Independent search box toolbar no longer lets you hit enter to go to your default search provider

[shin0bi272]

I just noticed in firefox 128.0 that I can no longer click in the search box and hit enter to go to my default search provider's homepage.  That was the way I got to that page for years and now all of a sudden it doesnt work.  While sure I can just search using that search provider in that box, that box also keeps a record of my searches while going to the search provider homepage doesnt. 

[jam0921]

BTW

If you set browser.search.openintab and browser.urlbar.openintab to true in about:config, you won’t have to manually create a new tab.

[iwannabeakiwi]

At least make it optional through settings. It's evident a lot of people feel strongly about this change, so why not listen to them? Even if you have future plans, functionality should come second to none.

[Standard8]

Unfortunately we can't add preferences for everything. Each preference adds additional complexity and maintenance.

As has been mentioned elsewhere, there are other alternatives (bookmarks, new tab) that give quick and easy access.

[skizlock]

I am sorry but you cannot use that as an argument, the preference was already there, your team opted to disregard it because it assumed that it was not being used as much. Please call spade a spade. If they knew they could have built the new features with this consideration, but our satisfaction was deemed a negligible sacrifice because of this false assumption.

As for how the new address bar will fare with the search changes, it remains to be seen. You could have rolled it out with all the changes rather risk half baked changes and face this backlash. It would have been great for us as well as we could have experienced the whole thing and made sense of the why.

[iwannabeakiwi]

Well in that case, I think you're alienating an already shrunk userbase.

[skizlock]

Well things do not bode well for Mozilla. Since, the default search engine feature they use to monetize their browser, will become truly optional, due to the recent court order making default search engines monopolistic behaviour. The one that declared Google Search a bona-fide monopoly.

It will be a miracle that Mozilla can come up with the almost 400 million USD revenue it gets from Google. So I can see why this indifference is so abundant.

[ThePazuzu]

"We can't add a toggle to everything so we just remove stuff left and right."

I hope you can see how mediocre you sound.

Also, complexity my ass. You just need a boolean and an if statement. You have no idea how much I hate your mediocre guts.

[skizlock]

I seriously doubt your development team's assessment abilities.

It was the change in the flow that was being criticized in the first place and you opt to replace it with another change in the flow, how does that even remotely address the concern? 

Even worse you will make me use the keyboard as well!

At the end of the day, its not like we cannot have bookmarks to the same pages in the bookmarks toolbar, for most it will only be a click away. But it is still a change in the flow.

Thank you, but keep your change.

[NotAlex]

I'm disappointed to see that this change was more significant than it initially appeared. Removing the usability of the search bar in favor of achieving feature parity feels like the wrong decision. There were so many other alternatives, such as introducing a third bar for legacy users. This issue could have been resolved with a simple three-line bug fix, yet it seems there were ulterior motives.

It's disheartening to witness a change that has garnered more community pushback than any other in the past 130 versions of Firefox, and it’s unfortunate that Mozilla isn't willing to revert it. It's sad to see a company moving away from a focus on its customers like this.

[romanpaladino]

Making the feature available again via shift-click/shift-enter is not really a solution, is it..  Any so-call solution that will make you use the keyboard with multiple clicks thus disrupting workflow is not a real solution.

[LogUserFX]

If this is the solution I would rather stay as it is now before risking that even a script will not be able to put a patch on it. Let's wait for version 131 to evaluate whether some fork will keep the old feature.
About the 'complexity' at this point it almost comes to propose to remove the search box completely and give the opportunity to extension developers to integrate their own bar (which for obvious reasons will never happen).

[robg]

A solution that turns a simple mouse click into a mouse+keyboard shortcut is not a solution.

As a workaround, for now, I've set one of my mouse keys to insert a space.

[mozikep]

I just wanted to say thank you for at least including the "shift+enter" thing for the search box now.  That is sufficient for my needs.  Thanks.

[ThePazuzu]

Listen to me. You're an engineer. You're not an UX designer. If I wanted my search bar to work like the URL bar, I'd use the URL bar. Stop changing things. If you want to remove something, just add a toggle in about:config and stop messing with people's workflows. You are hurting FireFox. Just stop.

[Brianb253]

I too would like to thank you for taking into consideration those of us who like things they way they were. With that, my two options are to downgrade to 127 or to divorce myself from Firefox all together. The former is doable, the latter will take time as to trying to decide who is closer to FF and how much of my profile with be transferable.

Making us wait is the wrong attitude for a company to have. Changing for the sake of change is also wrong. This is how companies will eventually close or lose a large portion of the clients. Take BudLite and Harley Davidson as an example of what happen when you do something that was in the whim of either the management or the engineers.

With that in mind, I find the solution you presented as unacceptable. I am sorry you have gone this route but I applaud you for allowing me to have the fortitude to move on.

Again, thanks.

[iwannabeakiwi]

Hi all, I'm downgrading to an earlier release, and there's a prompt for whether to create a new profile. Will that option maintain my saved bookmarks and such? I have FF sync enabled.

[skizlock]

Yes, the bookmarks will remain. The customized settings in Firefox as well as extensions will be gone.

[wordleunlimited]

Why does the independent search box toolbar no longer let me hit enter to go directly to my default search provider? This used to be a quick and easy way to search, but now wordle it seems broken or unresponsive. Is this a bug or a change in functionality? Any advice or solutions would be appreciated!

[skizlock]

They have dropped the feature on a false assumption that it is not being used by many people.

[Standard8]

Please see here for the latest update: https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/independent-search-box-toolbar-no-longer-lets-you-hit-ent...

[117649]

It is until this day I didn't think about why was I want do a hit enter on empty search bar to open a new search engine tab and do search there.

