Shortcuts created from Firefox to the Desktop or other places on the computer's file storage will no longer open the URL but a offline cache of the contents
Before we upgraded all the computers to v56 we could create shortcuts to websites using Firefox (http://mzl.la/1BAQvbU). Now we can still do that but once you click on the shortcut Firefox opens what appears to the be the local cache of that webpage and the URL is not the URL but the Path to the local shortcut file.
example: URL https://www.nileslibrary.org/ drag it to the desktop and it creates a *.url file. now with FF v56 it open a cache of the webpage and shows the path as the local path to the shortcut file and not the URL. file:///C:/Users/administrator.STAFF/Desktop/Niles-Maine%20District%20Library.URL
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It should be; Grab the address bar icon or the link on the webpage, and move it to where you want it.
Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} by holding down the <Shift> (Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox.
A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?
Another user reported a similar-sounding problem with shortcut files: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1177509 (unsolved)
To confirm that the .url file itself is okay: If you temporarily make Internet Explorer the default browser and try the same shortcut, does it navigate correctly in IE? In other words, is the shortcut valid, but Firefox is handling it incorrectly?
Issue began after updating to FF v56. If I revert a computer back to v55 every *.url file works correctly. I thought it was an issue with shortcuts to https or local domains but that is not the case. I have also seen some older *.url shortcuts still work. What happens is that most *.url shortcuts (even if you created them with v56) will open a cached copy of the webpage. The only work around that still uses FF is to right click on the *.URL shortcut and in the context menu select Open With then Internet Browser and FF will open up (if it's still the default web browser) and correctly take you to the URL from the shortcut.
Hi FredMCD,
Yes I tried launching the *.url shortcut in Safe Mode and get the same result.
Hi Jscher2000,
No issues with opening the *.url shortcuts and gettign to the correct live webpage when FF v56 is not set to the be the Default browser. Nor on the same computer with v55 or earlier as the default browser. I have 200+ computers that got FF v56 on Sunday and all have the issue.
What's strange is that .url files normally do not have Open With.
I realize Windows 10 handles file associations differently than Windows 7, but if you check the registry, how do these look?
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.URL] @="InternetShortcut"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.URL\OpenWithProgIds] "InternetShortcut"=""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.URL\PersistentHandler] @="{8CD34779-9F10-4f9b-ADFB-B3FAEABDAB5A}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.URL\ShellEx]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.URL\ShellEx\{000214EE-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}] @="{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.URL\ShellEx\{000214F9-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}] @="{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.URL\ShellEx\{00021500-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}] @="{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.URL\ShellEx\{CABB0DA0-DA57-11CF-9974-0020AFD79762}] @="{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.URL\ShellEx\{FBF23B80-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}] @="{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}"
- - -
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{8CD34779-9F10-4f9b-ADFB-B3FAEABDAB5A}] @=".url File Persistent Handler"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{8CD34779-9F10-4f9b-ADFB-B3FAEABDAB5A}\PersistentAddinsRegistered]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{8CD34779-9F10-4f9b-ADFB-B3FAEABDAB5A}\PersistentAddinsRegistered\{89BCB740-6119-101A-BCB7-00DD010655AF}] @="{7EE0A24E-A8C6-46ae-A875-8E7C3D18AEAF}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{8CD34779-9F10-4f9b-ADFB-B3FAEABDAB5A}\PersistentHandler] @="{8CD34779-9F10-4f9b-ADFB-B3FAEABDAB5A}"
- - -
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{7EE0A24E-A8C6-46ae-A875-8E7C3D18AEAF}] @="Favorites IFilter"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{7EE0A24E-A8C6-46ae-A875-8E7C3D18AEAF}\InProcServer32] @="C:\\Windows\\System32\\ieframe.dll" "ThreadingModel"="Apartment"
- - -
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}] @="Internet Shortcut" "AppId"="{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}" "LocalizedString"="@C:\\Windows\\System32\\ieframe.dll,-34560" "DisableProcessIsolation"=dword:00000001
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}\Elevation] "Enabled"=dword:00000001
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}\InProcServer32] @="C:\\Windows\\System32\\ieframe.dll" "LoadWithoutCOM"="" "ThreadingModel"="Apartment"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}\PersistentHandler] @="{5e941d80-bf96-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}\ProgID] @="InternetShortcut"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}\ShellEx]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}\ShellEx\MayChangeDefaultMenu]
And for Firefox itself:
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL] @="Firefox URL" "EditFlags"=dword:00000002 "FriendlyTypeName"="Firefox URL" "URL Protocol"=""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL\DefaultIcon] @="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Mozilla Firefox\\firefox.exe,1"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL\shell] @="open"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL\shell\open]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL\shell\open\command] @="\"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Mozilla Firefox\\firefox.exe\" -osint -url \"%1\""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL\shell\open\ddeexec] @=""
SAME
