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Restore old style address bar

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Hi,

I really really really hate the new address bar. In the last update it appeared in my browser and I had been able to make it go away with changing the following settings to false;


   browser.urlbar.openViewOnFocus
   browser.urlbar.update1
   browser.urlbar.update1.interventions
   browser.urlbar.update1.searchTips

I'm not sure if something updated between last night's shutdown and this morning's bootup but the ugly giant bar is back again and when I checked those settings in config they're all set to false. I tried toggling them true to false again but I can't get the old style bar back. I don't really want to revert to an older version as I know that's not secure. Does anyone have a way to get the bar back to how it used to be or is it time to use another browser?

Thanks!

Hi, I really really really hate the new address bar. In the last update it appeared in my browser and I had been able to make it go away with changing the following settings to false; browser.urlbar.openViewOnFocus browser.urlbar.update1 browser.urlbar.update1.interventions browser.urlbar.update1.searchTips I'm not sure if something updated between last night's shutdown and this morning's bootup but the ugly giant bar is back again and when I checked those settings in config they're all set to false. I tried toggling them true to false again but I can't get the old style bar back. I don't really want to revert to an older version as I know that's not secure. Does anyone have a way to get the bar back to how it used to be or is it time to use another browser? Thanks!

All Replies (5)

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Same, I hate it. It looks ugly, and it adds more steps to the process, before I could just click twice and be where I want to go, but now I am forced to start typing in the address for it to appear?! I did the same fix the last time it was forced on us, but like you it does not work now... I tried pretty much all of the other urlbar options as well with no change. I don't know who thought this was a good idea, but at least give us the option to use the older style urlbar if we want.

Modified by marduke83

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nevermind

Modified by nucleozap

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lol :)

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marduke83 said

It looks ugly,

That is something you can address with custom style rules, more on that if you're interested.

and it adds more steps to the process, before I could just click twice and be where I want to go, but now I am forced to start typing in the address for it to appear?

If you keep browser.urlbar.openViewOnFocus set to true, then when the cursor enter the address bar, a list of your first 8 Top Sites from the new tab page should drop down. If you remove unwanted items from the Top Site list, it will become very similar to the old history list.

This article has the steps for cleaning out unwanted Top Sites: Customize your Firefox New Tab page.

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heinekenmacaroni said

... the ugly giant bar is back again and when I checked those settings in config they're all set to false.

The update1 preference is the one that stopped working. You can use style rules in an optional userChrome.css file to prevent the enlargement of the address bar box.

It's a little bit involved, so please set aside 10 quiet minutes to work through it.

(For anyone who already has a userChrome.css file set up, you just need to add the rules you downloaded under (A) to your file.)

(A) Download a rules file

https://www.userchrome.org/samples/userChrome-ZeroEnlargement.css

Use the downloads list on the toolbar to open the downloads folder directly to the new userChrome.css file. (See attached screenshot)

Minimize that file browser window for later reference.

(B) Create a new chrome folder in your profile folder

The following article has the detailed steps for that (#1, #2, and I recommend #3)

https://www.userchrome.org/how-create-userchrome-css.html

I have videos for both Windows and Mac in case the text is not clear.

(C) Move the userChrome-ZeroEnlargement.css file you downloaded in Step A into the chrome folder you created in Step B

(D) If you do not already have a userChrome.css file, Rename the userChrome-ZeroEnlargement.css file

Right-click userChrome-ZeroEnlargement.css and choose Rename. Carefully remove -ZeroEnlargement and press Enter to save your change. The final file name needs to be userChrome.css or Firefox will never find it.

(E) Set Firefox to look for userChrome.css at startup -- see step #6 in the above article.

The next time you exit Firefox and start it up again, it should discover that file and apply the rules.

Success?

Once you start tweaking the interface this way, you'll probably find more and more things you want to do. I suggest bookmarking the pages where you get the code for future reference because changes to Firefox may break them and it's easier to request an update if you can find the source.

More info on the bar: https://www.userchrome.org/megabar-styling-firefox-address-bar.html

Modified by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer