Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- firefox_web_browser [2026/03/08 10:37] – mike
+++ firefox_web_browser [2026/09/29 20:29] (current) – mike
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ====== Firefox Web Browser ======
-Tips, tricks, tweaks, fixes and anything else related to the [[https://www.firefox.com|Firefox Web Browser]] can be found here.
+Tips, tricks, tweaks, fixes and anything else related to the [[https://www.firefox.com|Firefox Web Browser]] can be found here.  They are listed in no particular order, although it seems like the things that irritate me the most are getting added to the top of the list lately.
-----
 ===== Tweaks =====
+Unless otherwise noted, each of the following "fixes" requires going into the advanced configuration menu, which is accomplished by typing **about:config** into the Firefox address bar, hitting enter, and then acknowledging the “Accept the Risk and Continue” button.
+==== Disable the new rounded formatting that nobody asked for ====
+  * Paste **browser.nova.enabled** into the Search Preference Name bar
+  * Toggle the preference to **false**
+==== Disable the annoying AF split screen stupidity ====
+Didn't ask for it, don't want it.  And yet, they keep sending it.
+This time it's the abhorrently stupid "Split Screen" feature, which they suddenly thrust upon me.  No problem, right?  Wrong.  It became the 2nd option on the right click menu, just below the "Open in New Tab" option that I click on constantly.  So yeah, shame on me - if my clicking accuracy were better and more consistent, perhaps I wouldn't accidentally click on it but it's not and so here we are.
+  * Paste **browser.tabs.splitView.enabled** into the Search Preference Name bar
+  * Toggle the preference to **false**
+  * Wait for the next dumb thing they throw at me
+==== Disable the stupid beep when a phrase is not found during find or search ====
+I am trying extremely hard not to turn this wiki into a profanity-laden rant, but this one really nearly pushed me over the edge.
+I load a web page in the browser - check.\\
+I hit CTRL-F to open the find dialog so I can search the page - check.\\
+I start typing and, either I fat finger what I am looking for or what I'm looking for is not on the page.  Either way, the browser issues an audible (and increasingly rant-inducing) beep.  For the love of God, make it stop.
+  * Paste **accessibility.typeaheadfind.enablesound** into the Search Preference Name bar
+  * Toggle the preference to **false**
+  * Enjoy the silence.  For now.
 ==== Page Cache Fix ====
 **Issue:** Firefox is ridiculous when it comes to caching web pages, to the point that when a particular page’s content changes, the browser doesn’t even notice.  A “normal” refresh (clicking the refresh icon or pressing F5) is not enough to goose it; rather, you have to “force refresh” the page by typing CTRL-F5.
@@ Line 14: / Line 40: @@
 This is my #1 complaint with Firefox since migrating to it from Chrome back in 2020 – their caching is off the rails.  It took some serious digging to find a “fix” for this, but I finally did and here it is:
-  * Type about:config into the location bar and hit enter
+  * Paste **browser.cache.check_doc_frequency** into the Search Preference Name bar
-  * Acknowledge the “Accept the Risk and Continue” button
+  * Click the pencil button on the right side
-  * Paste **browser.cache.check_doc_frequency** into the search box and click the pencil button on the right side
   * Change the value to 1 and click the checkbox
-My extensive testing so far has been very positive, thankfully.
+It should be noted that this won't fix the issue in 100% of the cases, but it goes an incredibly long way towards making it bearable.
 ==== Disable Backspace -> Previous Page Function ====
 **Issue:** Hitting the backspace key takes you to the previous web page.  Whose drug-addled idea was this?  Nothing is more annoying than having to hit backspace to correct some typing faux pas (some of us have to do it more often than others) and suddenly finding yourself on the previous web page.  I have been browsing the internet for roughly 3 decades now and I have yet to find a reasonable use case for this feature.  Here’s how to kill it:
-  * Type about:config into the location bar and hit enter
+  * Paste **browser.backspace_action** into the into the Search Preference Name bar
-  * Acknowledge the “Accept the Risk and Continue” button
+  * Click the pencil button on the right side
-  * Paste **browser.backspace_action** into the search box and click the pencil button
   * Change the value to 2 and click the checkbox.
@@ Line 34: / Line 58: @@
 **Issue:** Initiating a download/save of a file from Firefox results in the download popup showing up, which one must close or otherwise be annoyed by.
