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popup under block control

Learn what pop-up windows are and what settings Firefox has for blocking or allowing them.

This document explains all of the settings available in Mozilla Firefox for controlling pop-ups. __TOC__ = What are pop-ups? = Pop-up windows, or pop-ups, are windows that appear automatically without your permission. They vary in size but usually don't cover the whole screen. Some pop-ups open on top of the current Firefox window, while others appear underneath Firefox (pop-unders). Firefox allows you to control both pop-ups and pop-unders through the [[Options window - Content panel|Content panel]] in the {for win}Options{/for}{for mac,linux}Preferences{/for} window. Pop-up blocking is turned on by default, so you don't have to worry about enabling it to prevent pop-ups from appearing in Firefox. {for fx4} When blocking a pop-up, Firefox displays an information bar (if it hasn’t been previously dismissed — see below), as well as an icon {for win}[[Image:pop-up-icon-win]] {/for}{for mac}[[Image:pop-up-icon-mac]]{/for}{for linux}[[Image:Popup-blocked.png]]{/for} in the location bar. {for win}<br/> [[Image:popup-win7]] <br/>{/for}{for mac}[[Image:Popup mac1]]{/for}{for linux}[[Image:Popup lin1]]{/for} When you click either the {button {for win}Options{/for}{for mac,linux}Preferences{/for}} button in the info bar or the icon in the location bar, a menu is displayed with the following choices: {/for} {for fx35} When blocking a pop-up, Firefox displays an information bar (if it hasn’t been previously dismissed — see below), as well as an icon {for win}[[Image:Popup-blocked-en-win.png]]{/for}{for mac,linux}[[Image:Popup-blocked.png]]{/for} in the status bar. {for win}<br/> [[Image:86c0e1094489ddd5611008de57d0afed-1260046952-121-1.png]] <br/>{/for}{for mac}<br/> [[Image:popupblocker-blocked-en-mac.png]] <br/>{/for} When you click either the {button {for win}Options{/for}{for mac,linux}Preferences{/for}} button in the information bar or the icon in the status bar, a menu is displayed with the following choices: {/for} * {menu Allow/Block pop-ups for this site} * {menu Edit [[#w_pop-up-blocker-settings|Pop-up Blocker {for win}Options{/for}{for mac,linux}Preferences{/for}…]]} * {menu Don't show info bar when pop-ups are blocked} * (show the blocked pop-up) {note}'''Blocking pop-ups may interfere with some websites''': Some websites, including some banking sites, use pop-ups for important features. Blocking all pop-ups disables such features. To allow specific websites to use pop-ups, while blocking all others, you can add specific websites to the list of allowed sites.{/note} {note}'''Blocking pop-ups doesn't always work''': Although Firefox blocks most pop-ups, some websites may show pop-ups using uncovered methods, even when blocked.{/note} = Pop-up blocker settings = To access the pop-up blocker settings: # [[T:optionspreferences]] # Select the {menu Content} panel. {for fx4}{for win,linux}<br/> <br/> [[Image:popup-options-win7]]<br/>{/for}{for mac}[[Image:Popup mac2]]{/for}{/for}{for win,linux,fx35}<br/> <br/> [[Image:86c0e1094489ddd5611008de57d0afed-1260046952-121-2.png]] <br/>{/for} In the content panel: * '''Block pop-up windows''': Uncheck this to disable the pop-up blocker altogether. * {button Exceptions}: This is a list of sites that you want to allow to display pop-ups. {for win}<br/> <br/> [[Image:86c0e1094489ddd5611008de57d0afed-1260046952-121-3.png]] <br/>{/for}{for mac}<br/> <br/> [[Image:popupblocker-exceptions-en-mac.png]] <br/>{/for}{for linux}[[Image:Popup lin2]]<br/>{/for} The dialog has the following choices: ** '''Allow''': Click this to add a website to the exceptions list. ** '''Remove Site''': Click this to remove a website from the exceptions list. ** '''Remove All Sites''': Click this to remove all of the websites in the exceptions list. {note}'''Note''': Blocking pop-ups may not always work and may interfere with some websites. For more information, see the [[#w_what_are_popups|What are Pop-ups?]] section above.{/note} = Pop-ups not being blocked = == Is the pop-up coming from Firefox? == The pop-up may not actually be coming from Firefox. You can determine where the pop-up is coming from by the appearance of the window. * If you see the location bar with the little bookmark star in the pop-up window, the pop-up is coming from Firefox. {for win}Another good indication is the Firefox logo or the orange Firefox button on Windows 7 in the top left corner of the window{/for}{for linux}Another good indication on Linux is if you see the text "- Mozilla Firefox" at the end of the title bar.{/for} * If not, you may have malware on your computer that causes the pop-ups. Scan your computer for viruses and spyware. For more details, see [[Is my Firefox problem a result of malware]]. {for fx4} {for win}[[Image:Popup Win3]] {/for}{for mac}[[Image:Popup mac3]]{/for}{for linux}[[Image:Popup lin3]]{/for} {/for} {for fx35,win}[[Image:86c0e1094489ddd5611008de57d0afed-1260046952-121-4.png]]{/for} == Is the pop-up blocker on and enabled for this site? == # [[T:optionspreferences]] # Select the {menu Content} panel. # Make sure the '''Block pop-up windows''' checkbox is checked. # To the right of '''Block pop-up windows''', click the {button Exceptions...} button. A dialog will appear that shows all the sites that are allowed to show pop-ups. # If the site that's opening pop-ups is in the list, select it and press {button Remove Site}. # {for win,linux}Click {button Close}{/for}{for mac}Close the Allowed Sites - Pop-ups window{/for}. # [[T:closeOptionsPreferences]]. == Is the pop-up shown after a mouse click or a key press? == Certain events, such as clicking or pressing a key, can spawn pop-ups regardless of if the pop-up blocker is on. This is so that Firefox doesn't block pop-ups that websites need to work. == Is it a true pop-up window? == Sometimes ads are designed to look like windows, but really aren't. Firefox's pop-up blocker can't stop these ads. {for fx4} {for win}[[Image:fake-popup-win7]] {/for}{for mac}[[Image:Popup mac4]]{/for} {/for} {for fx35,win}[[Image:86c0e1094489ddd5611008de57d0afed-1260046952-121-5.png]] {/for} [[Template:ShareArticle|link=http://mzl.la/MyNqBe]]