We're calling on all EU-based Mozillians with iOS or iPadOS devices to help us monitor Apple’s new browser choice screens. Join the effort to hold Big Tech to account!

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

When I open FF, there are are some boxes with site names in them, how do I get rid of these?

  • 8 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by SlimSylv

more options

I am running WIN 10 on a desktop tower computer. When I want to browse, there are boxes with site names in them, supposed to be helpful, well, not helpful to me, please can someone tell me how to see a blank page when I open FF to browse (apart from my Home page, that is)........or, when I open a new tab..... Thanks Sylvia

I am running WIN 10 on a desktop tower computer. When I want to browse, there are boxes with site names in them, supposed to be helpful, well, not helpful to me, please can someone tell me how to see a blank page when I open FF to browse (apart from my Home page, that is)........or, when I open a new tab..... Thanks Sylvia

Chosen solution

Hi Sylvia, if you are getting Firefox's built-in new tab page, there is an icon on the right side that is variously described as a gear, cog, or wheel. If you click that icon, you can completely blank out the page. This article has more info: Customize your New Tab page to hide or display content.

Does that do what you're looking for?

Read this answer in context 👍 1

All Replies (8)

more options

Chosen Solution

Hi Sylvia, if you are getting Firefox's built-in new tab page, there is an icon on the right side that is variously described as a gear, cog, or wheel. If you click that icon, you can completely blank out the page. This article has more info: Customize your New Tab page to hide or display content.

Does that do what you're looking for?

more options

Well, thanks so much, but I have mine set to "show my tabs & sites from last time" , as that makes sure I remember what I was working on before I had to log off...lol....there also is an add-on for this problem, which I installed, but that didn't help either.... But....In the scheme of things, I suppose I can live with it, it's just annoying, At long last I have my new computer, which means I have leapt from WIN XP PRO to WIN 10 (useless).....lol.... Boy I am having a lot of little problems with WIN 10. Mostly to do with their limited colour scheme I have used, I am now sight challenged, so need large fonts & bright colours, on a black background....which has resulted in not being able to read drop down menus. Which are dark text on a dark background, no-one seems to be able to advise me how to fix this, I just spent a little time on Face-book but it's so difficult, I cannot see any of the setting buttons, like walking in a dark room with one hand out in front. So, I am happy & not a little frustrated with it all, browsing is so much faster, happy! Finding my way around WIN 10 not so much.... Thanks for your help and all the help you have given in the past. Sylvia

more options

SlimSylv said

I have mine set to "show my tabs & sites from last time" , as that makes sure I remember what I was working on before I had to log off...lol....there also is an add-on for this problem, which I installed, but that didn't help either....
But....In the scheme of things, I suppose I can live with it, it's just annoying,

I understand restoring your previous session windows and tabs, but does that bring up an unwanted new tab page? Are we in fact talking about the new tab page (Ctrl+t page)? Did the "wheel" icon allow you to blank the page?

I am now sight challenged, so need large fonts & bright colours, on a black background....which has resulted in not being able to read drop down menus. Which are dark text on a dark background, no-one seems to be able to advise me how to fix this, I just spent a little time on Face-book but it's so difficult, I cannot see any of the setting buttons, like walking in a dark room with one hand out in front.

Firefox automatically tries to follow "high contrast" mode and the results are far from perfect. You can turn it off within Firefox and let web pages look the way they normally do, and then try an add-on to improve readability of pages. The add-ons site has a lot of add-ons, some of which may no longer work, but a lot of which may be worth a try.

If you decide to try that:

(1) Do not have high contrast mode override the colors selected by websites. This is a change you make on the Options page:

"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options

In the left column, click Content, and on the right side, click the Colors button. In the dialog, change the drop-down below the phrase "Override the colors specified by the page with my selections above" to "Never".

When you OK that, pages should back to normal.

(2) You can check out the Add-ons site. For example:

more options

The new tab page \may be opened whenever you wish, for instance Keyboard Shortcut Ctrl+T See

The feature "show my tabs & sites from last time" is something else. That relates to

Firefox has its own addons and methods for fixing various accessibility issues and making it easier to look at. See for instance:

Windows has options for large icons, screen reading and a high contrast scheme built in. XP certainly has at least Hi Vis schemes

You could also try to see if free forums are able to offer advice.

more options

Dear jsher.....no, opening the cog, did not help, as there was no option on there to do the step you stated, and, sorry john99. but that is where the cog took me when I clicked on it. I had already ticked 'show my tabs etc from last time'.... And john99, I no longer am using the PC with WIN XP I have a new PC with WIN 10 on it.... Thanks also for the add-ons, I will check them out tomorrow if time permits. As of about 4 hours ago, I found I was able to do exactly as you said & change the colours, which it would not let me do 2 days ago, sigh, who knows why. I have at last solved the problem of the unreadable dark text in the dark background of the dropdown menus....in some fields the colour is still a little hard to read, as I had to make it a lighter background, but, still, it's ok, not perfect, but I am happy I can read it all at last, only took me 5 weeks to do it! I have been working several hours a day on these problems... I am so grateful for lovely people like you guys that helped me, Thank you Thank you...... No doubt I will have more problems, in fact I have had a problem, Thursday, I found updates to Windows, so I ran them, and so many things changed, it muted my speakers, so I lost the keyboard sounds for 'numlock' I had all my Saved Passwords in a file on the desktop from the WIN XP PC, saved as Pictures, by my IT guy, (grrrr he should have listened to me & exported them) and other various things changed, too.....(it deleted some solitaire games, too, imagine!) good job I had a system where I wrote thepasswords down as I created them!! Now I have to look through a pile of pages to find them, but at least not all is lost, I did have the idea in my mind to get a large indexed book & transfer them in Alphabetical order, but never got around to it....Anyhoo, thanks very much, where would I be without you all..... Peace and Love Sylvia

Modified by SlimSylv

more options

WooHoo.......solved the problem! I found an add-on called NEW TAB OVERRIDE click on 'more' and down the bottom there is an 'option ' button, clicked on NEW TAB : ABOUT : BLANK PAGE , Boom...no more annoying URLS to distract me... One problem down 55 to go...lol... Thanks so much dear friends for all your time & help... I was feeling depressed, when I opened the browser this morning, all the work I did yesterday was gone, text was tiny again and everything was out of alignment, text & the boxes the text is in....was sorta like shadow, if that makes any sense. I went back into Add-ons & deleted the add-ons I added yesterday, re-started FF & it all was well again....then found the New Tab Override add-on. I'm a happy woman again.... I have just spent over an hour trying to find the games that were deleted when I did the updates on Thursday, there are millions of Mahjong solitaire games out there, to find one I actually could see & play was great for me, it's what I do to make me stop working, during lunch etc.....otherwise I would be on the computer 12 hours a day....It's all trial & error I guess, see you soon, with my next problem. Thanks once again Sylvia

more options

For anyone looking for the addon mentioned I presume it is this one

more options

Yes, that's correct John99..... Many thanks Sylvia