editing search engine
Hi I want to edit an existing search engine to change the url. To do so, i managed to extract the "search.json.mozlz4" via python-lz4 with a script from SuperUser https://superuser.com/questions/1269805/how-to-edit-search-engines-in-firefox-quantum
I changed the url and removed Amazon, eBay and Twitter (why are they there, i removed them in the settings?) and compressed it again. If i add the newly created "search.json.mozlz4" to the profile, the search engines are resetted to default. So i have a few questions: - There is a "hash" and a "visibleDefaultEnginesHash". Are they related to the "buildID"? - Is mozlz4 a customized version of the lz4 compression algorythm or the defult one? And last but not least: - If t is impossible to edit an existing search engine, is there a way to create a local one, without publishing it on addons.mozilla?
I know, Mozilla has some income about paid default search engines. But why making it so difficult to customize them? And no, downloading a engine as an addon i don't count as 'customizing'.
Chosen solution
For testing purposes, what if you start by making only one change:
- Decompress the .mozlz4 file to JSON
- Edit the "_urls":[] array of the engine you want to modify with the updated path or parameters
- Compress the JSON back to .mozlz4
Does that file work?
If not, there may be a problem with the compression method.
When you use the Remove button on the Preferences page search panel, Firefox assigns hidden=true to that search engine plugin. For example, you'll see this:
"_metaData":{"order":5,"hidden": true}
That doesn't touch the visibleDefaultEngines property (or its corresponding hash).
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Chosen Solution
For testing purposes, what if you start by making only one change:
- Decompress the .mozlz4 file to JSON
- Edit the "_urls":[] array of the engine you want to modify with the updated path or parameters
- Compress the JSON back to .mozlz4
Does that file work?
If not, there may be a problem with the compression method.
When you use the Remove button on the Preferences page search panel, Firefox assigns hidden=true to that search engine plugin. For example, you'll see this:
"_metaData":{"order":5,"hidden": true}
That doesn't touch the visibleDefaultEngines property (or its corresponding hash).
Thanks, that makes sense. It worked! So if i make that file read-only, amazon & co. dont show up again after the next update?
And sorry; i formatted the text nicely but it didn't kept it...
I've never tried making the file read-only. You probably should back it up somewhere just in case that doesn't protect it.