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Which is the keyboard shortcut to unfocus location bar?

  • 6 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 16 views
  • Last reply by Jonas Jacek

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I have trouble unselecting (unfocus) the location bar. I know that ctrl+l, ctr+k and alt+d select the location bar, but which command allows to unfocus it? I am using the Vim Vixen Plugin and want to navigate quickly with pure keyboard navigation. Can anyone help?

I have trouble unselecting (unfocus) the location bar. I know that ctrl+l, ctr+k and alt+d select the location bar, but which command allows to unfocus it? I am using the Vim Vixen Plugin and want to navigate quickly with pure keyboard navigation. Can anyone help?

Chosen solution

Did you try the F6 function key?

The Tab key should also remove focus from the location/address bar, but may require more presses to set focus to the website area.

Read this answer in context 👍 1

All Replies (6)

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Hi, you could try looking to see if there is a add-on type focus https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/extensions/

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/keyboard-shortcuts-perform-firefox-tasks-quickly

All answers I see are before Firefox 57+ so answers do not apply.

Since send info to Mozilla was turned off within Firefox before posting I have no information on add-ons so please : SAFE MODE

In Firefox Safe mode these changes are effective:

  • all extensions are disabled (about:addons)
  • default theme is used (no persona)
  • userChrome.css and userContent.css are ignored (chrome folder)
  • default toolbar layout is used (file: localstore-safe.rdf)
  • Javascript JIT compilers are disabled (prefs: javascript.options.*jit)
  • hardware acceleration is disabled (Options > Advanced > General)
  • plugins are not affected
  • preferences are not affected

TEST'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''is the issue still there ?

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Thank you, Pkshadow. I've already tried all of the above before posting my question. So, the problem persists in safe-mode. Once you focus the location bar, there seems to be no way to e.g. re-enable the arrow keys for scrolling (or in my case, the Vim plugin keys).

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Chosen Solution

Did you try the F6 function key?

The Tab key should also remove focus from the location/address bar, but may require more presses to set focus to the website area.

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Hi cor-el, thank you for your suggestion. It's true, that F6 takes focus away from the location bar. Thank you for that. However, it does not focus the website area (for scrolling). Probably, my original question was wrong. It should have been, "is there a key binding, to focus the website area?"

I will open a new question for that one. Thank you for your help.

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F6 works for me to switch the focus between the location bar and the website area as it should. If there are frames on the page then the behavior might be different.


Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem.

  • switch to the DEFAULT theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Appearance
  • do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Safe Mode start window

Modified by cor-el

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F6 works for me in safe mode and regular mode (after restarting the browser). However, only the arrow keys are working. It seems, I have to file an issue with the Vim Vixen. Thank you for your help narrowing down the problem.

Modified by Jonas Jacek