javascript-based multi-parameter bookmarks not working in firefox 13
I have a javascript-based multiparameter bookmark. Think of it like this: use a keyword to call in the search, then put in two parameters (say, zip code and type of forecast) and it goes straight to the page (my zip code, 7-day. or parents' zip code, hourly) in one shot.
It's sometimes stopped working recently, and I think it's been since I upgraded to FF13. By 'not working' i mean I can restore the bookmark;s "location" to what used to work, and then the shortcut works just fine until .... I don't know. Usually closing firefox and reopening it again and then trying to use the bookmark will cause the browser to just sit there with the entire javascript string in the subject bar.
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Occasionally the history/bookmarks database can become damaged, but before undertaking surgery, have you tried creating a new bookmark to see whether it will "stick" in that one?
From my observations, it seems that it doesn't work on newly opened tabs, tabs where you didn't visited a single site. After I visited one random site on that tab, and entered the search keyword and parameters, it worked. It also works on the initial start page, because it's about:blank I guess.
(firefox 13.0.1, linux)
It may not work if there is an XUL page like the about:newtab page currently on display.
I can try to test the theory tomorrow. Killing the existing bookmark ("x") and re-pasting it didn't work, though. So far my workaround was to create a series of keywords for first-parameter A, B, C, and D, so that instead of doing "x A 2" or "x D 3" I now would just do "A 2" and "D 3", each of those pulling in its own first-param-specific bookmark. Clunkier, but until I can get a sense of what's really going on, it will have to do the trick.
Do you know why it would fail on a new tab or from about:config?
That comment about new tabs appears to be accurate in my experience so far. So how do we get this issue fixed?
You can create a blank html file on your C drive and make that your new tab page. This code might be sufficient:
<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head><title>Blank</title></head> <body></body> </html>
If you open that page in Firefox, you can copy the URL from the address bar. Then change a setting in Firefox's about:config preferences editor.
(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.
(2) In the filter box, type or paste newtab and pause while the list is filtered
(3) Double-click the browser.newtab.url preference and enter the desired value:
(i) Page thumbnails (default)
browser.newtab.url = about:newtab
(ii) Blank tab
browser.newtab.url = about:blank
(iii) Built-in Firefox home page
browser.newtab.url = about:home
(iv) Any other page
browser.newtab.url = full URL to your new blank page
Press Ctrl+t to open a new tab and verify that it worked. Fixed?
This looks good, thanks! Now, is there a way I was use javascript to select the URL in the URL bar rather than just leaving focus at the end of the line? That way I don't need to do Ctrl+T, then Ctrl+A, then type my keyword. I'd just need the Ctrl+T like normal.
See image -
Never mind about that. I used jscher's suggestion but just deleted the url for newtab entirely, and now I don't have the XUL problem AND I don't have the URL-already-entered problem!