2011220 - Middle clicking alternate engines should perform a search on the current search bar text in a new tab

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(Firefox :: Search, enhancement, P2)

Description

[Caspy7]

I'm pretty frustrated with the massive downgrade that the new search bar is, as I perform a lot of one-off searches with different engines throughout the day and the new widget makes doing that painful, requiring more and slower steps.

To alleviate this pain I request adding a feature that shouldn't step on any current functionality: After clicking the search engine dropdown, middle clicking on one of the engines will not change the currently selected engine, but will open a new tab with the search results page (based on the text currently in the search box).

Comment 1

[Dale Harvey (:daleharvey)]

Discussing what this implementation will look like with UX

Comment 2

[Patrick Westerhoff]

I want to second this request in general, the old search bar had a “This time, search with“ feature that was very valuable. I think permanently changing the default search engine is something that is rarely done.

I have been thinking a bit more about the new behavior and have also comparing it directly with the old behavior now. I think the following issues remain for me personally with the new design:

The old design had a “This time, search with“ selection for the search providers, so you could first enter a search term, and then select a search provider from the dropdown making you instantly search using that provider. This selection was however not persisted so the next search would again use the default provider.

• In the new design, selecting the search provider does not execute the search. So one has to confirm the search again by pressing Enter.
  • This is probably because the new UI assumes that you select the provider first and then enter the search terms (instead of the reverse as it was before).
  • In my mind, this contrasts with the wording “Search with” which sounds like it would immediately execute the search.
• The new design does persist the selected search provider. If I want to enter the search bar again (to search for something else), I first need to press Escape to clear the selected search provider and return to the default. So in order to return to the default behavior, you actually have to remember to reset it before searching for something again.
  • This is in contrast to the URL bar, where after you have selected a search provider and pressed enter, the URL bar resets to its default behavior and just shows the opened URL, making the search provider a temporary selection.

There does exist a one-off search functionality: If you open the search provider dropdown and then confirm the provider using Shift+Enter, then the search is immediately executed and the search provider is not persisted. This seems like it would fit my workflow very well, but the whole thing feels like the keyboard modifiers are all over the place:

• In the provider dropdown:
  • Shift+Enter performs a one-off search.
  • Ctrl+Enter or Alt+Enter do nothing special and just selects the search provider (just like Enter).
• In the search bar itself:
  • Shift+Enter opens the search in a new window.
  • Alt+Enter opens the search in a new tab.
  • Ctrl+Enter does nothing special and just executes the search (just like Enter).
• In the URL bar:
  • Shift+Enter opens the URL or search term in a new window.
  • Alt+Enter opens the URL or search term in a new tab.
  • Ctrl+Enter opens the term as a default URL (e.g. example turns into www.example.com)
• In other places:
  • Shift+Enter and Shift+Click opens links in a new window.
  • Ctrl+Enter and Ctrl+Click opens links in a new tab.

So if this already introduces breaking behavior, maybe the keyboard modifiers could be changed to be a bit more consistent (e.g. Shift = new window, Ctrl = new tab) and also there should be an option to perform a one-off search in a new window or tab from the search provider dropdown itself.

Comment 3

[Dão Gottwald [:dao]]

Thanks for your thoughtful input, Patrick. Would you mind filing a separate bug on what you're proposing there? In this bug we'd like to focus on middle click behavior so we can get that part fixed asap.

Comment 4

[WfJjrdAr]

As far as I can tell, the following two reviews are essentially about the same thing: a blocked ability to quickly perform a search query without changing the default engine and displaying the results in a new tab:

• Changes to Search Bar. Can I get the Old Way Back? (r/firefox)
• [Search Engines] One click - one search query (may need to log in to the Mozilla Connect platform and/or wait for your post to be approved by a moderator)

This is especially true if the same query text needs to be sent sequentially to multiple search engines.

Comment 5

[WfJjrdAr]

Related to “How to disable the new one-click search bar interface in Mozilla Firefox?” (superuser.com)

Comment 6

[Dão Gottwald [:dao]]

Attachment: Bug 2011220 - Middle clicking alternate engines should perform a search on the current search bar text in a new tab. r?mbeier

Comment 7

[Pulsebot]

Pushed by [e-mail]:
https://github.com/mozilla-firefox/firefox/commit/55bdd1b7f580
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/ac95c7e2cf30
Middle clicking alternate engines should perform a search on the current search bar text in a new tab. r=mbeier,urlbar-reviewers

Comment 8

[Serban Stanca [:SerbanS]]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/ac95c7e2cf30

Comment 9

[Phabricator Automation]

firefox-beta Uplift Approval Request

• User impact if declined: We're on track for releasing the search bar reimplementation in 149 and this is the last remaining issue on our radar. It's based on user feedback, see https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2011220#c0 and https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2011220#c4.
• Code covered by automated testing: yes
• Fix verified in Nightly: no
• Needs manual QE test: yes
• Steps to reproduce for manual QE testing: Please see https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2011220#c0
• Risk associated with taking this patch: medium
• Explanation of risk level: Not the simplest fix but mostly limited to SearchModeSwitcher.sys.mjs. Passes existing tests (which have decent coverage) and adds a new test.
• String changes made/needed: none
• Is Android affected?: no

Comment 10

[Dão Gottwald [:dao]]

Attachment: Bug 2011220 - Middle clicking alternate engines should perform a search on the current search bar text in a new tab.

Original Revision: https://phabricator.services.mozilla.com/D285744

Comment 11

[Pulsebot]

https://github.com/mozilla-firefox/firefox/commit/d3084397d1f4
https://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-beta/rev/6bf7d491aea2

Comment 12

[Adrian Florinescu [:aflorinescu]]

Verified middle click implementation in search box using 150.0a1 (2026-03-06) on Windows 11, Mac 13 and Ubuntu 22.

Comment 13

[Adrian Florinescu [:aflorinescu]]

Attachment: SB-middleclick-USB_open.mp4

Middle click implementation verified on Mac 15, Win11 and Ubuntu 22 using Beta149.0b6.

One note in regards of the middle click functionality implemented for search bar is that the search bar USB remains open after middle click. IMO, I see it more like a feature than a bug, but thinking to confirm if that's intended and we're ok moving with it as-is.

Comment 14

[Dão Gottwald [:dao]]

(In reply to Adrian Florinescu [:aflorinescu] from comment #13)

One note in regards of the middle click functionality implemented for search bar is that the search bar USB remains open after middle click. IMO, I see it more like a feature than a bug, but thinking to confirm if that's intended and we're ok moving with it as-is.

It's intentional. Thanks!