Window Titler not showing in Firefox
When I open up the Add-ons Manager it shows Window Titler is turned on. But Ctrl-Alt-T no longer works, there is no button showing for it, and it seems to be gone. A button for it does not appear in Customize Toolbar. It is the single most important reason I stay with Firefox. How do I get it to work again? Thoughts appreciated.
Chosen solution
Dale.Lundy, perhaps it is a problem within your profile? Have you tried testing in a new profile?
If you haven't then you could try the following.
- enter about:profiles in the address bar and press enter
- if there is more than one profile listed, then you may wish to note which one is currently set as the default profile in case you need to reset it back as default later
- select "Create a New Profile" near the top
- follow the wizard to create a new test profile
- on about:profiles, select "Launch profile in new browser" under the newly created test profile in the list
- in the new test profile in the newly opened window, install the add-on and test (not only whether it works, but also whether left-clicking the extension button opens a dropdown list rather than opening about:addons)
Note, as ever it may be best to restart Firefox after the add-on install. If Firefox does not restart with the test profile then go back to about:profiles and select its "Launch profile in new browser" button.
Note also, creating a new profile may set it as the default profile that Firefox launches at start-up. If this happens then after you've finished testing you may wish to go back to about:profiles and select "Set as default profile" under your normal profile.
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Dale.Lundy, does this add-on appear in the extensions button's dropdown list near the top right of the screen? If it does, you should be able to right-click the add-on and pin it to the toolbar from there.
As for the hotkey, if you go to the add-ons page, select the "Tools for all add-ons" button then select "Manage Extension Shortcuts", maybe there are options to re-enable the hotkey there?
If not, then you can go back to the main add-ons page, find the add-on in the list, select its menu button then select any 'options' or 'manage' items that appear, and see if there is an option to enable the hotkey there.
Modified
Thank you for those thoughts.
1. No add-ons in the extension button's drop-down. When I right-click I see pin to overhead menu (grayed out), remove from toolbar (grayed out), Menu Bar, Bookmarks Toolbar>, and Customize Toolbar. If I left-click it opens up a tab for Add-ons manager. If in the Add-on Manager i click on Extensions it then shows the extensions with Windows Titler enabled and toggled on. It did puzzle me that the Remove from Toolbar is grayed out, yet when I go to the Customize Toolbar the button that I've used before for it did not appear there either.
2. I don't see a Tool for All Add-ons button but when I click on settings I do get a Manage Extension Shortcuts. That page shows Ctrl+Alt+T as the shortcut, which is the same as the shortcut I've been using.
3. The menu on the Add-on Manager page shows three options for Window Titler -- Remove, Report, or Manage. When I hit Manage I get a Window Titler page with general information. It's options are:
- Allow automatic updates: Default
- Run in Private Windows: Don't allow
- Run on sites with Restrictions: Don't allow
and it shows version 3.0 and other nonchangeable information like the author and homepage, last updated June 2, 2021.
Apologies if I'm looking in the wrong places or overlooking something. As before, I appreciate the help.
I decided a couple of months or so ago to quit using Windows Titler due to the fact that a message said you don't check it. I think/though I uninstalled it. It didn't take me long to realize that this was a tool I couldn't live without, and so I reinstalled it. But though it shows enabled and activated, I simply haven't been able to get it work since then.
Dale.Lundy, to clarify, when you left-click the extensions button no dropdown list is shown, instead you are taken to the about:addons page?
I think that this should only happen if all add-ons are disabled, or are pinned to the toolbar? Do your other add-ons work normally?
Note an add-on can be disabled under certain circumstances despite being listed as enabled on the about:addons page.
- Are you running in Troubleshoot Mode? If so, try turning it off.
- Or are you in a private window while none of the add-ons have permission to run in private windows? If so, try switching to a normal window.
IF you are not in Troubleshoot Mode or this is not due to private windows, then I have heard of people solving this and getting the dropdown list back by manually disabling each individual add-on on the about:addons page, and then re-enabling them.
Although if you try this you may wish to first note or export any custom settings or data that you have made or added to each add-on, as these can be lost when you toggle an add-on off. Also, Firefox restarts after disabling and after re-enabling the extensions can't hurt.
If any of these suggestions bring back the dropdown list for when you left-click on the extensions button, then you can see if this has also brought the icon back to the toolbar.
If it hasn't, then the next step is to find Window Titler in the newly-restored dropdown list, right-click it, and ensure that it is pinned to the toolbar.
Modified
Yes, when I left-click the extensions button it opens a tab it entitles Add-ons Manager which shows "about:addons" in the address/url. It opens with recommendations highlighted in the left column. When I click on "Extensions" in the left column it shows four extensions enabled -- Duck Duck Go Privacy Essentials, Sidebery, Tree Style Tab, Window Titler, Windscribe. It shows two extensions disabled. Do the enabled ones all work? I don't know how to tell if DDG Privacy Essentials or Windscribe are working since I run Windscribe as my system VPN anyway. From what I read about Tree Style Tab, it does not appear to be working, but I haven't paid any attention to it in a long time. I believe Sidebery may be working as I have a column on the left of the screen that can show bookmarks, history, or synced tabs.
