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Why page searches don't work and always return "phrase not found" sometimes even on html text sites.

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

foxmoldierfire
foxmoldierfire
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Command F or single quote searches return maybe one match but stop working after that. This occurs even on html sites with text. This page seems to work but mostly it doesn't work like Wikipedia searches for key words. Not sure why. Any ideas?

Command F or single quote searches return maybe one match but stop working after that. This occurs even on html sites with text. This page seems to work but mostly it doesn't work like Wikipedia searches for key words. Not sure why. Any ideas?

All Replies (2)

Shadow110
Shadow110
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What Security Program are you running and Extensions please ?

Try Firefox Safe Mode to TEST & see if the problem goes away. Firefox Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode that temporarily turns off hardware acceleration, resets some settings, and disables add-ons (extensions and themes).

If Firefox is open, you can restart in Firefox Safe Mode from the Help menu:

  • Click the menu button New Fx Menu, click Help Help-29 and select Restart with Add-ons Disabled.

If Firefox is not running, you can start Firefox in Safe Mode as follows:

  • On Windows: Hold the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
  • On Mac: Hold the option key while starting Firefox.
  • On Linux: Quit Firefox, go to your Terminal and run firefox -safe-mode
    (you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)

When the Firefox Safe Mode window appears, select "Start in Safe Mode".

SafeMode-Fx35

If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, theme, or hardware acceleration. Please follow the steps in the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article to find the cause.

To exit Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.

When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help others with the same problem.

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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The Find bar has settings to search for "Whole Words" and "Match Case" that are hidden when you use Quick search, so open the Find bar via Ctrl+F and check these.

Related prefs as found on the about:config page.

  • findbar.entireword = false
  • findbar.highlightAll = false
  • accessibility.typeaheadfind.casesensitive = 0