Closed Bug 249772 Opened 21 years ago Closed 12 years ago

Back button disabled

Categories

(Firefox :: General, defect)

Product:
Firefox
Component:
General
Platform:
x86
Windows XP
Type:
defect
Priority:
Not set
Severity:
normal

Tracking

()

Status:
RESOLVED WORKSFORME

People

(Reporter: sara, Unassigned)

Details

User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7) Gecko/20040626 Firefox/0.9.1 Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7) Gecko/20040626 Firefox/0.9.1 The back button is disabled (grayed out) when I follow links within a Web site, although I can right-click and go back using the context menu. Reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: 1. Go to a Web page. 2. Click a link within that Web page. 3. The Back button is grayed out. Actual Results: Nothing--the button is always grayed out. Expected Results: The Back button should be enabled when I follow links within a Web site, just as it is when I enter a new address in the URL box.
Do you have a sample URL where this happens?
(In reply to comment #1) > Do you have a sample URL where this happens? I have seen this bug; it happens on any URL after the browser buttons are customized. Reproducible on two different machines.
This sounds like a FF problem as Moz can't really customize its toolbars. In what way do you customize your toolbars? ->FF:General
Assignee: general → firefox
Component: Browser-General → General
Product: Browser → Firefox
QA Contact: general → firefox.general
It could be also a secondary window being created. This is the classical experience lived by newbies on secondary windows. "(...) Users often don't notice that a new window has opened, especially if they are using a small monitor where the windows are maximized to fill up the screen. So a user who tries to return to the origin will be confused by a grayed out Back button." Jakob Nielsen, The Top Ten New Mistakes of Web Design: 2. Opening New Browser Windows, May 30, 1999 "(...) spawning second browser windows can completely throw users off track because it removes the one thing they are sure how to use: the 'Back' button.(...) In another recent study, six out of 17 users had difficulty with multiple windows, and three of them required assistance to get back to the first window and continue the task." Carolyn Snyder, Seven tricks that Web users don't know: 7. Second browser windows Sara, go to this website http://www10.brinkster.com/doctorunclear/Netscape7/Popup/PopupAndNetscape7.html#OpenLinkNewWindow and test/try the links (in the interactive demo) Over here, I don't get the back button disabled: Firefox 0.9.1+ Latest-trunk build 20040921 rv: 1.8a4 under XP Pro SP2.
(In reply to comment #4) Not in my case.
This problem also occurs with me also. This will soemtimes occur after installing a new theme or rearranging the buttons in the toolbar.
Here is a really simple sample page that will demonstrate this: <form> <input type=submit onClick="window.print()" value="Print and continue" class=default> </form> Upon printing the page, you will be taken back to the same page, but with no back button history. Another example: For this, you must have Pike's Clone Window extension installed (http://texturizer.net/firefox/extensions/#clonewindow) 1) Go to any page you just posted form data to. 2) Press CTRL+N to create a new window. 3) When prompted whether or not to resubmit the form data, press cancel. 4) The back button will be disabled. NOTE: The history isn't really gone in either of these situations. Refreshing the page (and resubmitting the POST data in the case of the latter example) will bring back the back button and all of its history.
I'm also experiencing this bug. I've just upgraded to Seamonkey from Mozilla, and the back button doesn't work on any pages. Right now I've visited several pages on Bugzilla to get to this page, but the back button is grayed out, and the location bar is showing the previous URL I typed (in my case cnet) prior to reporting this bug. In thinking that it may be caused by the "blazingly fast back" I've set browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers to 0, but that doesn't appear to have made any difference.
I have been a Firefox user for some time without problem (I'm a software developer so not a newbie or numpty!). As soon as I upgraded to 2.0, this problem occured. It's not always there. On my home PC - Windows XP Media Edition it seems to be almost always - i.e. I can never go back. On my work PC, it's intermittant and is not URL specific. Often restarting Firefox clears it. This is a killer bug which is seriously going to affect Firefox's reputation if it's not fixed very soon.
(In reply to comment #9) > I have been a Firefox user for some time without problem (I'm a software > developer so not a newbie or numpty!). As soon as I upgraded to 2.0, this > problem occured. It's not always there. On my home PC - Windows XP Media > Edition it seems to be almost always - i.e. I can never go back. On my work PC, > it's intermittant and is not URL specific. Often restarting Firefox clears it. > > This is a killer bug which is seriously going to affect Firefox's reputation if > it's not fixed very soon. > I'm having exactly the same problem. I first noticed it when i upgraded to 1.7 (or whatever the latest FF update was)so I figured what the hell, might as well go all in, and installed 2.0 on Windows XP Pro. Backspace works fine every time, but back and forward buttons are permanently greyed out. With 1.7 I would occasionally have back button functionality, like maybe 2% of the time, and never specific to any web site. Restarting does NOT fix it. It is permanent and has never worked since installing 2.0. I'm thinking it could be due to my Tab Mix + settings - I load everything in new tabs in same window except for links with a target attribute, which means I don't use the back button much anyway;-) but it really can be a pain. I also wonder if it might be my theme glowyblue 2.4.4 - I hope not-I love it... Also when hovering over the close tab button it disappears before you can click it. The tab still closes but you are clicking on nothing. I will do some disabling of themes etc. and see if I can narrow it down.
