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Controlling address bar search results

  • 10 replies
  • 0 have this problem
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  • Last reply by technomad

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I always want the address bar suggestions to start with my bookmarks. Is there a way to control the results? I remember there was something in about:config previously.

I always want the address bar suggestions to start with my bookmarks. Is there a way to control the results? I remember there was something in about:config previously.

All Replies (10)

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The location bar drop-down list can show history items, bookmarked pages, pages opened in tabs, top sites, and search suggestions. You can set what suggestions show when you enter an URL in the location/address bar bar.

  • Settings -> Privacy & Security
    Address Bar: When using the location bar, suggest:
    Browsing history
    Bookmarks
    Open tabs
    Shortcuts
    Search engines

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Thanks for you reply. Firefox has its own opaque method for choosing what appears first. Those settings are the pool from which it chooses, not the order in which they appear.

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You can use the star (* + space) operator to search bookmarks. In case you missed this, see "Changing results on the fly":

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I saw all of that. It's just extra work.

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Modified by technomad

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Prioritize bookmarks by changing places.frecency.bookmarkVisitBonus and also places.frecency.unvisitedBookmarkBonus to 2000 in about:config. This is the same score used for typed visits in the address bar.

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That did it. Thanks!

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Somehow places.frequency.bookmarkVisitBonus got reset to 75. Do updates change these settings?

Modified by technomad

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Visit about:studies in the address bar and see if there are any active experiments related to address bar suggestions or the places database.

Check your profile folder for a user.js file which will override about:config settings on startup.

See if there are active enterprise policies listed in about:policies.

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There were many studies, not sure if any relate to address bar suggestions.

I remember a long time ago disabling that feature. It is possible I clean installed Firefox since then. I guess I will have to remember to do see if I clean install again.

Modified by technomad