This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Avatar for Username

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

This thread was archived. Please ask a new question if you need help.

Stop Firefox from changing %20 to space in URL.

giantsmetsknicks
giantsmetsknicks
more options

I pull data from facebook and for various reasons I need to use m.facebook.com. A tool I use to mine data relies on Firefox.

The problem is Firefox seems to replace %20 with spaces breaking the URL where chrome does not have this issue. Here is an example of the URL im using. Im hoping there is something in about:config that I can change to tell Firefox not to remove %20.

https://m.facebook.com/search/top/?q=posts%20by%20george%20takei

I pull data from facebook and for various reasons I need to use m.facebook.com. A tool I use to mine data relies on Firefox. The problem is Firefox seems to replace %20 with spaces breaking the URL where chrome does not have this issue. Here is an example of the URL im using. Im hoping there is something in about:config that I can change to tell Firefox not to remove %20. https://m.facebook.com/search/top/?q=posts%20by%20george%20takei

All Replies (5)

FredMcD
FredMcD
more options

Web links can't have spaces in the address portion. They can have spaces in the site location area.

I got to https://m.facebook.com/ with no problem.

Many site issues can be caused by corrupt cookies or cache.

  • Clear the Cache and
  • Remove Cookies
    Warning ! ! This will log you out of sites you're logged in to.

Type about:preferences<Enter> in the address bar.

  • Cookies; Select Privacy. Under History, select Firefox will Use Custom Settings. Press the button on the right side called Show Cookies. Use the search bar to look for the site. Note; There may be more than one entry. Remove All of them.
  • Cache; Select Advanced > Network. Across from Cached Web Content, Press Clear Now.

If there is still a problem, Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). While you are in safe mode;

Type about:preferences#advanced<Enter> in the address bar.

Under Advanced, Select General. Look for and turn off Use Hardware Acceleration.

Poke around safe websites. Are there any problems?

Then restart.

giantsmetsknicks
giantsmetsknicks Question owner
more options

Thanks for the reply. Tried all you said here and still ran into this problem. Im not having issues going to m.facebook.com. The problem is this one feature of facebook which gives you top posts from profiles requires %20 in the URL and firefox by default swaps the %20 for a space.

That url in firefox shows No results found in the search, where as if you open in chrome you will see full results. The difference is in the URL and how %20 stays in the URL in chrome.

I actually even downloaded the firefox app and didnt have this issue. The URL in firefox's app kept the %20 and did not swap for spaces.

FredMcD
FredMcD
more options

I don't know Mac's. I called for more help.

giantsmetsknicks
giantsmetsknicks Question owner
more options

Ive tested this on PC and Mac and both had the same issue.

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 25 Contributor
more options

giantsmetsknicks said

The problem is this one feature of facebook which gives you top posts from profiles requires %20 in the URL and firefox by default swaps the %20 for a space.

Where are you seeing %20 changed to a space -- do you mean the appearance of the URL in the address bar? If you copy the address from the address bar or use JavaScript to grab the address, you do get %20 for spaces.

Maybe the problem is somewhere else?