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New Tab: no cursor in the address bar

  • 5 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by jeremy76

jeremy76
jeremy76
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I frequently open new tabs by right-clicking the current tab and choosing "New Tab" from the context menu. Naturally, I want to start typing a URL or search term.

But the focus/cursor/caret is nowhere and typing does nothing. I have to click on the address bar, and then I can type.

I'm not using New Tab Override and I have Firefox's new tab set to a blank page.

I tried disabling all my add-ons, but I still had the problem.

I tried setting new tab to the Firefox home page and for a short while I got a cursor in the address bar. But the problem returned after a few hours

Any clues on what might be wrong? Firefox version 120.0.1 (64-bit) on MacOS Ventura 13.5.1. Thanks!

(A similar problem is described here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1420220 -- but in my case this is not a container tab.)

I frequently open new tabs by right-clicking the current tab and choosing "New Tab" from the context menu. Naturally, I want to start typing a URL or search term. But the focus/cursor/caret is nowhere and typing does nothing. I have to click on the address bar, and then I can type. I'm not using New Tab Override and I have Firefox's new tab set to a blank page. I tried disabling all my add-ons, but I still had the problem. I tried setting new tab to the Firefox home page and for a short while I got a cursor in the address bar. But the problem returned after a few hours Any clues on what might be wrong? Firefox version 120.0.1 (64-bit) on MacOS Ventura 13.5.1. Thanks! (A similar problem is described here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1420220 -- but in my case this is '''not''' a container tab.)

Chosen solution

I found the answer. I had accessibility.typeaheadfind set to true in about:config.

Read this answer in context 👍 0

All Replies (5)

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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There are keyboard shortcuts to set focus to the address bar.

You can instead click the '+' icon or double-click or middle-click empty space on the Tab bar.

zeroknight
zeroknight
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jeremy76 said
I have Firefox's new tab set to a blank page.

Instead of using "Blank Page" for your new tab page which has this problem, change it back to "Firefox Home (Default)" and customize it to hide as much as possible. If that is not enough, you can hide the rest with userContent.css: 

@-moz-document url(about:home), url(about:newtab) {
  body {
    display: none !important;
  }
}
jeremy76
jeremy76 Question owner
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Chosen Solution

I found the answer. I had accessibility.typeaheadfind set to true in about:config.

zeroknight
zeroknight
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I can still reproduce your issue with accessibility.typeaheadfind set to false. Is your new tab page still set to "Blank Page"?

jeremy76
jeremy76 Question owner
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Thanks @zeroknight.

Actually I changed it back to "Firefox Home (Default)". FWIW the problem has not reappeared.