Make Backspace Key Work Correctly in Firefox on Linux

If there's one thing that drives me crazy about using multiple operating systems, it's the inconsistency in keyboard shortcuts… when you hit the backspace key in Firefox on Windows it normally goes back to the previous page, but it doesn't on Ubuntu Linux.

Luckily this is a very simple tweak, and you don't even have to reboot Firefox.

Type about:config into the address bar, and then filter by the following key:

browser.backspace_action

Double-click on the item in the list and change the value to 0.

The change should be immediate - you can hit the backspace key to go right back to whatever you were doing (probably reading this)

This tip should work on any platform… I'm not sure if all versions of Linux have the same annoyance, but at least Ubuntu does.

The Geek is the founder of How-To Geek and a geek enthusiast. When he's not coming up with great how-to articles, he's probably writing at his personal blog. This article was written on 01/28/08 and tagged with: Linux

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Comments (8)

1. January 29, 2008 11:03 am
   Russ

   Thanks for the BackSpace tip on Windows, I didn't know that; I've been using Alt-Leftarrow but BackSpace is easier.

   Also a suggestion, allow us to use an OpenID instead of an email address when we leave comments.

2. January 29, 2008 11:16 am
   The Geek

   OpenID is a good idea…

   I'm actually migrating to an account vs anonymous model. I will think about including OpenID…

   [edit: Just to clarify, anonymous comments aren't going away]

3. January 29, 2008 4:21 pm
   Karl Kranich

   Thanks a lot for this one! I've wanted this for a long time, and never even thought to look for it online.

4. January 30, 2008 6:56 pm
   Dirk

   Great tip ! Please when you can leave more Linux How-to stuff

5. February 2, 2008 6:18 am
   Legace

   Thanks! This problem has irritated me for a long time.

6. March 8, 2008 8:48 pm
   Mr. Synner

   I'm using firefox 2.0.0.4 that came with my new install of Slack 12.0. I had to restart the browser for the new settings to take effect. Thanks for posting the tip!

7. March 25, 2008 6:39 pm
   Mariano

   Thank you very much!! I was going crazy without the back key working properly.
   PS: I use Kubuntu 7.10

8. May 13, 2008 8:51 am
   Sarev

   Thanks, mate. Nice tip. Why on earth did the FF people decide that alt+left arrow is a good key combination for going back in the history? It doesn't even work with right alt so you need to use two hands or have a big stretch!