Edit Firefox Dictionary
Accidentally added a misspelling to the Firefox dictionary. Thought it would be easy to locate and edit the dictionary.
Enabled 'show hidden files.'
On XYplorer, and Windows File Explorer can find not a single trace of 'persdict.dat' in my profiles folder.
It would be really helpful if you could advise what the next step would be. Thanks.
All Replies (8)
Edit: given how common this problem must be, would suggest:
- a quick access option in settings enabling users to easily edit the personal dictionary
- an option upon addding something to the personal dictionary enabling users to 'undo' the wrong 'correction'
With respect it seems such a very basic feature as modifying one's personal dic is complicated or in this case, not possible.
Do you have more than one profile folder -- so that maybe you need to find the file in a different one? You can check the About Profiles page. Type or paste about:profiles in the address bar and press Enter to load that page.
The profile that Firefox is currently using will have this:
This is the profile in use and it cannot be deleted.
The Root Directory line has the button to view that particular profile folder in Windows File Explorer.
Otherwise, hmm, I don't know where else that file would be. ??
Thanks for your reply. Indeed there were two profiles. Removed one. Added a dictionary. Still no sign of persdict.dat.
I can't think of any other place it would be stored. Is this a standard Mozilla installer, or the Microsoft store installer? The Microsoft store creates its profile in an obscure location.
Assuming standard: does it make any difference to turn on viewing of hidden files?
Thanks again for your reply. I'm fairly sure it was downloaded from Mozilla. Showing hidden files doesn't make any difference. A full search persdic.dat doesn't show up anything.
Unless Firefox is failing to create/save the file, which would mean that your saved entry isn't there after you restart Firefox, it's hard to understand what is going on.
When I web search this, it seems there are occasional reports of the same problem, none of which had a solution. When I look at the source file, it seems that both the file name and the location in the profile folder are hardcoded (https://searchfox.org/mozilla-release/source/extensions/spellcheck/src/mozPersonalDictionary.cpp lines 30 and 205), so... wtf.
Do you use any Add-on dictionaries for other languages/locales?
You did close and restart Firefox ? What happens if you create a persdict.dat file yourself and add some words to it ?
You can use the button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page (Root directory).
- Help -> More Troubleshooting Information -> Profile Folder/Directory:
Windows: Open Folder; Linux: Open Directory; Mac: Show in Finder - https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data
Thanks. Have created persdict.dat myself and it indeed stores misspellings.
Yes I have added one dictionary.
British English Dictionary (Marco Pinto) A fork of Mark Tyndall's add-on, based on David Bartlett's British Dictionary R1.19 for Firefox, Thunderbird and SeaMonkey. V3.1.2 has 130 000+ new words and also fixes. British Dictionary V3 for Firefox, Thunderbird and SeaMonkey.
Thanks for all the replies.