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How do I get the cursor to default into the google search bar on my homepage?

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  • 19 have this problem
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  • Last reply by Happy112

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Google.com is my Firefox Homepage, however the cursor does not default there. I have to click the mouse to get the cursor to activate in the Google search box

Google.com is my Firefox Homepage, however the cursor does not default there. I have to click the mouse to get the cursor to activate in the Google search box

Chosen solution

Where is the cursor when you start up or when you launch a new window?

Bookmarks Sidebar

Several users have reported that if the Bookmarks Sidebar is open, Firefox will move the cursor into the search box in the sidebar. To return the cursor to the search box in the page, you can close the sidebar. On Windows, you can press Ctrl+b to do that.

Hopefully in a future version of Firefox, the cursor will only move into that sidebar when you first open it rather than every time you open a new window.

Address Bar

On a new tab -- for example, when you click the "+" button or press Ctrl+t -- the cursor is always in the address bar.

If you have the new design for the new tab page, called the "Activity Stream," it may affect the home page as well. What does your new tab page look like?

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Chosen Solution

Where is the cursor when you start up or when you launch a new window?

Bookmarks Sidebar

Several users have reported that if the Bookmarks Sidebar is open, Firefox will move the cursor into the search box in the sidebar. To return the cursor to the search box in the page, you can close the sidebar. On Windows, you can press Ctrl+b to do that.

Hopefully in a future version of Firefox, the cursor will only move into that sidebar when you first open it rather than every time you open a new window.

Address Bar

On a new tab -- for example, when you click the "+" button or press Ctrl+t -- the cursor is always in the address bar.

If you have the new design for the new tab page, called the "Activity Stream," it may affect the home page as well. What does your new tab page look like?

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All I know it that I pressed ctrl+ b nothing seemed to happen, however when I opened Firefox the cursor WAS activated, blinking in the Google search box. The result I was looking for. Thanks so much

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My problem with the curser is on a mac so windows solutions don't help. Previously the curser defaulted to my duckduckgo search engine box on my home page but now it defaults to the bookmark search box so I have to remember to click in the duckduckgo box before typing. I was hoping the new firefox upgrade which I installed today would fix that problem but no, it didn't.

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firefoxuser1234 said

My problem with the curser is on a mac so windows solutions don't help. Previously the curser defaulted to my duckduckgo search engine box on my home page but now it defaults to the bookmark search box so I have to remember to click in the duckduckgo box before typing. I was hoping the new firefox upgrade which I installed today would fix that problem but no, it didn't.

Would you please continue this in your thread here :

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1181823

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firefoxuser1234 said

My problem with the curser is on a mac so windows solutions don't help.

To find the keyboard shortcut for the Bookmarks Sidebar, you can use

Help > Keyboard shortcuts

If the support articles are not adapting to your OS, expand the Editing Tools in the left column, and you can select "Mac" there.

Spoiler alert:

Bookmarks Sidebar => Command+b

Generally speaking, where Windows users use Ctrl, Mac users use Cmd. But due to "platform conventions" established by Microsoft and Apple, the shortcuts are sometimes different.

Modified by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer

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jscher2000 said

Bookmarks Sidebar => Command+b
Generally speaking, where Windows users use Ctrl, Mac users use Cmd.
But due to "platform conventions" established by Microsoft and Apple, the shortcuts are sometimes different.

See my last post in the new thread the OP started : https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1181823