1968233 - Update KB Article for Adding Custom Search Engines

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(support.mozilla.org :: Knowledge Base Content, task)

Description

[Chris Bellini (:cbellini)]

Did you check out the steps and FAQs for submitting requests to the CX content team? (yes or no)? [REQUIRED]

Yes

Content access restriction: Is the content restricted to staff or under embargo (yes or no)? [REQUIRED]

No
Attention: Any content not marked as confidential will be accessible to both NDAd and non-NDAd contributors with a Bugzilla account. Drafts for non-confidential content will also follow the same access policy, being open to comments for anyone with the link. Non-confidential Bugzillas can benefit from contributions by community contributors, while confidential Bugzillas will be handled exclusively by staff.

Product (ensure to select only one product for each ticket. If your request involves multiple products, file an individual Bugzilla for each)

Choose one below and delete others. [REQUIRED]
Firefox for Desktop (Windows)
Firefox for Desktop (macOS)
Firefox for Desktop (Linux)

Select the type of request.

KB content update/ new content

Please summarize the request, emphasizing any user-facing changes. Include historical context or background information if it helps users understand the new features or changes. [REQUIRED]

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-search-from-address-bar

We have added the ability for users to easily add custom search engines to Firefox. Right-clicking a search field of a supported website and selecting Add Search Engine, or go to Settings > Search > Add (below the search shortcuts table) to manually enter a search URL will allow for more search customization possibilities. It's also possible to add a search engine via an "Add" button in about:preferences#search.

##Are the user-facing changes mentioned above for the production release, or is the feature/change experimental/ beta? (Production, Experimental or Beta) [REQUIRED]
Available to all Firefox users as of Fx 140.

Are the new features or changes region-specific? Are they going to be released in a gradual rollout? [REQUIRED]

No.

Please indicate if this is an on- or off-train release [REQUIRED]

Fx 140 train.

What is the anticipated release date? [REQUIRED]

Fx 140.

Does the content need to be published prior to the release date? If so, when? [REQUIRED]

No.

Does the content need to be localized in any languages outside of EN-US? If yes, please indicate which languages. [REQUIRED]

Yes, all supported languages.

Please include any related JIRA/Github/Bugzilla tickets, documentation, demos or practical use cases. [REQUIRED]

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1957439

Please include links to any design assets, visuals, figma files, etc. [REQUIRED]

n/a

Please add instructions for testing that will enable us to replicate the expected product behavior. [REQUIRED]

Right-clicking a search field of a supported website and selecting Add Search Engine, or go to Settings > Search > Add (below the search shortcuts table) to manually enter a search URL will allow for more search customization possibilities. It's also possible to add a search engine via an "Add" button in about:preferences#search.

Does the content need approval before publishing? If yes, identify the one approver responsible for this task.

:cbellini

Comment 1

[Alice Wyman]

Attachment: Fx140SiteSearchContextMenu-AddSearchEngine.png

In case it helps, I attached a screenshot showing the context menu "Add Search Engine" option for the Wikipedia search field in Firefox 140 Nightly. Disregard (see below)

Related article: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-or-remove-search-engine-firefox

Comment 2

[Alice Wyman]

Attachment: Fx140WebsiteSearchContextMenu-AddSearchEngine.png

YouTube is a better screenshot example, since Wikipedia is already a default search engine in Firefox. Also, YouTube is the website used as an example in the Add or remove a search engine in Firefox article's Add search engines section.

Comment 3

[SUMO Mandy]

Dayana, Asana is ready: https://app.asana.com/1/90589597529/project/1203460865189761/task/1210451208606526

Comment 4

[Flavius Floare]

I have written a draft here. I've taken the liberty to add a "Related articles" subsection, as well.

Comment 5

[Flavius Floare]

I have tagged Dayani by mistake.

Comment 6

[Flavius Floare]

I made some revisions to the draft here. Please let me know if it's good to go.

Comment 7

[Flavius Floare]

I think the ability to add Perplexity and other similar tools as a custom search engine should be its own KB article, and we should link to this one and viceversa once we have it.

Comment 8

[Alice Wyman]

For the record, the new article https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-custom-search-engine-firefox was approved and marked ready for localization on Jun 24, 2025. (See bug 1967739 comment 5 on adding a SUMO article link to the Firefox 140 release notes.)

Comment 9

[Alice Wyman]

Flavius, I see that you updated the https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-search-from-address-bar article to add a new "Add a custom search engine in Settings" section for Firefox 140. However, the "Smart Bookmarks" feature no longer works in Firefox 140 so additional updates are needed. See bug 1653261 ... which was RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 1650874. I submitted revisions to update that article. Can you review?
See https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-search-from-address-bar/history
Related discussion: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-search-from-address-bar/discuss/13693

Comment 10

[Alice Wyman]

P.S. I also submitted revisions to the new https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-custom-search-engine-firefox article, and to the related https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-or-remove-search-engine-firefox article, that are pending review. See
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-custom-search-engine-firefox/history
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-or-remove-search-engine-firefox/history

Comment 11

[Flavius Floare]

(In reply to Alice Wyman from comment #9)

Flavius, I see that you updated the https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-search-from-address-bar article to add a new "Add a custom search engine in Settings" section for Firefox 140. However, the "Smart Bookmarks" feature no longer works in Firefox 140 so additional updates are needed. See bug 1653261 ... which was RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 1650874. I submitted revisions to update that article. Can you review?
See https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-search-from-address-bar/history
Related discussion: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-search-from-address-bar/discuss/13693

Thank you, Alice. I approved this review, and I set it ready for localization.

Comment 12

[Alice Wyman]

Thanks for approving my revisions, Favius.

In case you missed it, my revisions to the new https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-custom-search-engine-firefox article I mentioned in comment 10 are still pending - See https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-custom-search-engine-firefox/history

Comment 13

[Flavius Floare]

(In reply to Alice Wyman from comment #12)

Thanks for approving my revisions, Favius.

In case you missed it, my revisions to the new https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-custom-search-engine-firefox article I mentioned in comment 10 are still pending - See https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-custom-search-engine-firefox/history

Thank you, Alice. Per Joe's request and agreement, we have decided to keep some of the steps as explicit as possible, even though they might be obvious for some of us. Your revisions are good and correct, but for now, I won't approve those strictly related to content changes, such as rephrases, as this would go against the structure we have already discussed and agreed upon.

However. I'll keep them there, available and ready to go, in any case.

I'll close this bug now.

Comment 14

[Alice Wyman]

(In reply to Flavius Floare from comment #7)

I think the ability to add Perplexity and other similar tools as a custom search engine should be its own KB article, and we should link to this one and viceversa once we have it.

Should a bug be filed to create a new KB article (Or update an existing article) about the Perplexity search engine? Related discussion:
https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/try-out-perplexity-ai-search-in-firefox-139/td-p/98352

Comment 15

[Kelimutu [:kiki]]

(In reply to Alice Wyman from comment #14)

Should a bug be filed to create a new KB article (Or update an existing article) about the Perplexity search engine? Related discussion:
https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/try-out-perplexity-ai-search-in-firefox-139/td-p/98352

Hi Alice, to my knowledge, Perplexity is currently running as an experiment, and we have a certain threshold for content update as it relates to an experiment (if I'm not mistaken, it's set at 50%). At the moment, Perplexity release hasn't exceeded that threshold.