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location smart address urlbar autofill autocomplete bookmarked

As you type in address bar, Firefox suggests websites you've visited, bookmarked or tagged. Learn more and get to the sites you want within a few keystrokes.

The location bar, also called the URL bar or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Address_bar address bar], displays a site's web address (URL). We call it the Awesome Bar because it remembers those websites you've visited before, guesses where you're trying to go and displays a list of suggested sites you can choose from.The more you use it, the better it gets. This article covers the details of how the location bar autocomplete feature works and will have you using it like a pro in no time. The location bar can also be used for other types of searches. For more information, you can see: * [[Search the web from the Address Bar]] * [[How to search IMDB, Wikipedia and more from the address bar]] __TOC__ [[Video:Awesome Bar]] = How to use the autocomplete list = Just start typing in the location bar and the autocomplete drop-down will show matching sites from your browsing history, as well as sites you've bookmarked or tagged. Matched terms are highlighted, making the list of results easy to scan. When you see the site you want, just click on it or use the up and down arrows on your keyboard to highlight it and then press {for win,linux}{key Enter}{/for}{for mac}{key Return}{/for}. :{for win}[[Image:Awesome Bar dropdown2 win]]{/for}{for mac}[[Image:Awesome Bar dropdown2 mac]]{/for}{for linux}[[Image:Awesome Bar dropdown2 lin]]{/for} The part of the entry that matches what you've typed will show in '''bold'''. The location bar will display results for: * Web addresses from pages in history that match what you have typed * Page titles from history that match what you have typed * Bookmark titles that match what you have typed * Bookmarks with tag names that match what you've typed The location bar also learns from your browsing behavior. It adjusts results based on how frequently you visit each site, how recently you visited there, and what result you clicked on for the characters or words typed. This way, sites you visit all the time will show up at the top of the list, often after typing only one character. {for fx14} ==URL autocomplete == Firefox will also complete URLs of websites that you've been to before. For example, if you type "aw" Firefox may autocomplete "awesomefoundation<!-- -->.org" if you've visited that site in the past. Pressing {for win,linux}{key Enter}{/for}{for mac}{key Return}{/for} in this case would take you directly to that address. :[[Image:URL Autocomplete - Win]] === Prevent Firefox from automatically completing URLs === In addition to the autocomplete list that shows up below the address bar, Firefox will automatically complete URLs in the address bar as you type them. If you want to turn this feature off, follow these steps: #[[T:aboutconfig]] #In the '''Search''' field, type '''browser.urlbar.autofill'''. #Double-click the {pref browser.urlbar.autofill} preference to set its value to {pref '''false'''}. {/for} ==Switch to tab== The location bar also searches through your open tabs, displaying results with a tab icon and the text "Switch to tab". Selecting these results will switch you to the already open tab instead of creating a duplicate. :{for win}[[Image:Switch to tab win]]{/for}{for mac}[[Image:Switch to tab mac]]{/for} ==Search the web== If the location bar doesn't come up with the result you want (or any results), it just means that it isn't in your history, bookmarks or tags. The good news is that you're not out of luck because you can also search the web right from the location bar. Just press {for win,linux}{key Enter}{/for}{for mac}{key Return}{/for} and the term you've entered in the location bar will become a Google search. For details, see [[Search the web from the Address Bar]]. == What can I do to get the best results? == * When you want to go to a website you've visited before, type a few letters from its web address or page title. Scroll through the autocomplete entries and find the page in the list (type in another letter if you don't see it listed). Press {for win,linux}{key Enter}{/for}{for mac}{key Return}{/for} to go to the selected web address. Firefox will give this entry/result combination higher weight in the future. * Do not clear the Browsing History - usually the richest source of autocomplete entries is from the title/web address combination. [[Remove recent browsing, search and download history|Clearing browsing history]] will remove these entries from the results. * Bookmark and tag frequently - used pages. The location bar will match on the name you give the bookmark and also tags associated with the bookmark. See the [[How to use bookmarks to save and organize your favorite websites]] article for more information on how to use bookmarks in Firefox. You can improve your autocomplete results by tagging pages with easily-typed tag names. = How can I control what results the location bar shows me? = == Changing your location bar settings == You can turn off the location bar autocomplete feature or restrict the results to exclude your bookmarks or history: # [[T:optionspreferences]] # Select the {menu Privacy} panel. # Beside '''When using the location bar, suggest:''' select any of the following: {for win}[[Image:Awesome Privacy Win]]{/for}{for mac}[[Image:Awesome Privacy Mac]]{/for} #* '''History and Bookmarks''': Use both browsing history and bookmarks in the autocomplete list. #* '''History''': Use browsing history in the autocomplete list, but don't use bookmarks. #*'''Bookmarks''': Use bookmarks in the autocomplete list, but don't use browsing history. #*'''Nothing''': Turn off the autocomplete list. # [[T:closeOptionsPreferences]] == Removing autocomplete results == If you want to remove an entry from the autocomplete list: # In the location bar, use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to highlight the entry. # Press {for win,linux}{key Delete}{/for}{for mac}{key Shift}+{key Delete}{/for} to remove the item from the list. If you want to remove all the history results from the autocomplete list, clear Firefox's Browsing History. See the [[Remove recent browsing, search and download history]] article for instructions. {note}'''Note''': Autocomplete items from bookmarks will not be removed from the results if you attempt to delete them or clear the browsing history. These items have a star. To remove these items, [[How do I delete a bookmark?|delete the associated bookmark]], or [[#w_changing-your-location-bar-settings|exclude bookmarks in the location bar settings]].{/note} ==Changing results on the fly == If you are looking for a specific type of result, like a bookmark or tag, you can speed up the process of finding it by typing in special characters anywhere in the location bar separated by spaces: * Add '''<nowiki>^</nowiki>''' to search for matches in your browsing history. * Add '''*''' to search for matches in your bookmarks. * Add '''+''' to search for matches in pages you've tagged. * Add '''%''' to search for matches in your currently open tabs. * Add '''~''' to search for matches in pages you've typed. * Add '''#''' to search for matches in page titles. * Add '''@''' to search for matches in web addresses (URLs). For example, if you're looking for a page you bookmarked called ''Mozilla Firefox Support'', you might type ''mozilla''. The autocomplete results appear, but might not show the page you want. You can narrow your results down to bookmarks only by making your search string ''mozilla  *''. If you still have too many results, you can further restrict the search by making your search string ''mozilla  *  support  #''. Now the autocomplete list will only show bookmarked pages with ''mozilla'' and ''support'' in the page title. {for not fx14} == Filling in automatically while typing a web address == If you don't want to select a result in the autocomplete list while you are typing a web address, you can set Firefox to fill in it automatically: #[[T:aboutconfig]] #In the '''{for not fx11}Filter{/for}{for fx11}Search{/for}''' field, type '''browser.urlbar.autofill'''. #Double-click the {pref browser.urlbar.autofill} preference to set its value to {pref '''true'''}. Type the first few letters of a web address, it will suggest one web address that matches. Type additional letters until it shows the web address you want and press {for win,linux}{key Enter}{/for}{for mac}{key Return}{/for}. {/for} [[Template:ShareArticle|link=http://mzl.la/KYt8ip]]