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.url] @="InternetShortcut"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.url\OpenWithProgIds] "InternetShortcut"=""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.url\PersistentHandler] @="{8CD34779-9F10-4f9b-ADFB-B3FAEABDAB5A}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.url\ShellEx]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.url\ShellEx\{000214EE-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}] @="{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.url\ShellEx\{000214F9-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}] @="{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.url\ShellEx\{00021500-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}] @="{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.url\ShellEx\{CABB0DA0-DA57-11CF-9974-0020AFD79762}] @="{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.url\ShellEx\{FBF23B80-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}] @="{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}"
SAME
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{8CD34779-9F10-4f9b-ADFB-B3FAEABDAB5A}] @=".url File Persistent Handler"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{8CD34779-9F10-4f9b-ADFB-B3FAEABDAB5A}\PersistentAddinsRegistered]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{8CD34779-9F10-4f9b-ADFB-B3FAEABDAB5A}\PersistentAddinsRegistered\{89BCB740-6119-101A-BCB7-00DD010655AF}] @="{7EE0A24E-A8C6-46ae-A875-8E7C3D18AEAF}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{8CD34779-9F10-4f9b-ADFB-B3FAEABDAB5A}\PersistentHandler] @="{8CD34779-9F10-4f9b-ADFB-B3FAEABDAB5A}"
SAME
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{7EE0A24E-A8C6-46ae-A875-8E7C3D18AEAF}] @="Favorites IFilter"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{7EE0A24E-A8C6-46ae-A875-8E7C3D18AEAF}\InProcServer32] @="C:\\Windows\\System32\\ieframe.dll" "ThreadingModel"="Apartment"
SAME
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{7EE0A24E-A8C6-46ae-A875-8E7C3D18AEAF}] @="Favorites IFilter"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{7EE0A24E-A8C6-46ae-A875-8E7C3D18AEAF}\InProcServer32] @="C:\\Windows\\System32\\ieframe.dll" "ThreadingModel"="Apartment"
SAME
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}] @="Internet Shortcut" "AppId"="{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}" "DisableProcessIsolation"=dword:00000001 "LocalizedString"="@C:\\Windows\\System32\\ieframe.dll,-34560"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}\Elevation] "Enabled"=dword:00000001
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}\InProcServer32] @="C:\\Windows\\System32\\ieframe.dll" "LoadWithoutCOM"="" "ThreadingModel"="Apartment"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}\PersistentHandler] @="{5e941d80-bf96-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}\ProgID] @="InternetShortcut"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}\ShellEx]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FBF23B40-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}\ShellEx\MayChangeDefaultMenu]
SAME
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL] @="Firefox URL" "EditFlags"=dword:00000002 "FriendlyTypeName"="Firefox URL" "URL Protocol"=""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL\DefaultIcon] @="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Mozilla Firefox\\firefox.exe,1"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL\shell] @="open"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL\shell\open]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL\shell\open\command] @="\"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Mozilla Firefox\\firefox.exe\" -osint -url \"%1\""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL\shell\open\ddeexec] @=""
I have discovered that if you manually force the *.url file association from Firefox to Internet Browser that will make this work again.
The icon changes from the Big FF icon to a White file with the FF logo inside the file.
In the registry I believe this is the key that's being changed;
Not Working with v56 (Original thsat works with 55.0.3 and earlier) [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.url]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.url\OpenWithList] "a"="firefox.exe" "MRUList"="ab" "b"="ieframe.dll"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.url\OpenWithProgids] "InternetShortcut"=hex(0):
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.url\UserChoice] "Hash"="ey/9xPuLFNI=" "ProgId"="Applications\\firefox.exe"
Working with v56
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.url]
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.url\OpenWithList] "a"="firefox.exe" "MRUList"="ba" "b"="ieframe.dll"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.url\OpenWithProgids] "InternetShortcut"=hex(0):
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.url\UserChoice] "Hash"="zrim5NV8UaE=" "ProgId"="InternetShortcut"
So far only used the Control Panel (Set Associations) Associate a file type or protocol with a specific program and took a look what it was modifying in the registry.
Next is to check if the same keys and values are changed on other computers. If so I could possible have this applied as a single time GPO user preference at user login.
But I would really like Mozilla to fix it. I have created a bug report. Bug 1405199
Turns out the User Choice is a new way Windows makes sure your user's choice of default app is honored. The hash is created using the user name, computer name and app name so I will not be able to push a registry change after all using this key. I stumbled on a post about just deleting/or more accurately importing a remove key as the choice key is protected by custom permissions. Here is the post. https://ardamis.com/2015/12/01/configuring-a-default-application-for-protected-file-types-in-windows-10/
I was able to manually delete the choice key as a Admin user to test what would happen and FF v56 did open a *.url shortcut file correctly.
So this might be a solution for us if Mozilla does not fix the bug.
This is now fixed for version 58. I have asked if it cane be fixed for v57 and possibly for v56.