You can consider to add the regular search bar to the Navigation Toolbar or to the overflow area (>>) to make Ctrl+K focus this search bar instead of the location bar and avoid getting the '?'.

Doing so ctrl+E and ctrl+K focus on the search bar, not on url bar anymore... ):

I want to use ctrl+E to focus in the url bar, to type a new url, or bookmark, etc. Not for searching...

those where always the shortcuts to focus the search bar.

keyboard shortcuts to focus the address bar are: ctrl+l, alt+s, f6 Keyboard shortcuts - Perform common Firefox tasks quickly

Yes, but alt+S doesn't work (opens history menu), and ctrl+L and F6 are a bit far away from my left hand. Thus I tested and find ctrl+E, which worked like a charm, and been using this for years...

As I didn't have a search bar, makes perfectly sense it focus on the Awesome Bar, which also works as search. But this "? " appearing seems too much counter intuitive.

Would one start a search with "? " just because it's as search? I already make use of something similar, with a bunch of tagged bookmarks, didn't see any good in this "prefix"..

sorry, those shortcuts seem to be locale specific, in english builds it's alt+d according to the documentation...

The Alt key sequence to focus the location bar is Alt+D in most locales (Alt+D or Ctrl+L). In locales where Alt+D opens a menu drop-down list (e.g. German: Datei) there is an alternative Alt key sequence.

philipp said

sorry, those shortcuts seem to be locale specific, in english builds it's alt+d according to the documentation...

But I'm using the US build... :s In your previous comment you said alt+S, but alt+D works. Thanks mate!

cor-el said

The Alt key sequence to focus the location bar is Alt+D in most locales (Alt+D or Ctrl+L). In locales where Alt+D opens a menu drop-down list (e.g. German: Datei) there is an alternative Alt key sequence.

Thanks a lot! alt+D works fine, and I can become used with this very easily.

It ins't exactly a solution for the question, but works perfectly fine.