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How to re-enable word-by-word text selection (alt+shift+left/right arrow) in address bar?

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Until the last update (or the Quantum upate maybe, I'm not sure) it was possible to use the default text selection shortcuts as they are working in all text editors and even in websites them selves (like in input fields for instance). On a mac, the keyboard shortcut to select text word by word (and not selecting every single character individually) you simply hold [alt]+[shift] and press the left or right arrow keys.

But now using the new Quantum build I cannot use this shortcut in the Firefox address bar anymore. And yes, that's crucial to me, since I'm almost never using the trackpad when working with Firefox. Is there an option or some about: setting I have to re-enable?

Thanks in advance!

Until the last update (or the Quantum upate maybe, I'm not sure) it was possible to use the default text selection shortcuts as they are working in all text editors and even in websites them selves (like in input fields for instance). On a mac, the keyboard shortcut to select text word by word (and not selecting every single character individually) you simply hold [alt]+[shift] and press the left or right arrow keys. But now using the new Quantum build I cannot use this shortcut in the Firefox address bar anymore. And yes, that's crucial to me, since I'm almost never using the trackpad when working with Firefox. Is there an option or some about: setting I have to re-enable? Thanks in advance!

Chosen solution

This wasn't changed intentionally, and it works for me, so... is it possibly a side effect of one of your add-ons? You could test in Firefox's Safe Mode. In its Safe Mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.

If Firefox is not running: Hold down the option/alt key when starting Firefox.

If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
  • Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

and OK the restart.

Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).

Any improvement?

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All Replies (3)

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Chosen Solution

This wasn't changed intentionally, and it works for me, so... is it possibly a side effect of one of your add-ons? You could test in Firefox's Safe Mode. In its Safe Mode, Firefox temporarily deactivates extensions, hardware acceleration, and some other advanced features to help you assess whether these are causing the problem.

If Firefox is not running: Hold down the option/alt key when starting Firefox.

If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
  • Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

and OK the restart.

Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).

Any improvement?

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Thanks @jscher2000! That's it. I recently added the "Sync Tab Groups" add-on, deactivated it and the selection is back at work.

Nice. Thank you

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Thank you for reporting back.

If it's a valuable add-on for you, you could report the problem to the author and see whether it can be fixed. Actually, there seem to be some changes planned for keyboard shortcuts but I can't tell how urgent they are.

https://github.com/Morikko/sync-tab-groups/issues?q=is%3Aissue+shortcut