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Search shortcuts - "This time, search with" requires second click to confirm

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Hi, The alternate search shortcuts are an excellent feature. Prior to a recent Firefox update, I was able to enter a search term and click once on one of the alternate search engine icons to perform the search with that engine.

Currently, I need to click the icon, e.g. Wikipedia, and confirm the request by pressing Enter or clicking the new item in the entry in the address bar drop-down, "Search with Wikipedia" (screenshot attached).

Is there an item in the about:config settings to revert this change and perform this search with a single click on the icon?

Thank you.

Hi, The alternate search shortcuts are an excellent feature. Prior to a recent Firefox update, I was able to enter a search term and click once on one of the alternate search engine icons to perform the search with that engine. Currently, I need to click the icon, e.g. Wikipedia, and confirm the request by pressing Enter or clicking the new item in the entry in the address bar drop-down, "Search with Wikipedia" (screenshot attached). Is there an item in the about:config settings to revert this change and perform this search with a single click on the icon? Thank you.
Attached screenshots

Chosen solution

There was a temporary preference many users set to postpone the Firefox 83 changes. That preference no longer works, and there is not a specific preference for this.

I saw a suggestion on Reddit for users with lots of toolbar space to try the classic Search bar. Its search engine icons still work the same way as Firefox 34-85, and the nice thing is that your query doesn't turn into a URL so it's easy to resubmit the identical search to another site.

This article has info on how to add that bar: Add the Search bar to your Firefox toolbar.

If you want your search bar searches to open in a new tab automatically, there is a separate preference for that:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.

(2) In the search box in the page, type or paste intab and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the browser.search.openintab preference to switch the value from false to true

Something to consider?

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All Replies (5)

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You can hold down the Shift key when you click the search engine icon or press the enter key with the search engine selected to initiate the search.

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Thanks for the quick reply, cor-el.

Pressing SHIFT and then clicking the alternate search icon works, but I'm hoping there is also an option in about:config to be able to allow for a single click of alternate search shortcuts. This was the default before a recent update, perhaps in Firefox 86.

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Seçilmiş Həll

There was a temporary preference many users set to postpone the Firefox 83 changes. That preference no longer works, and there is not a specific preference for this.

I saw a suggestion on Reddit for users with lots of toolbar space to try the classic Search bar. Its search engine icons still work the same way as Firefox 34-85, and the nice thing is that your query doesn't turn into a URL so it's easy to resubmit the identical search to another site.

This article has info on how to add that bar: Add the Search bar to your Firefox toolbar.

If you want your search bar searches to open in a new tab automatically, there is a separate preference for that:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.

(2) In the search box in the page, type or paste intab and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the browser.search.openintab preference to switch the value from false to true

Something to consider?

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Thanks, jscher2000.

Adding the search bar is a good alternative.