Firefox Blinking Cursor Issue

Posted 8th May in Configurations, Programs. 22 Comments

For some reason, Firefox started to display a blinking cursor, like web pages I have been viewing were editable. Thinking that some errant plugin was causing this behavior, I manically disabled a few I had recently installed. However that didn’t fix the problem.

Good ole Google to the rescue.

Firefox has a ‘feature’ that lets you select text with more visual feedback. I guess the little one must have been hitting keys and turned this on.

Turning it off is easy! Press F7 to turn off caret browsing.

Alternatively, type “about:config” in the URL area, then filter for “caret“. Change accessibility.browsewithcaret to “false”.

Originally posted 20080508 and last touched 20080508

Dave Drager+ is the Chief Technology Officer at XDA-Developers, where he keeps the server farm running efficiently for millions of visitors per day. He has written previously for the technology blogs Lifehacker and MakeUseOf.

http://rhyre.wordpress.com/ Ralph Hyre

Where was the ffox product manager when this was put in?
>Alternatively, type â??about:configâ?? in the >URL area, then filter for â??caretâ??. Change >accessibility.browsewithcaret to â??falseâ??.

This ‘hidden feature’, which fails too many usability principles (I’ll list 3 here):
- Nothing obvious firefox help about this
You’d have to guess it’s an accessibility feature.
- State of this feature is invisible, nothing changes in the status bar

- No menu shortcut to turn it off.
http://rhyre.wordpress.com/ Ralph Hyre

Where was the ffox product manager when this was put in?
>Alternatively, type â??about:configâ?? in the >URL area, then filter for â??caretâ??. Change >accessibility.browsewithcaret to â??falseâ??.

This \’hidden feature\’, which fails too many usability principles (I\’ll list 3 here):
- Nothing obvious firefox help about this
You\’d have to guess it\’s an accessibility feature.
- State of this feature is invisible, nothing changes in the status bar

- No menu shortcut to turn it off.
mmmbop

Thanks, this issue was really bugging me.
mmmbop

Thanks, this issue was really bugging me.
Nora

Thank you! I have a 5 yrs old sister that must have done it. It was driving me crazy!
Nora

Thank you! I have a 5 yrs old sister that must have done it. It was driving me crazy!
mary

I have tried this fix several times and still does not help. What else could it be?
mary

I have tried this fix several times and still does not help. What else could it be?
holger

Thanks, I must have activated this by accident, you helped me very much here! What a feature…
holger

Thanks, I must have activated this by accident, you helped me very much here! What a feature…
Rose Pulsifer

Thanks Dave! This was SOOO annoying as I like to use my arrow keys to scroll down web pages and I couldn’t with the caret browsing on. It was like hitting the END or HOME key and it was frustrating. I guess my little guy must have pushed F7 and turned it on, many thanks!
Rose Pulsifer

Thanks Dave! This was SOOO annoying as I like to use my arrow keys to scroll down web pages and I couldn’t with the caret browsing on. It was like hitting the END or HOME key and it was frustrating. I guess my little guy must have pushed F7 and turned it on, many thanks!
Matt

I found this when searching for the blinking close button problem solution. I have found a workaround here http://annoyances-resolved.blogspot.com/2009/10/firefox-vista-close-button-blinking.html but not the complete solution. Help!
Matt

I found this when searching for the blinking close button problem solution. I have found a workaround here http://annoyances-resolved.blogspot.com/2009/10/firefox-vista-close-button-blinking.html but not the complete solution. Help!
Dimitar Chakarov

Thx alot! That’s been bugging me for days!
Dimitar Chakarov

Thx alot! That’s been bugging me for days!
Simon

Thank you, my cat wreaked havoc!
Simon

Thank you, my cat wreaked havoc!
Crystal

Thank you!
Crystal

Thank you!
william sutanto

thanks. i was thinking to buy another notebook because this issue.
Russian User

Thanks bro!

Firefox Blinking Cursor Issue

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