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Unable to type a "space"

  • 33 replies
  • 9 have this problem
  • 26 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

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When typing comments on a web blog, after the spacebar is used, the first letter of the next word eliminates the previously typed space. So what I end up with is all words in a sentence running together. Tried other browsers and they work fine. Changed keyboard as well no joy. Typing is normal in applications like adobe, word, etc..... Only happens during Firefox use......... Uninstalled and reinstalled Firefox, also no help..... How do I fix ?

When typing comments on a web blog, after the spacebar is used, the first letter of the next word eliminates the previously typed space. So what I end up with is all words in a sentence running together. Tried other browsers and they work fine. Changed keyboard as well no joy. Typing is normal in applications like adobe, word, etc..... Only happens during Firefox use......... Uninstalled and reinstalled Firefox, also no help..... How do I fix ?

All Replies (20)

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That's strange. Is the space preserved if you press the spacebar twice, or does that have no effect?

Do you use any add-ons related to autocorrect/autotext/spelling/grammar that might be monitoring for when you type a space to potentially modify your typing?

Could you test in Firefox's Troubleshoot Mode? In that mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, any userChrome.css/userContent.css files, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.

If Firefox is running:

You can restart Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode using either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > Help > Troubleshoot Mode... (before Fx88: Restart with Add-ons Disabled)
  • (menu bar) Help menu > Troubleshoot Mode... (before Fx88: Restart with Add-ons Disabled)

and OK the restart. A small dialog should appear. Click the Open button (before Fx88: "Start in Safe Mode" button).

If Firefox is not running:

Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox. (On Mac, hold down the option/alt key instead of the Shift key.) A small dialog should appear. Click the Open button (before Fx88: "Start in Safe Mode" button).

Note: Don't use the Refresh without first reviewing this article to understand what will be deleted: Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings.

Any difference?

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Another user mentioned the space bar not working correctly on an AOL site. Is the blog you are using also on AOL or an AOL-network site? https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1388366

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I'm having the same problem but only in the Wall Street Journal comments section which is kind of a strange system anyway. They use a pop up instead of the way most other sites work.

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I have the same problem using firefox. No spaces when blogging on AOL or news blogs or any other blog. Tried all the fixes and reinstalls but didnt fix. I have to use internet explorer or chrome because of this glitch. Not a problem with other brousers. Ran the trouble shooter also. no help

Modified by willf2900

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I hope Mozilla is gonna address this soon because this is just the latest in a series of aggravations. I'm considering switching to chrome.

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willf2900 said

I have the same problem using firefox. No spaces when blogging on AOL or news blogs or any other blog. Tried all the fixes and reinstalls but didnt fix. I have to use internet explorer or chrome because of this glitch. Not a problem with other brousers. Ran the trouble shooter also. no help

Thank you for testing that.

Also, can I assume you mean commenting on blog posts, or are you also having problems with the editor for creating a completely new blog post? In that case, we should start a new thread on that problem.

Also, it affected Fox News chat on Sunday as well: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1388487

What do all these sites have in common??

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What happens if you paste text that contains some spaces ?

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That works OK. But unacceptably clunky wouldn't you agree?

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If pasting text works then pasting only the space might work as well. That would indicate that some script runs on the page that intercepts the space bar and that code isn't compatible with Firefox.

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Yes. That worked.

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I found that I could type the message, then go back and place a cursor between the letters and space correctly. Kind of a pain, but it works.

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Cor-el, in answer to your question up top, you cannot enter two spaces. The first space is fine, but the space bar is dead after that.

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Hi msgtprolson Note that is was jscher2000 that proposed above trying to press the spacebar twice.

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That does not work. Spacebar is non functional.

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Try this temp fix.

To fix the new missing spaces problem with FIREFOX on AOL News comments and other Blogs,

Try this:


After typing your first word, type a space, then a period.

When you add the period, -- the space disappears.

Go back and RE-ADD the space AGAIN.

==> You should now be able to go back to the end of your first word, and continue to type normally, without spaces disappearing, ... as long as you keep the RE-ADDED SPACE to the RIGHT of where you're typing.

Doesn't have to be a period following the re-added space, any character works, just want something so you can see where your re-added Fix-It space is located.

Gotta do it over again for text following each carriage-return.

Modified by jimcarrr

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This is really a BIGGIE problem. Somewhat astounded that there's been no official response from Mozilla Foundation.

... and would be curious if the Temp Fix posted above, to re-insert a leading space character, works for others?

Modified by jimcarrr

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jimcarrr said

Try this temp fix.

Thanks for that. Actually, it seems that typing any first character (other than a space), and using the left arrow key to position before it, allows normal typing and later you can delete that distractor character.

jimcarrr said

This is really a BIGGIE problem. Somewhat astounded that there's been no official response from Mozilla Foundation.

This started on the Labor Day holiday and only seems to affect a few sites, so at this point the response probably would be: we're still learning about this problem.

AOL doesn't require an account to start typing a comment (only to post) and I definitely see the problem there. It's interesting: the script adds a space in the display, but when I look at the HTML recorded by the script, there is no space. Why is that??

It looks like these sites share the OpenWeb (formerly Spot IM) commenting platform, which is loaded remotely from the vendor so they all got this change at the same time: https://www.openweb.com/. (Users might not all be affected immediately because the browser will cache the script files and re-use the cached versions until those expire or are cleared.)

I couldn't find a way to contact OpenWeb on their website (except as a sales lead) and they don't seem to accept DM's on Twitter. I suggest complaining to the news sites if you can.

I don't know whether Firefox has any features/settings that could help with this in the meantime.

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Short term workaround: Type in notepad, copy/paste.

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So far the only way to "fix" this was to go back and manually enter spaces where necessary. Putting a period between words work as well but looks like...you know. If I create text in Word and do a c&p , all is good. Notebook however will not work for this purpose. The website that seems to be most affected is foxnews. Others are hit and miss. I do appreciate the feedback.........

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I'm having the same problem in the comment section of foxnews. I've found that starting my comments with a period followed by a space, then backspacing to the start allows me to type normally with spaces being accepted. If I enter a new line/paragraph I have to repeat the "period space" thing. Fairly easy to do, but definitely weird!!

So, yeah, this appears to be a script problem that firefox handles a little differently from other browsers (Edge works).

EDITED: I just found all I have to do is start my comment with a period, backspace before the period, then I can type normally. So, it may not be a bug just associated with a space!!

Modified by dagnabitboy

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