New blank page now has about:blank in URL field. How can I remove this?
Hello all. I have Firefox Quantum 60.0.1 which just updated a few days ago. Ever since the update, when I open a new tab "about:blank" is already prefilled in the URL bar. I would like a blank URL bar with nothing in it, which I used to have. Until now I was able to configure this easily through Options.
This is still a blank page but with the "about:blank" in the URL, it means I now have extra steps to delete "about:blank" before I can type in or paste the URL I want to go to. I've fiddled with Options for home page, blank page, etc. but nothing gets rid of it.
How can I just have a blank URL without anything typed in it at all? Thank you.
Wšykne wótegrona (9)
Did you customize the New Tab page?
And did you customize the New Tab page in Firefox 59 or earlier; like via about:config so far as any of the browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.### preferences? The pref would show as modified if it was changed..
Yes, I modified several of them: browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.impressionId, .migrationExpired, .enabled, .enhanced, .introShown and .storageVersion.
Need to reverse them in about:config or start a new Profile and copy stuff over to it. You decide.
Reverse what, exactly? Not sure what you mean by "them."
the-edmeister said
Did you customize the New Tab page? And did you customize the New Tab page in Firefox 59 or earlier; like via about:config so far as any of the browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.### preferences? The pref would show as modified if it was changed..
Copy/Paste browser.newtabpage.activity-stream into a about:config search and look for what you modified and if it has about:blank in it. Reverse it.
As the command that did that is no longer in about:config so has to be with something else you modified.
Or can use this to change the New Tab to something useful :
Or make a New Profile (never work with original files only copies ) :
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recovering-important-data-from-an-old-profile
- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Transferring_data_to_a_new_profile_-_Firefox
What's What in the Profile :
- bookmarks and history: places.sqlite
- bookmark backups: compressed .jsonlz4 JSON backups in the bookmarkbackups folder
- cookies.sqlite for the Cookies
- formhistory.sqlite for saved autocomplete Form Data
- logins.json (passwords) and key4.db (58+) or key3.db (57 and older) (decryption key) for Passwords saved in the Password Manager
- if you only have key3.db then make sure to remove an existing key4.db
- cert9.db (58+) or cert8.db (57 and older) for (intermediate) certificates stored in the Certificate Manager
- if you only have cert8.db then make sure to remove an existing cert9.db
- persdict.dat for words you added to the spelling checker dictionary
- permissions.sqlite for Permissions and possibly content-prefs.sqlite for other website specific data (Site Preferences)
- sessionstore.jsonlz4 for open tabs and pinned tabs (see also the sessionstore-backups folder)
Wót Shadow110 změnjony
At least two of those browser.newtabpage.activity-stream,### mods that were "popular" with Fx 57 - 59 really "screw the pooch" with Firefox 60 and they need to be undone. Sorry, I haven't kept track of which prefs those are at fault now, but I am so pissed off that I have quit using Firefox 60 after wasting too much time trying to get it fixed. I have too many older versions of Firefox installed to waste my time fixing crap that I have already "fixed".
Once I calm down I am going to create a new Profile and start all over again. And that isn't a big problem, it is just something that I have come to expect from Mozilla; they rush the "new" product out the door and then spend the next half-a-dozen versions fixing what they botched the first time (and 2nd & 3rd time in some cases). I saw that with "Blue Firefox button" (Fx 4.0) and with Australis (Fx 29), so why should "we" expect better from Quantum?
Thanks to both of you. When trying New Tab Override I was directed to this page which seems to indicate this is a known problem that Mozilla won't fix because of unspecified security reasons. (The thread drifts quite a bit but I think that's the basic gist.)
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1409675
As for what was modified in about:config, nothing had about:blank in it, so there was unfortunately nothing I could reverse.
Hi, you will have to create a new Profile and copy things over that do not have the edited about:config info in them. Copy stuff slowly and see what works. Will try to get someone to give better info in this for you.
Easiest is to use the default new tab page and hide all content