Video: Disable Firefox 3's 'awesome bar'

Posted by Jessica Dolcourt

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Delighting some Firefox browsing loyalists and distressing others is the so-called "awesome bar" in Firefox 3 (download for Windows and Mac).

Officially known as the Smart Location Bar, it has earned a mixed reputation by suggesting 12 bookmarks and URLs of previously visited sites as the user types keywords into the URL field. If you're one of those users clamoring for an option to silence the 'helpful' new feature in Firefox 3, released on Tuesday, look no further than this Quick Tip video. CNET Editor Tom Merritt, working off a user tip, demonstrates how it's done.

Originally posted at The Download Blog

Topics:: Browsers and extensions

Tags:: Firefox 3,; Quick Tip,; awesome bar

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Add a Comment (Log in or register) 18 comments


by deeppolverizingkidd June 17, 2008 7:56 PM PDT: Video doesn't work.; Reply to this comment


by JoyceNgo June 17, 2008 8:41 PM PDT: Video doesn't work for me either. It's amazing how download.com spreads firefox yet their videos don't even work on it.. odd =\; Reply to this comment


by kagedmunky June 17, 2008 8:59 PM PDT: The video didn't work for me either at first. If you're using the AdBlockPlus extension you have to disable it temporarily and then the video should work.; Reply to this comment


by nopinktoday June 17, 2008 9:24 PM PDT: Wow I wonder why Mozilla didn't have an option just to disable the "Awesome Bar". Anyway I guess this little tip is going to make the "Awesome Bar Haters" glee with happiness! Hurah!; Reply to this comment


by Vegaman_Dan June 17, 2008 10:31 PM PDT: The option to turn off the Awesome bar is buried, but if you go into a text editor, you can modify the config file that comes with FF3 to disable it. There is no option in the actual application for doing this however.

Odd that the very first video for this application is about how to disable one of the biggest 'features' that was touted about the new version. Hmm.; Reply to this comment

by stung81 June 17, 2008 10:57 PM PDT

Just following the video will not do the trick completely.

You also need to change "browser.urlbar.maxRichResults" from 12 to 0. Just double click on the option and a box will pop up to allow you to type in 0.

Reply to this comment


by dwr50 June 18, 2008 9:14 AM PDT: Please explain a little more about why you need to take this additional step.


by wiz_guy2008 June 18, 2008 5:14 AM PDT: the worked with me
and this tip is pretty Critical cause you opened the FireFox Configurations panel
thanks anyway; Reply to this comment


by dwr50 June 18, 2008 9:17 AM PDT: FireFox... One browser, to rule them all. Works with

Linux,Windoz, and Crapple.; Reply to this comment


by debo1379 June 24, 2008 5:30 PM PDT: This worked great...I went back in to make it false again and it worked fine...one thing I noticed in the video...I do not have the "Firefox" to the left of "File" as Tom Merritt had on his Apple...is this only on Apple?!¿; Reply to this comment


by Gemmo June 25, 2008 3:23 AM PDT: I use IE7 and Firefox on different machines as each has features I like but neither has all. For instance IE7 on XP Home has trouble remembering cookies no matter what I do whereas XP Pro has no problem and this is also the case with Firefox. HOWEVER, I use both daily and I know where most things are on the screen and I like the way I can switch off the menu bar and status bar etc in IE7 as this leaves me with a larger screen area; very important as I use the BBC homepage which is customisable much more than the browsers. That large left-pointing arrow on Firefox sets up a band of unusable screen area which could be used for looking at intersting items rather than options which are rarely used.
On the same machine both took a while to load up the homepage immediately after a re-boot but both work quickly and slickly afterwards with Firefox shading it for speed.
I have downloaded IE8 beta onto one machine and like it but the cookie problem persists.
Maybe CNET should investigate as it seems even MS can only churn out the same useless tip on how to sort them!
As remarked in previous posts, the video didn't work but what's new about that? Downloaded and played in VLC - now that is a user-friendly app if ever there was one.; Reply to this comment


by merlinof2 June 25, 2008 9:28 AM PDT: stung81,
thank you for the accurate and correct method. I was going nuts trying to figure out why the instructions weren't working. well done.!; Reply to this comment


by J_Bolstad June 26, 2008 4:41 PM PDT: Doesn't work for me. I have set browser.urlbar.matchonlytyped to "true" and browser.urlbar.maxRichresults to "0" and I still show 12 results after restart. Nothing has changed.; Reply to this comment


by leiagran June 30, 2008 12:17 AM PDT: I found a small fast fix for the video problem. Install the new IE tab add-on. If you have a video that doesnt load, then you can just change view. You can view it in Mozilla but on the IE browser and it would load. It worked for me with a couple videos so far. Just thought I would share.; Reply to this comment


by Leroi82 June 30, 2008 9:34 AM PDT: Are you taking action to fix video on turning off Firefox Smart Location Bar so we can watch?
Also, is there an easier/better (or safer) way to disable the Bar than using the About/Config procedure?; Reply to this comment


by n25philly July 28, 2008 10:25 AM PDT: There is a better way. go to add remove programs and uninstall the half baked browser and then install FF2 or opera. They at least work.; Reply to this comment


by trekboner July 28, 2008 11:06 PM PDT: The reason most of you are unable to see the video is because you have (Ad block) Add-on or some other Add-on that blocks advertising. Just go to Add-ons in the tools menu in Firefox select the disable option so you can see the video and then go back and enable it once you are finish seeing the video.; Reply to this comment


by rwdris August 28, 2008 3:55 PM PDT: Curious isn't it, the video doesn't work in Firefox.; Reply to this comment

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