So been moving around a lot with browsers, waterfox, librewolf and very recently degoogle chromium, figured id look at Firefox and holy theres less than half the option in setting then there were afew years back but I gotta say the biggest sin is that adding custom search engine is obfuscated, and the chooses of engines are google, bing, duckduckgo and fucking Amazon! Wtf is that about? But anyway all these search engines are pretty awful including duckduckgo but beyond that the browser scene is a joke, mullvad are about the only company I feel compatible with using now
Edit: instead of saying how easy it is to add custom search engines, I’d like to know why the “add search engine” feature in settings is gone?
What? Settings: search for search. Change default. Click find more search engines. It offers hundreds of them.
This was not hard, nor obfuscated.
I’ve reinstalled Firefox to test this and followed your direction. I can’t see anymore search engines than previously stated
Right there where it says Find More Search Engines:.
Or the other way, go to on any site, click the search bar and the option to add it as a search appears at the bottom of the search bar: https://i.imgur.com/c3bFc7g.png
I went to the Quant website, and then it offered for me to add it as a search, hence the + symbol. Or click the settings button to “Find more search engines”.
I will admit that having to browse through Firefox extensions is not as easy, but the ability to add an engine at any time, without even using settings, simply by visiting the web page is pretty simple.
Edit: I didnt find it hard at all, using the keyword search in the settings menu. But they also have a guide: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-or-remove-search-engine-firefox#w_add-search-engines
Addons, I would avoid as they make it easier to fingerprints and also its the long way around, if all I want to do is add a URL like google.com or bing then why should I add an extension
Generally speaking, I’ve noticed that, for inexperienced users and beginners, the settings pages/windows/tabs for many web browsers aren’t very… friendly. They’re designed mostly for advanced users and users who are already accustomed to their design/layout.
The one exception to this would be Safari, which is designed to be far more accessible, but most advanced users dislike using it for this reason (and a few other novel UX decisions).
The obfuscation of default search engine is predatory is more of what I’m getting at
Also no, setting page is not for advanced users, about:config is
What are you talking about?
That took me like two second to find. You can also use addons, like this one for Qwant:
Which I like. But none of this is hard or “obfuscated”, and it’s literally identical to changing or adding a new search engine on Waterfox.
I have a lot of issues with Mozilla, not least of which is their reliance on Google for income. It’s like hiring a dingo as a babysitter. But c’mon, man.
Okay so I remember when in setting I could just add search engines, why remove that feature? Why not have the add from search bar as well as in settings?
That doesn’t make sense? How would you have the “add from search bar” feature in the settings screen?
It’s a context specific method of adding a search engine - you add it when you’re at the site. Meanwhile the setting screen is global for the browser.
Sorry I miss typed, would it make sense to of left the custom search engine option in settings whilst also adding the ad from search bar option?
Maybe. But even if that was the case, the way it is now isn’t obfuscated. It’s not difficult. It’s not hard to find out how to do it. You made a big long post to complain about an “obfuscated” feature that I found in under a minute.
Next time, either do a search or ask for help, instead of whinging like a n00b. Or worse, some kind of Google FUD-spreading parasite.
FFS, Jesus Wept. I finally understand those blokes over at FreeBSD telling me to RTFM twenty years ago.
Edit: Apparently, the synonym for complain I used before was offensive. It was not the “B” word, which I only use in reference to female dogs. Just wanted that to be clear.
Part of the vocal few, most people seem to agree that googles relationship to Mozilla is negative, and it doesn’t matter that you’d find the answer by searching for it, what does matter is that there was a perfectly adequate solution that is now gone for no rhyme or reason, and not one person here has said why removing the option is beneficial but what ever, this conversation has become petty and I don’t care for the direction you’ve taken
TL;DR: Don’t lay this one on me, buddy. You walked in here looking for a fight.
I didn’t much care for the direction you started in. If you wanted an actual discussion, then opening with hostility and claims that could be refuted if you’d bothered with less than a minute of research is the wrong way to go.
If you want a civilized discussion, you have to start with a civilized post. My responses have been no more hostile than your opening salvo.
As it happens, Google’s influence over Mozilla is of massive concern to me. And I agree that the change was not needed. But it’s not obscure, it’s not hard to find out how to do what you wanted to do, and your hostility to responses suggesting DuckDuckGo only confirmed my suspicion that you didn’t want an answer, you wanted a fight.
So I gave you one.
Here’s the deal. If you walk into a place with guns blazing, you don’t get to act all surprised and indignant when someone fires back.
