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Search shortcuts have been changed by ff or ???

  • 3 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by Chris

Chris
Chris
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I have FF set up to use only DDG. Part of this setup is that I have removed all other search engines from search options. Today Oct 7, 2023, when I booted up things were normal. About an hour ago I entered a search term in the browser and the search result came up on google. That should not be possible. I checked my settings and sure enough google has been added and placed atop DDG. Furthermore google cannot be removed when selected, the remove button is greyed out. The remove button is not greyed out when DDG is selected. !? What happened and how do I fix it?

I have FF set up to use only DDG. Part of this setup is that I have removed all other search engines from search options. Today Oct 7, 2023, when I booted up things were normal. About an hour ago I entered a search term in the browser and the search result came up on google. That should not be possible. I checked my settings and sure enough google has been added and placed atop DDG. Furthermore google cannot be removed when selected, the remove button is greyed out. The remove button is not greyed out when DDG is selected. !? What happened and how do I fix it?

Chosen solution

The Remove button is grayed for me for the Default search engine selected further up on the "Settings -> Search" page, i.e if Google is selected then Remove Google is grayed and if DDG is selected then Remove DDG is grayed.

You can check for issues with the search engine database and rename/remove search.json.mozlz4 in the Firefox profile folder with Firefox closed to rebuild the search engines registry.

You can use the button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page (Root directory).

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All Replies (3)

Chris
Chris Question owner
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Addendum. I removed FF and reinstalled it. Google is still the primary search engine and cannot be removed. I am not OK with this at all!

cor-el
cor-el
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Chosen Solution

The Remove button is grayed for me for the Default search engine selected further up on the "Settings -> Search" page, i.e if Google is selected then Remove Google is grayed and if DDG is selected then Remove DDG is grayed.

You can check for issues with the search engine database and rename/remove search.json.mozlz4 in the Firefox profile folder with Firefox closed to rebuild the search engines registry.

You can use the button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page (Root directory).

Chris
Chris Question owner
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OK THANK YOU. I did not see until after I tried remove search.json.mozlz4 the selected preferred search engine on the settings page. Once I chose DDG G could be removed. I have no memory of ever using that function previously. I must have no? Anyway this is solved.