What I'm looking at is the last search query I've input lingering in the search bar after I close the results tab.

I want hit enter on empty search bar to open a new engine tab is because I want not leave a trace in the search bar!

And this reveal the true intension behind this so called fix which is make you leave more trace for collect.

For a company speak of proceting customer's privacy where ever they go.

Mozilla you just make me sick now.

[Standard8]

By default, your history, including the search terms entered on the address & search bars are not sent to Mozilla. They go only to the search engine partner(s) you are using, and we record them on your machine in your Firefox profile. If you use Firefox Sync, then your profile data is encrypted before it is uploaded, so that Mozilla can't read it.

If you turn on "Improve the Firefox Suggest experience", only then may your search terms may be sent to Mozilla as part of the feature.

If you do not want the search bar to save the search terms locally, you can go into Settings -> Privacy & Security, and look for the History section. You can select to customise and turn off "Remember search and form history" option. We are going to look at expanding this in future.

[jscher2000]

---

@117649 wrote:

What I'm looking at is the last search query I've input lingering in the search bar after I close the results tab.

---

Do you mean the optional short search bar you can add to the main toolbar? That is the classic behavior for that bar. Users who add the bar often cite being able to edit their query over and over without having to start typing it again from scratch as the reason they prefer using the search bar over the address bar. If you do not find this behavior useful, you can remove the optional short search bar and run your searches from the address bar (the default configuration).

[ololuki]

Please revert this stupid change. I used search box not only to search something on different pages, but also to open main pages, e.g. google to go to maps or another that uses search box. I like to just click magnifying glass button and then click with left or middle button to open homepage on this or in the new tab.

[Kayayayaya]

Yet another feature Firefox removed because "people don't use it" despite the fact that it is something I used frequently. "Get a new workflow" is a horrible response to people who already had something that worked perfectly fine and didn't need to be removed for a bug that is seen by probably even fewer users than people who used blank searches.

[Flashheart8]

Please put this back how it was, I don't want to go to the Chrome side but needs must!

[skizlock]

The developers have apparently disregarded our feedback on the proposed solution which essentially is an insult to our protest.

They have even changed the previous bug for restoration of the feature to the following enhancement issue to address it:

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1907034

Do comment on it to let them know your thoughts.

[Kayayayaya]

They are also trying to add telemetry, which will inevitably be used to remove it again later since no power user is sending telemetry data. Same fate as the "open image" link from the right click menu.

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1915252

[skizlock]

Yes, I as a power user have telemetry turned off as well.

[Brianb253]

As already mentioned, I do believe that monetary reward at Mozilla with regards to Search Engines is the driving force. If it was otherwise just a random change they would have put it back by now. Money speaks louder that loyalty. Before I could put 150mm=in in the searchbar and get an answer without hitting return. That does not work anymore. I have to hit return which activate a search function, hence monetary thanks to Mozilla.

Guys, forget it. Nothing will happens. Bark all you want but the powers that be smell profit in lieu of good customer relations.

Note: @Standard8 the issue with 150mm=in in the search bar was caused by me not having Search Suggestions checked. You mentioned that in a recent post. It has been resolved now. Thanks. I retract that statement.

[Standard8]

The search suggestions in the search bar are provided by the search engine itself, they are not managed by Firefox nor Mozilla. The change being discussed here does not alter your capability to see search suggestions in the search bar.

As far as I know, it is only Google that offers an answer to `150mm=in` in the search suggestions. If you default engine is not set as Google, or you have turned off search suggestions, then you will not see that result.

[Brianb253]

Thanks Standard8. My search engine has been Google for many years. Since the change to the searchbar, nothing happens. Now, there maybe something else that I am missing, I don't know. But as far as I can tell, I have changed nothing.

[jscher2000]

---

@Brianb253 wrote:

Before I could put 150mm=in in the searchbar and get an answer without hitting return. That does not work anymore. I have to hit return which activate a search function, hence monetary thanks to Mozilla.

---

Seems to still work in the address bar:

and in the classic short search bar:

assuming that search engine suggestions are still enabled.

[Wazz]

As 15+ years user of Firefox I find this ridiculous change very disappointing and frustrating. There is literally no reason to do that other than "we wanted to make your life worse". This functionality was there for like 10 years at least, that was one of main reasons why I always found firefox more user friendly than chrome. Why remove it now???

[TechHorse]

Standard8, first of all thank you to the developers for listening to the feedback and agreeing to restore the original functionality.

However, and apologies if this has already been explained somewhere, why change it so that the user now needs to shift+enter or shift+click? Why can't the original enter-only / click-only functionality be restored?

Is the explanation that some new action is intended for enter / click with an empty search box, and that is why a new shift press needs to be added for the original actions?

Also, if there is some reason why enter / click-only  can no longer be used, then why add in the shift key specifically, as opposed to the alt key say? To my mind adding a shift press should open something in a new window?

[Pizzacat]

Just adding to the comments, please revert this change, it is annoying and takes away from ease of workflow

[EzekyleA]

With this ridiculous change, I am using Edge for the first time since it's out.

I changed its start page to google. Now it's just one click to have the google search open.

You made me use another browser I wouldn't have even looked at before. Good work if that was your intention.

[mcfx]

This is nonsense. I need to reach the home of some sites (eg Youtube) because they give me content automatically. Also I need the site to guide my search because it has my history and knows what I want. Searching from the search bar isn't always the best choice, bring back the empty search please

[Reiben]

We need this back. Just make it an option. Removing possibilities is always a bad decision. TBH - this might be a reason for me to drop firefox.

[Brianb253]

It looks like Firefox is trying to be like Edge or Chrome or Internet Explorer. I really won't hold your breath waiting for FF to revert back to pre-127. Ain't gonna happen.