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Firefox misinterprets a link in my webpage as referring to the same folder the page is in.

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  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by pat.b

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I have a webpage with a link to another webpage. The link is in the form <a href="http:\\www.sitename.com" target="new"> In IE, when I hover over the link the address http:\\www.sitename.com appears at the bottom of the screen, and the page opens with no trouble.

However, in Firefox when I hover over the link this appears at the bottom of the screen:

addressofcurrentpage/\\www.sitename.com

and when I click on the link, I get a 404 message telling me that page does not exist.

Why is Firefox rewriting my link's address for me, and how can I make it stop?

I have a webpage with a link to another webpage. The link is in the form <a href="http:\\www.sitename.com" target="new"> In IE, when I hover over the link the address http:\\www.sitename.com appears at the bottom of the screen, and the page opens with no trouble. However, in Firefox when I hover over the link this appears at the bottom of the screen: addressofcurrentpage/\\www.sitename.com and when I click on the link, I get a 404 message telling me that page does not exist. Why is Firefox rewriting my link's address for me, and how can I make it stop?

Chosen solution

Yes, you need to use http:// instead of http:\\ in the link. Basically, never use a backslash anywhere in a URL in Firefox.

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Chosen Solution

Yes, you need to use http:// instead of http:\\ in the link. Basically, never use a backslash anywhere in a URL in Firefox.

Modified by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer

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Also, the forum software detected your Firefox as version 26. Is that correct?

Version 26 is not secure; Mozilla discloses security flaws after each new release. Is something holding you back from upgrading to Firefox 42? Please let us know so we can suggest solutions or workarounds. Or if you just need a link: https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/all/ (scroll down to your preferred language)

If Help > About Firefox shows Firefox 42.0, you may need to clear the preference that is misreporting your version number. See: How to reset the default user agent on Firefox.

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Thank you! That appears to have fixed my problem.