This happens sometimes also on my firefox 2.0 I can not go back, even not with the backspace key or right click->Back.
I also am having this "Empty Back History" issue with Firefox 2.0, I am a fan of using "Open link in new window", and when I do I am ending up with no back history if I follow new links in that window. Try this to reproduce error: 1. On your Bookmarks.. go to any bookmark and right click, select "Open in new window." The new window opens on that page, and has a (gray) empty back history as it should for a new page. 2. In the new window, click on another bookmark (This time do not open in new window, use the same window you just created). 3. When you go to the new site, the back button is STILL grayed out, and no history of the first page in the back history (gray). This process works for me every time to reproduce this error. The interesting thing is that "Open page in new TAB" works fine and does not have this error.
Assignee: bross2 → nobody
I have resolved the problem on my installation. Appears to be related to plug-ins. Try running Firefox in safe mode and see if that resolves the problem.
I'm having the same problems that gladius_4_u listed, but I can also reproduce it solely by using links. 1. Right click a link (we'll call it Page 1) and pick "Open in New Window". 2. Window opens, back button is properly grayed, back-able history is empty. 3. Click a link on Page 1 (call it Page 2). 4. Browser loads and displays Page 2. Back button is still grayed and back-able history is still empty. 5. Click a link on Page 2 (call it Page 3). 6. Browser loads and displays Page 3. Back button becomes ungrayed. Back-able history, however, only contains Page 2's entry, and Page 1's entry is missing.
Same thing like gladius_4_u here, even in safe-mode. Without safe-mode I have this from the beginning when I start Firefox 3, maybe one of my used plugins is causing this. When Firefox starts, it opens directly up the first tab, but the back/forward buttons stays disabled while I am browsing, and I can't close the first tab, when I click on the close-button of the first tab it opens up a new tab instead of closing it. Only when I open a secondary tab, the back/forward buttons working again until the next restart, but I still cant close the first tab.
I have the same problem. The back and forward buttons are grayed out, the history tag to the side too. I can go back with backspace, but obviously can't go forward again. I'm not a developer, so I could be completely wrong, but it may be that I accessed a website which disabled forward and back functions, if that is possible, and that therefore firefox has neglected to enable them again when I left that website? Following this, I was actually looking for the location of a download of firefox 2 to install. This needs to be sorted out soon!
I have Firefox 3.0 with this same problem. user agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; en-US; rv:1.9) Gecko/2008052906 Firefox/3.0 Repo steps: 1. modified navigation tool bar added buttons (print, downloads, and user agent widget buttons) 2. back button and right click back is disabled. (backspace to go back still works)
Have also encountered greying out of back and forward buttons and all bookmarks disappearing. Have tried to idetify causes or anteceedents but cannot. Restarting Firefox does not solve problem. Resarting the computer does. Using version 3.0.1 with Window VISTA 64 bit. Right clicking on greyed buttons gives me history that I can navigate. Also Thumstrips continues to work.
Firefox 3.0.1, when the back and forward buttons and history are grayed out, my Adressbar doesn't refresh when clicking some links or bookmarks and the caption of the first tab doesn't change any more. It's really anoying, and I hope this will be fixed soon.
When performing a print preview the back/forward buttons also disable. I can right click on the drop down list and select a page to go back to that way, when I do that the back/forward buttons re-enable.
Thanks to the developer of SSL-Blacklist Marton Anka: My problems are gone now. It turned out when ssl-blacklist and firebug where enabled at the same time, my first tab won't close and the history/back and forward buttons where grayed out. Marton fixed this issue in his ssl-blacklist.
I have finally identified one antecedent to this problem I have encountered periodically. I discovered that if I play the Microsoft game Majong Titans, exit the game and the start Firefox, the back button is greyed out. As well, none of my bookmarks are present on the bookmark drop-down, and WIZZ RSS reader is empty. To correct the problem I have found in necessary to reboot the computer. All problems are then corrected
Should this be closed or is anyone still having a problem with it? My back button works just fine.
I have not tested again with version 3.0X,however it works fine with version 3.5.3. I would say if you cannot reproduce this then we can close this bug and open a new one if it becomes an issue.
I last commented on this bug a year ago. I have not encountered it in a long while. I assume the bug has been fixed. Recommend closing this thread.
I also have this problem using XP and 3.6RC2. I have never encountered this bug before.
3.x is EOL, please file a new bug in case that this still happens
Status: NEW → RESOLVED
Closed: 12 years ago
Resolution: --- → WORKSFORME
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