No, not running in troubleshooting mode or a private window. I will be glad to try disabling, then enabling as you suggest. Nothing I particularly need to save except I would like to make sure the bookmarks remain (assuming it is Sidebery that is showing that column). If you could let me know how to save them, then I'll try the disabling/enabling and see if it resolves the problem.
Again, thanks for your continued help.
Dale.Lundy, yes there does seem to be an issue with your add-ons.
I am not familiar with Sidebery, but if you are talking about the bookmarks that are shown in the side panel that appears when you go to View menu > Sidebar > Bookmarks and enable it, then these should just be the Firefox bookmarks and should not be removed.
Still, it can't hurt to make a bookmarks backup just in case. This is easy to do, see the "Manual backup" subsection of the "Backup and restore" section here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/restore-bookmarks-from-backup-or-move-them
But before you try disabling then re-enabling, it may be worth checking that all add-ons are up to date? To do this go to about:addons > Extensions, click the settings button then click "Check for Updates".
If all are up to date, or updating does not fix the issue, then of course it's time for disabling / enableing.
If that does not fix the issue, then the next step would be to fulli uninstall then reinstall add-ons, starting with Window Titler. and once again remembering to restart Firefox inbetween add-on uninstalls and reinstalls..
Modified
- I checked that all add-ons were up-to-date. It said they were.
- I disabled all add-ons. Then I enabled windows titler only. No change.
- I removed all add-ons. I closed Firefox. I rebooted. I reinstalled Windows Titler. It said it was added. I rebooted. I checked it and no change. Still said enabled. Still not response to Ctrl-Alt-T. Still no winows titler icon in toolbar and also none available in customize toolbar.
This is really puzzling me. I appreciate you continued help.
Dale.Lundy, has the extensions button started working correctly at least? As in, if you left-click it you get a dropdown list of add-ons, as opposed to being taken to the about:addons page?
And if the dropdown list appears, is Window Titler listed and can you right-click it and pin it to the toolbar from here?
Modified
Sorry for the delay. Extremely busy past few days.
No, the extensions button still takes me to the about:addons page.
Chosen Solution
Dale.Lundy, perhaps it is a problem within your profile? Have you tried testing in a new profile?
If you haven't then you could try the following.
- enter about:profiles in the address bar and press enter
- if there is more than one profile listed, then you may wish to note which one is currently set as the default profile in case you need to reset it back as default later
- select "Create a New Profile" near the top
- follow the wizard to create a new test profile
- on about:profiles, select "Launch profile in new browser" under the newly created test profile in the list
- in the new test profile in the newly opened window, install the add-on and test (not only whether it works, but also whether left-clicking the extension button opens a dropdown list rather than opening about:addons)
Note, as ever it may be best to restart Firefox after the add-on install. If Firefox does not restart with the test profile then go back to about:profiles and select its "Launch profile in new browser" button.
Note also, creating a new profile may set it as the default profile that Firefox launches at start-up. If this happens then after you've finished testing you may wish to go back to about:profiles and select "Set as default profile" under your normal profile.
Modified
That worked!! As soon as I launched the new profile and installed Window Titler it worked! And yes, now when I left-click on the extension button I get the drop-down.
It's been quite a while since I set up Firefox so I don't recall if I've made any modifications to the original profile or not? Where can I look to check that? I assume then I can set the new profile as default and delete the old one?
Thanks for working me through this!
Dale.Lundy, good to hear that a fix has been found!
Unfortunately you will need to reinstall add-ons and redo any custom Firefox settings in the new profile. I am not sure that there is an easy way to see what settings have been changed from a default install. Perhaps someone else knows a way? You might find some modified settings by going to "about:config" and selecting "Show only modified preferences". But not sure how useful the results here would be though.
However, there is a lot of data (such as bookmarks and passwords etc.) that can be transferred from the original profile to the new profile just by copying files on the hard drive. For a list of such files see the "Your important data and their files" section here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recovering-important-data-from-an-old-profile#w_your-important-data-and-their-files
For example, bookmarks and browsing history are saved in a file called "places.sqlite". To transfer these you can do the following:
- go to about:profiles
- press the "Open Folder" button underneath the two profiles to open them in File Explorer
- alt+tab back to Firefox and make sure that it is fully closed by, for example, opening the File menu (alt+F) and selecting "Exit"
- (optional) before proceeding further you may wish to copy the entire original profile folder to a backup location, so that all your important data is backed up.
- copy the file "places.sqlite" from the original profile folder to the new one
Once you have copied over all the individual files that you wish to, and once you have finished setting up your new profile, then yes you can set it as default and remove the original. Or you can keep it as an extra backup of your bookmarks and passwords etc. if you wanted.