen Solution

noel_envode said

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer said

You can use an add-on to color the links
I haven't found any that work for this

I see. Perhaps it's because the link is wrapped around a lot of other tags, so one of the interior tags may have styles that override the main style.

Do you use anything like Stylus? Stylus lets you inject rules to modify individual websites or all websites. For example:

a:visited, a:visited * {
    color: red !important;
}


By including the second selector (a:visited *) the rule applies to all the "child nodes" of the link. Screenshot attached.

Modified by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer

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jscher2000 - Support Volunteer said

Do you use anything like Stylus? Stylus lets you inject rules to modify individual websites or all websites. For example:
a:visited, a:visited * {
    color: red !important;
}


By including the second selector (a:visited *) the rule applies to all the "child nodes" of the link. Screenshot attached.

I thought Stylus was finished after Quantum was released. Good to know.


I currently use CustomCSSforFx. it has a usercontent.css file into which I had inserted

 a:visited * {
    color: red !important;
}


I altered it with your correction

a:visited, a:visited * {
    color: red !important;
}


Works like a charm! jscher2000 to the rescue once again!! Much appreciated.

Note: Is the spacing problem in these posts being addressed?

Modified by noel_envode

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jscher2000 - Support Volunteer said

I see. Perhaps it's because the link is wrapped around a lot of other tags, so one of the interior tags may have styles that override the main style. Do you use anything like Stylus? Stylus lets you inject rules to modify individual websites or all websites. For example:
a:visited, a:visited * {
    color: red !important;
}


By including the second selector (a:visited *) the rule applies to all the "child nodes" of the link. Screenshot attached.

I use CustomCSSforFx. It has a usercontent.css file into which I had added
a:visited * {
    color: red !important;
}


altered with your correction to

a:visited, a:visited * {
    color: red !important;
}


Works like a charm. Once again, jscher2000 to the rescue! Much appreciated.

Note: There seems to be some posting issues on this site. Spacing problems, and I had a lot of difficulty trying to upload the images. The circle just kept spinning. I had to retry it multiple time to get it to work. When I tried to insert that CustomCSSforFx link, it didn't display properly (no link text, just url). When I tried to edit it, this entire post was erased. Fortunately, I was able to recover it by going "back" several pages. However, I just tried to submit again, and this happened (see image)

Modified by noel_envode

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jscher2000 - Support Volunteer said

I see. Perhaps it's because the link is wrapped around a lot of other tags, so one of the interior tags may have styles that override the main style. Do you use anything like Stylus? Stylus lets you inject rules to modify individual websites or all websites. For example:
a:visited, a:visited * {
    color: red !important;
}


By including the second selector (a:visited *) the rule applies to all the "child nodes" of the link. Screenshot attached.

I use CustomCSSforFx. It has a my_userContent.css file into which I had added
a:visited * {
    color: red !important;
}


altered with your correction to

a:visited, a:visited * {
    color: red !important;
}


Works like a charm. Once again, jscher2000 to the rescue! Much appreciated.

Note: There seems to be some posting issues on this site. Spacing problems, and I had a lot of difficulty trying to upload the images. The circle just kept spinning. I had to retry it multiple time to get it to work. When I tried to insert that CustomCSSforFx link, it didn't display properly (no link text, just url). When I tried to edit it, this entire post was erased. Fortunately, I was able to recover it by going "back" several pages. However, I just tried to submit again, and this happened (see image)

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Oh, okay, userContent.css also works. The only advantage of Stylus is being able to experiment in real time (vs. userContent.css only being read at startup).

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jscher2000 - Support Volunteer said

Oh, okay, userContent.css also works. The only advantage of Stylus is being able to experiment in real time (vs. userContent.css only being read at startup).
Yes, I wasn't aware that Stylus had a revival after quantum initially made it incompatible. Thanks for mentioning it. I'll be using it in the future.