firefox resizing itself
I've had this problem for a few months now. It may have started with version 68. Anyway, I use Firefox in windowed mode. Lately, starting it up has resulted in that window being bigger than I want. For one, it looks to be about 920 pixels tall (on my 900 px screen). It's also a little wider than I want. I'm tired of having to resize the window over and over and over. Is there anyway to tell Firefox to always start at the same size as when I closed it?
All Replies (9)
Hello JDnHuntsvilleAL,
Would you do this please :
Type in the address bar about:config and press Enter (promise to be careful, if asked)
Type in the search bar and look for the preference :
privacy.resistFingerprinting
If the value is set to "true", then change it to false.
In case you had to change the value, then close and restart Firefox.
Also see : https://www.ghacks.net/2019/04/24/firefox-not-remembering-the-last-window-size-this-may-fix-it/
Does that work for you ?
Thanks. I figured there was something in about:config, but didn't know what it was called. I'll let you know if it appears to have fixed my problem - sometimes just closing and opening Firefox didn't cause the problem. I'm going to do a complete reboot to see if that does anything.
No, that didn't do it, nor did the tip in the article you referenced.
HOWEVER, I may have found the problem. While in about:config I decided to see what I could find. I did a search for "size" and found:
browser.cache.disk.smart_size.enabled
It had been modified, so I right-clicked on it and set it to DEFAULT. That seems to have done it.
Thanks for the quick response.
Good for you to have figured it out - well done !
Would you be so kind as to mark your own (last) post as Chosen Solution ? ("Solved the problem" button to the right of your last post )
Weird. browser.cache.disk.smart_size.enabled is about the size of the disk cache (automatic disk cache management) and normally wouldn't have effect on the Firefox window dimensions.
This could possibly have be a problem with xulstore.json in the profile folder that got fixed automatically.
It didn't. I was wrong. Back to the original problem PLUS. In trying to fix ANOTHER problem with Nextdoor.com, I cleared the cache. Now I'm finding old problems are back, such as TVGuide.com not saving my "favorites" again. I may give up on Firefox after all these years and start using (ugh) Chrome.
A detail like a website remembering you is stored in a cookie.
You can use these steps to make a website recognize and remember you:
- you can create an Allow exception to keep specific cookies, especially in case of secure websites and when cookies expire when Firefox is closed.
- Options/Preferences -> Privacy & Security
Cookies and Site Data: Exceptions
In case you use "Clear history when Firefox closes" or otherwise clear history.
- do not clear the Cookies
- do not clear the Site Preferences
- Options/Preferences -> Privacy & Security
Firefox will: "Use custom settings for history":
[X] "Clear history when Firefox closes" -> Settings - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/delete-browsing-search-download-history-firefox
- clearing "Site Preferences" clears exceptions for cookies, images, pop-up windows, and software installation and exception for password and other website specific data
- clearing "Cookies" will remove all selected cookies including cookies with an Allow exception you may want to keep
Try to rename/remove xulstore.json and when present delete localstore.rdf in the Firefox profile folder with Firefox closed.
You can use the button on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page.
- Help -> Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Directory:
Windows: Show Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder - http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox
Thanks, but that's not it. I asked this question once before and the answer then was to delete the history for a single web site.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1254619
Did that again, now to tvguide.com to see if it worked again.
DAMNIT, no. I am again having problems. Like I said, I think the real solution is to DUMP FIREFOX. It USE to be such a good browser, but the developers couldn't leave well enough alone.
UPDATE: Not only did I still the sizing problem, but I started running into other problems. First I started having problems with AdBlock Plus. The "Installation Successful" page started coming up in a second tab every time I started Firefox. I went through their instructions several times, but nothing changed. During this, I noticed that changes to ABP options didn't seem to hold. Also, elements I had deleted before were appearing again, and re-deleting them only worked if I didn't close Firefox.
Ran into another problem with Firefox options that made me believe that somewhere, somehow, the files necessary for the changes were in a "Read Only" mode or something. None of the changes I was making was holding. Trying to change permissions via Windows File Explorer didn't work.
My solution, which seems to be working, was to completely uninstall Firefox. After that I used File Explorer and deleted all the Mozilla folders in Program Files, Program Data, and the various AppData folders. I rebooted, brought up my (ugh) Chrome browser and downloaded an new copy of Firefox install from Mozilla.org.
So far I've only re-added the ABP add-on and the "Turn the Page" theme, but everything seems stable again. If anything changes I'll post another update.