I upgraded graphics drivers and now I have the same behavior with HW acceleration checked and unchecked - there is a delay ~1-2 seconds before text starts to appear in input item but at least no letters are lost and cursor does not jump to other items.

So I think this can be closed. Thank you very much for help.

I have generic graphics drivers that are up to date.

As described, this behavior is specific to FireFox, so I don't see how it can be concluded that the case be closed since this is an ongoing issue that Chrome appears to have been able to either address or avoid.

The problem exists on multiple machines running both 8.1 and 10

Thanks for the response, Beverly Howard

So I think this can be closed. Thank you very much for help.

                  <big>? ? ? ? ? </big>

You are not the OP of this thread .....

Hi Beverly Howard, it's hard to understand how a single character can be on a different line. For example, if you had touched a trackpad and changed the cursor position, that usually would continue from there and not return to the earlier spot.

Regarding the macros, there is a setting that can muck with pasting on complex sites so it's worth a check:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.

(2) In the search box in the page, type or paste clipb and pause while the list is filtered

(3) If the dom.event.clipboardevents.enabled preference has a value of false, double-click it to restore the default value of true

More info on about:config: Configuration Editor for Firefox.

Thanks...

dom.event.clipboardevents.enabled is true.

Beverly Howard

Can you rule out extensions as the source of the issue? I realize it is jarring to use Firefox without their convenient modifications, but for the sake of science, could you test in Firefox's Safe Mode? In its Safe Mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, any userChrome.css/userContent.css files, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.

If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox. (On Mac, hold down the option/alt key instead of the Shift key.)

If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:

• "3-bar" menu button > "?" Help button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
• (menu bar) Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

and OK the restart.

Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).

Any improvement?

Extensions and plugins?

Will give that a shot later today and report back.

I only have two... "Open in Chrome" (which has become more of a necessity ;-)" and UBlock Origin

Only three plugins OpenH264, Widevine Decrypt, and Shockwave, all up to date.

Do I need Shockwave? It's set to "Ask to Activate" but I see no obvious way to remove it.

Beverly Howard

OK, I made time to test safe mode. Yes, it does seem to make a difference with the dialing macro, but, it's not consistent... the macros seems to work more times in safe mode than it does in normal mode.

There's really no way to test normal keyboard input.

And, during this testing, I also noticed and remembered another issue related to the keyboard.

I've noticed that in many cases, in the middle of typing something, I end up in FF's "Find in Page" search function.

In the instances where this behavior has been observed, it appears that the screen focus momentarily leaves the text input field so that the next character is then treated as a "find in page" event.

So, sometimes when I am inputting text I'll find either text is highlighted somewhere else on the page or that I am in FF's search box at the lower left of the screen when the string is not found on the page.

As mentioned, in other cases such as those described, I notice a momentary screen focus change when I am typing and I find myself elsewhere than the text input field. This often happens when I cut or paste... I've actually gotten used to this... I have to then navigate back to where I was when those actions were taken.

I've also seen posts where others (including myself) will highlight something on the screen in an incoming message (such as the now common "verification codes") then press <ctrl-C> to copy the code, then toggle to the login screen and paste only to have the previous contents of the clipboard pasted into the field. That's become so common in GMail that I have learned to <rt-click> and select "Copy" instead.

More clues... I hope. Beverly Howard

Hello,

Sometimes Refreshring the browser can fix many issues:-

• To do this, click the menu button at the top right corner of the Firefox window.

• Click the “Help” option near the bottom of the menu.

• Click the “Troubleshooting Information” option in the Help menu.

• Click the “Refresh Firefox” button at the top right corner of the Troubleshooting Information page.

• You’ll be warned that this will remove your browser add-ons, reset your customizations, and revert other browser data to the default settings. Click “Refresh Firefox” to confirm you want to make these changes.

If it doesn't solved your problem, then feel free to ask in Reply Section. Thanks for raising your question in Mozilla Support Forum.

>> reset your customizations <<

Ouch... I'll have to think about that option. I have a lot of them and my use goes back to the original Mozilla browser.

Is there any way to at least save them so they can be referenced when setting things up again?

Thanks for the thought, Beverly Howard

OK, I made time to test safe mode. Yes, it does seem to make a difference with the dialing macro, but, it's not consistent... the macros seems to work more times in safe mode than it does in normal mode. There's really no way to test normal keyboard input.

It is difficult to test intermittent problems, so you might need to repeat the experiment during a quiet time, if there ever is one!

And, during this testing, I also noticed and remembered another issue related to the keyboard. I've noticed that in many cases, in the middle of typing something, I end up in FF's "Find in Page" search function. In the instances where this behavior has been observed, it appears that the screen focus momentarily leaves the text input field so that the next character is then treated as a "find in page" event.

On the Options page, General panel, Browsing section, turn off the checkbox for

[_] Search for text when you start typing

and hopefully that will resolve that issue.

As mentioned, in other cases such as those described, I notice a momentary screen focus change when I am typing and I find myself elsewhere than the text input field. This often happens when I cut or paste... I've actually gotten used to this... I have to then navigate back to where I was when those actions were taken.

Do you think the focus is changing within Firefox, for example, to a popup/popunder, or somewhere else in Windows? I think that would drive me crazy.

>> reset your customizations << Ouch... I'll have to think about that option. I have a lot of them and my use goes back to the original Mozilla browser. Is there any way to at least save them so they can be referenced when setting things up again? Thanks for the thought, Beverly Howard

It might be too soon to do a Refresh. Many of your customized preferences are stored in the prefs.js file in your profile, but add-ons and their data are difficult to transfer and usually need to be freshly installed after a Refresh.

Thanks for everyone's support, information and tips.

The cost of further addressing just this problem is too high and in my case and use scenarios. This was one of many FF problems that I deal with constantly. In addition to this problem, I work on multiple computers and android FF, so syncing has been a part of life since it was introduced and done a good job of keeping me under the FF umbrella.

Because of the increasing amount of time spent browsing using mobile devices, ff android also became a key need and ff was necessary there because of FF sync. In addition to this issue, FF Android has several serious issues that I have posted and sent feedback on over the past several years that have never been addressed... one example is a post I made on the FF Android section here that has received zero response compared to the dozen posts here.

The FF team has recently made significant improvements behind the scenes especially in the area of browser security, however, from a user's viewpoint, I have seen very little response to specific needs and problems such as this one in the user interface arena. Security is top of the list for me, but, when the interface demands time and effort during every use of the platform, it's time to look at alternatives.

After reviewing the current browser picture, I decided to revisit Chrome (which I had not used other than single pages that didn't render well in FF for a number of years) I removed everything that I had setup in Chrome such as bookmarks, history, etc, and accepted Chrome's offer to import from FireFox... and was impressed at how easy it was. (Among other things I was finally able to capture the passwords that FF had recently locked down despite many users needs beyond viewing only one password at a time)

That was yesterday afternoon and I was initially switching back and forth between the two browsers on multiple devices and learning and tweaking Chrome's configuration. As expected, there were a number of "wants" such as uBlock Origin not being available on Chrome Mobile and a host of minor irritants that can be challenging such as learning new keystrokes (at my age) but, by this morning, I took the plunge and changed my default browser from FF to Chrome.

I have been surprised with the relief that came from not having to battle the multiple FF points as I have been doing for years, and the demands of the switch and learning the new UI have been minimal by comparison.

My hope in posting this dissertation that it might somehow be seen by a Moz decision maker and result in even a slightly shifting priorities in the users direction.

Again, thanks for all the information and help, Beverly Howard