920487 - Search will not use local file as search engine - only http and https seem tolerated

Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

(Firefox :: Search, defect)

Description

[sjekuopz]

In my FF profile I have a directory called search plugins, within which I have an XML file to provide my choice of searching within FF.

I remove the search box from the GUI and when I want to search I hit ctrl-K to make FF load my choice of search engine: an HTML file on the HDD of my computer. That HTML file contains forms that submit to various web sites.

As FF3 accelerated the hand-holding and annoyances I stuck with FF2 for a long time, and only now have I updated to a newer version. But what used to work in FF2 does not any more.

There's some details of my search XML file here:
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=2751563
Maybe that search.json shows "__searchForm":null, is the crux of this? Why does that happen with file://... but not http...?

Cheers

Comment 1

[:Gavin Sharp [email: [e-mail]]]

This is a result of bug 483086. We could allow file: URIs, I guess.

Comment 2

[Loic]

Remember the next ESR version is based on Firefox 24.

Comment 3

[sjekuopz2]

I thought I'd better add that this issue defaults to a privacy attack occuring. When I hit ctrl-k to try and load the local HTML file I want, FF decides that I should be going to go to the homepage of the world's biggest advertising company. I end up at a URL with a horrible UID in it, presumably because I don't accept their cookies they try for referrer data instead.

Comment 4

[Manuela Muntean [Away]]

With latest Aurora, on Ubuntu 13.10 64-bit, after I create a .xml file with the content from http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=2751563, put it in the searchplugins folder and removing the search bar from the GUI (with the help of Customize Toolbar), when pressing Crtl + K I am redirected to the Google site.  Is this the intended behavior?

Comment 5

[:Gavin Sharp [email: [e-mail]]]

You need to select the added engine in the search bar before removing it, if you weren't doing that?

Comment 6

[Manuela Muntean [Away]]

(In reply to :Gavin Sharp (email [e-mail]) from comment #5)
> You need to select the added engine in the search bar before removing it, if
> you weren't doing that?

I've retried this with latest Nightly on Ubuntu 13.10 32-bit with the same result as the one in comment 4.

I did the following:

1) created a .xml file with the content from http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=2751563 and put it in the searchplugins folder

2) restarted Nightly

3) selected the added engine (GoogUnenc) in the search bar

4) removed the search bar from the GUI (with the help of Customize Toolbar)

5) pressed Crtl + K

After 5), I'm redirected to the Google site.

Comment 7

[:Gavin Sharp [email: [e-mail]]]

Oh, yes, that's expected. Because "file:///home/lejlcdet/bin/websearch.html" is not a valid URI for SearchForm, we fall back to using the template URI from the <Url>.

The expected results with this bug fixed would be for those steps to load "file:///home/lejlcdet/bin/websearch.html".

Comment 8

[Manuela Muntean [Away]]

Setting this to NEW based on comment 6 and comment 7.

Comment 9

[Mark Banner (:standard8)]

I don't think we're likely to do this, not many users are likely to want it (I don't know of any other requests), and it could always be worked around by running a local http server and pointing to that.