How can I copy text as-is from the address bar?
Hi there,
I use numerous username/password combinations to log onto an ftp site in the following form:
ftp://fairlyShortUsername:longAndRandomlyGeneratedPassword@ftp.site-i-use-a-lot.com
E.g. ftp://moduleFour:f7hyg45gckl1luqiI8ds7nv8cvbn34bne90bhhj19@ftp.site.com
Using this method allows me to log straight in because username and password are stored right inside the url.
Due to their convenience, it is useful to be able to pass these links around to others.
If I start typing the username (e.g. 'moduleF'...) in the address bar, the complete URL appears in the autocomplete suggestions and I can use the down arrow to display it in the address bar and copy it to the clipboard.
However, when I paste what I copied (taking the above example), I just get ftp://ftp.site.com. This is no use to anyone without the information that has been stripped out.
I'm not concerned with security (understandably, given that I'm using urls with plain text passwords).
I'm sure firefox is just trying to be 'helpful', but is there any way I can copy the exact text displayed at the time I press Ctrl + C, without firefox interfering? At the moment, I have to look up the username and password and paste them into a url template every time, which given the number of times I've done it, has already taken up more time of my life than it's taken me to write this question, which is why I'm asking.
- NOTE: Changing the value of browser.urlbar.trimURLs and browser.urlbar.formatting.enabled has *not* allowed me to fix this. ***
All Replies (7)
Does modifying this pref has any effect?
When you want to copy exact text from the location/address bar then you can try to place another character like an '=' in front of it at the far left so that the line doesn't start with the protocol and select the trailing part.
I don't seem to have that preference at all (if I search in about:config). Would I need to add it myself?
Left click the address bar once. The whole address will be marked. If you only want the site or other data, after a second click the address again and mark what you want.
After the address is marked, <Control> C or right click and copy. You can then paste this where ever you want.
Hi FredMcD,
Actually, I have browser.urlbar.clickSelectsAll set to false (I tried changing this to solve my issue, but later found that I prefer that behaviour), so I only need to click once to directly edit the address, but I actually want the entire address, as displayed in the url bar. If I use Ctrl+A to do this, or select with the mouse, I still experience the problem I initially described.
Okay, I think one of these add-ons is just what you need.
Go to the Mozilla Add-ons Web Page {web link} (There’s a lot of good stuff here) and search for what you want.
My CopyFixer {web link} Use Ctrl+C when nothing selected to copy page title and url in various format (template base).
Send Tab URLs {web link} Send a list of browser tab URLs to email, Web mail, or the clipboard
Firefox may strip off the user:password@ part of the URL for security/privacy reasons and you may not be able to see that data in the location/address bar drop-down list.
The network.http.phishy-userpass-length pref doesn't exist by default, but has only effect if you type or paste an URL in the location/address bar with a name:password, so probably won't help you.
You can also look at this pref:
- browser.fixup.hide_user_pass