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cursor focus won't remain in the url bar when a new tab is opened

  • 3 replies
  • 11 have this problem
  • 4 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

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Before upgrading to the latest version of FF, i was able to click new tab, then immediately begin typing into the url bar to either select from the dropdown bookmarks/history list or just do a google search by typing something and hitting enter. Now after upgrading to the latest FF, I'm unable to open a new tab without manually needing to refocus the cursor onto the url bar after the page loads a bit. I am aware of keyboard shortcuts that allow the focus to return to the url bar, but what I'm asking is if there's a way to revert back to the way I was using FF before. I will downgrade if necessary, because my fingers are injured and I need things to be easy like they were before the upgrade. Thank you.

Before upgrading to the latest version of FF, i was able to click new tab, then immediately begin typing into the url bar to either select from the dropdown bookmarks/history list or just do a google search by typing something and hitting enter. Now after upgrading to the latest FF, I'm unable to open a new tab without manually needing to refocus the cursor onto the url bar after the page loads a bit. I am aware of keyboard shortcuts that allow the focus to return to the url bar, but what I'm asking is if there's a way to revert back to the way I was using FF before. I will downgrade if necessary, because my fingers are injured and I need things to be easy like they were before the upgrade. Thank you.

All Replies (3)

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Hmm I hope this thread is still active since accidentally making a duplicate...

The problem has since seemed to resolve itself, but I will post again if the issue returns.

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The cursor definitely should move into the address bar when you open a new tab, for example using the + button or Ctrl+t. However, if you launch a whole new window, the focus normally will be on the body of the page instead of the address bar.

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You have a few extensions that have settings for the new tab page and that may set the focus to the location/address bar. You can check their Options/Preferences of the about:addons page.

  • New Tab Homepage
  • Classic Theme Restorer

Your System Details list shows that you have a user.js file in the profile folder to initialize prefs each time Firefox starts. The user.js file will only be present if you or other software has created this file and normally won't be present.

You can check its content with a text editor (right-click: "Open with"; do not double-click). The user.js file is read each time Firefox is started and initializes preferences to the value specified in this file, so preferences set via user.js can only be changed temporarily for the current session.

You can delete the user.js file if you didn't create this file yourself.