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Where are the search plugins XMLs on FF 40.0?

  • 4 replies
  • 8 have this problem
  • 3 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

lbeier
lbeier
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I'm using Firefox 40.0 on a Mac.

Until FF 39 the search plugins XMLs where stored in: /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Resources/browser/searchplugins

I cant find this folder anymore. I have a custom XML for DDG that I want to use.

Thanks in advance!

I'm using Firefox 40.0 on a Mac. Until FF 39 the search plugins XMLs where stored in: /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Resources/browser/searchplugins I cant find this folder anymore. I have a custom XML for DDG that I want to use. Thanks in advance!

Chosen solution

Hi, yes, Firefox 40 no longer uses an external folder for the default/built-in search plugins. I recommend placing the customized .xml file in your profile folder.

If you have ever added a search engine from a site (e.g., this one), there should already be a searchplugins folder. If not, you can create one. See: Profiles - Where Firefox stores your bookmarks, passwords and other user data.

Because Firefox has a built-in DuckDuckGo plugin, you may need to modify the "short name" of the search engine a bit to make sure Firefox does not override yours. Please see this post for an earlier discussion about renaming: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1075655#answer-762666.

I didn't get any feedback from that user about whether it was successful. Could you let me know whether Firefox finds and uses your relocated .xml file?

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All Replies (4)

philipp
philipp
  • Moderator
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hello, you can put those xmls into a searchplugins folder inside of your profile: Profiles - Where Firefox stores your bookmarks, passwords and other user data

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Chosen Solution

Hi, yes, Firefox 40 no longer uses an external folder for the default/built-in search plugins. I recommend placing the customized .xml file in your profile folder.

If you have ever added a search engine from a site (e.g., this one), there should already be a searchplugins folder. If not, you can create one. See: Profiles - Where Firefox stores your bookmarks, passwords and other user data.

Because Firefox has a built-in DuckDuckGo plugin, you may need to modify the "short name" of the search engine a bit to make sure Firefox does not override yours. Please see this post for an earlier discussion about renaming: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1075655#answer-762666.

I didn't get any feedback from that user about whether it was successful. Could you let me know whether Firefox finds and uses your relocated .xml file?

lbeier
lbeier Question owner
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jscher2000 said

Hi, yes, Firefox 40 no longer uses an external folder for the default/built-in search plugins. I recommend placing the customized .xml file in your profile folder. If you have ever added a search engine from a site (e.g., this one), there should already be a searchplugins folder. If not, you can create one. See: Profiles - Where Firefox stores your bookmarks, passwords and other user data. Because Firefox has a built-in DuckDuckGo plugin, you may need to modify the "short name" of the search engine a bit to make sure Firefox does not override yours. Please see this post for an earlier discussion about renaming: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1075655#answer-762666. I didn't get any feedback from that user about whether it was successful. Could you let me know whether Firefox finds and uses your relocated .xml file?

It worked! I just added my custom XML to searchplugins inside the profile and restarted FF.

Thanks!

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Note that you can inspect the built-in search engine via this resource URL.

  • resource:///chrome/en-US/locale/browser/searchplugins/

If you use a different locale then you need to modify the link or possibly start with resource:///chrome/