-  * Type about:config into the location bar and hit enter
+  * Paste **browser.download.alwaysOpenPanel** into the into the Search Preference Name bar
-  * Acknowledge the “Accept the Risk and Continue” button
+  * Toggle the preference to **false**
-  * Paste **browser.download.alwaysOpenPanel** into the search box and click the pencil button
-  * Set the value of browser.download.alwaysOpenPanel to **false**
 ==== Disable Crash Recovery ====
 **Issue:** Firefox restores (or at least tries to) open tabs after a controlled reboot or system crash.  This is a huge personal annoyance of mine as, more often than not, the tab recovery doesn’t go well.  I have never found an instance where I wished the browser restores an open tab, so I dug around to figure out how to disable it:
-  * Type about:config into the location bar and hit enter
+  * Paste **browser.sessionstore.resume_from_crash** into the Search Preference Name bar
-  * Acknowledge the “Accept the Risk and Continue” button
+  * Toggle the preference to **false**
-  * Paste **browser.sessionstore.resume_from_crash** into the search box and click the pencil button
-  * Set the value of browser.sessionstore.resume_from_crash to **false**
 ==== Disable QUIC ====
 **Issue:** Google search results take FOREVER to load.  This aggravated me so much that I finally fired up a packet capture to see what was going on.  Lo and behold, I found that Firefox is now attempting to communicate w/ Google via **QUIC**, a supposedly faster option than communicating over TCP.  I dug around and found that we can force the browser to go back to TCP via disabling http3 (allegedly the future of the internet but, from where I’m sitting, I’m not buying it).  Mikey’s rule #1 – if it’s working, don’t try to fix it.  So let’s “unfix” this issue…
-  * In about:config, search for **network.http.http3.enable** and disable it.
+  * Paste **network.http.http3.enable** into the Search Preference Name bar
+  * Toggle the preference to **false**
 Enjoy the speedy search results.
@@ Line 62: / Line 83: @@
 **Issue:** Firefox pops up preview balloons when you hover over a browser tab.  You say picky, I say annoying.
-  *In the normal place, search for **browser.tabs.hoverPreview.enabled** and mark it **false**.
+  * Paste **browser.tabs.hoverPreview.enabled** into the Search Preference Name bar
+  * Toggle the preference to **false**
 <color red>**08/22/2024 – Note:**</color> The above “fix” only seems to hold for the current browser session; if you close the browser, then the **browser.tabs.hoverPreview.enabled** option gets reset to true when the browser starts again.  Still working on a fix for this, but it might involve dumping Firefox for a different browser.  More to come.
 ==== Disable "What's New" page after a Firefox software update ====
-  * In about:config, search for **browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone** and set it to ''ignore''.
+  * Paste **browser.startup.homepage_override.mstone** into the Search Preference Name bar
+  * Click the pencil icon
+  * Replace what ever is currently in the space with the word ''ignore'' and click the checkbox.
+==== Disable the stupid "It looks like you haven't started Firefox in a while" shit that nobody ever asked for ====
+  * Paste **browser.disableResetPrompt** into the Search Preference Name bar
+  * Set it to true
+  * **Note:** It may not pre-exist, in which case you can click the **+** symbol and then create a boolean which you would then set to true
+Thanks, Firefox.  Fuck you, Firefox.
 ----
 ===== Browser Management =====
@@ Line 85: / Line 115: @@
   * **MacOS** - ''/Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Resources/distribution/policies.json''
   * **Linux** - ''/usr/lib/firefox/distribution/policies.json'' (or ''/etc/firefox/policies/'')
+==== Moving To Another Machine (Windows) ====
+  - Within the browser, go to ''about:support''
+  - On the resulting screen, locate the **Profile Folder** and click the **Open Folder** button.
+  - The profile folder will open within File Explorer.  Make note of the directory name and then click back one level to the **Profiles** directory.
+  - Find the folder noted in the previous step and copy it in its entirety to a USB stick or network drive share.
+  - On the new machine, perform steps 1-3 above.
+  - Make sure Firefox is closed, then rename the existing profile directory to something else.
+  - Copy the saved Profile directory to this location, making sure to rename it to match the profile name the new machine is expecting.
+  - Navigate to the profile directory in File Explorer and either delete or rename the following files: ''addons.json'', ''compatibility.ini'', and ''extensions.json''.
+  - Start the browser; it should reflect how it was set up in the previous location.