Change searching in windows in Firefox

• How can I change the behavior of searching in windows in Firefox? The Firefox search-in-browser bar is, and has always has been, awful. [I posted this to the Firefox forums and got no response.] I am not referring to searches done using URL shortcuts nor am I referring to searches done using search box in the upper right corner of the browser window. The search-in-browser bar is what I am calling the bar that appears at the bottom of the browser window when you search for content inside of the page that is currently loaded by hitting ctrl-F on Windows or command-F on Mac. I use Firefox 3.0 for both platforms. The search-in-browser bar is broken (or, if you prefer, intentionally coded in such a way that it behaves in a broken fashion) in that it: a. Continues to appear on the screen even long after it has last been used. b. Continues to appear on the screen when a link is clicked and a new page is loaded. c. "Match case" seems to be arbitrarily selected in between searches. d. Takes up an inordinate amount of screen real estate, especially in a browser window that fills the monitor. This is particularly problematic on a laptop with a small screen. What I would like to find is a way to change this behavior. I have looked for things to change in about:config and for an appropriate extension but found no joy. What I'd like to have happen in Firefox: 1. The search-in-browser bar should disappear in user-settable amount of time after it has last been used, either X amount of time after the last search is made or after the last time a related search key command is entered. I know that you can sometimes hit escape to get the search-in-browser bar to disappear, but that doesn't always work either--it sometimes stupidly requires that you click back into the search field and *then* hit escape--not even rehitting ctrl-F/command-F and then hitting escape works. 2. The search-in-browser bar should disappear when a link is clicked and a new page is loaded. 3. "Match case" should never be selected by default or at the start of a search; or, it should be a user preference as to whether it is a default or not. 4. Ideally, the search-in-browser bar should be able to be turned off. It should return to being a pop-up window as it was on previous versions of Firefox, or it should be a user preference as to whether it should be attached to the window or should be a free-standing pop-up window.

• Answer:

  For #1, Use the / key instead of control-f -- that opens up Quick Find which will disappear automatically. Unfortunately, there are no NEXT/PREVIOUS buttons, but there is apparently a http://mozillalinks.org/wp/2006/10/firefox-quick-search-as-it-should-and-used-to-be/ (untested).